diordaves: There are clients that are bad market. This you should know. So to filter out bad market, next time these are processes you should carry out before moving to site:
#1. If the client is from Nairaland, look up for how long they've been on Nairaland. If they've been on Nairaland for a good length of time, take some comfort in that. Good information about their personality will be here on Nairaland by their posts and the forums they frequently visit. Be wary of those who register today, today to contact you for work. Just be wary. It doesn't mean this is not possible. Just be wary because you don't know jack about them. ALWAYS research your client upfront before accepting any job. Ask them for their name. I will come to 'name' again in point three.
#2. Be attentive to the way they address you or talk to you in messages. Be wary if they are unduly and unnecessarily harsh in their communication to you. As if they are doing you a favour. It is not a favour. It is a working relationship. Yes, you are soliciting for work, but you have a right to be addressed with some respect and kindness. All that ORDER to come to site or forget the job is not necessary. It is a tell-tale sign of a tortuous job and a potentially difficult client going forward. And there are difficult clients out there. I speak as a client.
#3. ALWAYS ask for a mobilization fee BEFORE moving to site. This is standard and good practice. Any client that argues with this na bad market. Move on. I have said previously in researching the client you should ask for their name. If you ask for a mobilization fee and they agreed, make sure payment is by bank transfer and that the payment account details match with the name the client told you. If the bank details don't match for some reason (maybe the client is abroad and they don't have a Nigerian bank account), ask more questions about who made the payment and ask to communicate with whoever made the payment. Your client should KNOW you in true colour and same as you.
Don't be desperate to please to land a job. On the flip side, if a client asked you to come to a site that is so far away for investigation or consultation with a potential view of awarding you the job, ask for a reasonable non-refundable fee in lieu of the cost of visiting the site and tell the client that this fee is non-refundable if you do not get the job eventually but if you got the job, this fee is included in the final fee.
Kudos to you sir I have really learn a lot from this write up from the start to the end points thank you very much.
n3xt: Madam Eyinne, abeg please kindly let us find a way to resolve this issue.
The contractor had no intention to defraud you. This is a simple case of business misunderstanding and his misinterpretation of your complaints as a personal attack when it’s very unnecessary.
I’ve been there before so I know how it works.
Abeg, my sister! Pls allow peace to reign.
As a matter of fact, it was this your eye-opening complaint that made me to go and measure all the doors (local, foreign, wooden, steel, Turkey, 5ft, 3ft etc) in my house.
_________
@michilins the best thing to do now is to keep your cool and try to see things from the clients perspective.
Pls don’t assume that your brilliance was not being recognized. Try to see how your proactiveness, genuine help and smartness is not doing what you wanted them to; rather than add clarity, they added confusion.
The pros here know you’re not wrong but how do we explain this to an already aggrieved client without sounding insensitive.
It takes tact and diplomacy.
I’d advice you to stop responding to every comment on this matter and start looking for a way to get this matter resolved to the clients satisfaction.
Tetra12: Morning sir, what I have done for you neglecting me. Am asking you for a help not because I want to but because right now my mum is poor and I don't have anybody to help me pay for my(Apprentice fee).
Wahala everywhere, sir man try to be calming down na help them call am no be by force. More win @money121
Good morning, Just make a choice of your preferred colour, get to me and your dream house comes true. Quality and Affordable from Our Company. It's Best when it comes from the source. VALUE PAINTS The Best. Valuepaints188@gmail.com For calls and WhatsApp 08163862804. Have a great day.
michlins: sir I am a vendor here and still I am human who deserves a respect. If you take offense with my response and feel ok with her statement, I don't know what to say about it.
She gave me a measurement saying she wants 7ft by 3ft. I deducted 3" from the measurements for the plastering. How on earth is this fraud? Go anywhere, this is the industrial standard. It has been discussed extensively here. She's quick to bring screenshots here. Do you know what she has said to me over the phone and how she has insulted me. Even a slave deserve a better treatment
This argument will not change anything rather look for a solution. As it has been said before in business law customer are always right so engineer please kindly calm down for her
Top on the life goals list of every adult is the goal of building their own dream house. You cannot beat the joy and fulfillment that comes with living in your own house. So without any doubt, the desire to build your own dream house is a goal worth pursuing.
In helping you achieve this very important life goal, I want to open your eyes to some residential building construction mistakes in Nigeria you need to avoid.
6 Residential Building Construction Mistakes in Nigeria You Need to Avoid
In all our 8 years experience as a construction company, we’ve repeatedly encountered these residential building construction mistakes and advice clients against them.
1. Poor Budget Planning This is the most recurring residential building construction mistake in Nigeria. People begin their dream house construction from a design perspective, rather than from a financial [budget] perspective.
The erroneous assumption is to design the best dream house for yourself and then look for the money to build it. While this may sound nice in theory, experience has shown us over and over again that this approach to building your own dream house doesn’t work.
Rather, statistics shows that this is the number one reason for most abandoned or uncompleted residential building construction projects in Nigeria. Instead of looking for money to implement your dream house design, we advise clients to design their dream house based on their budget.
In other words, we take a budget-to-design approach to construction rather than the popular design-to-budgetapproach that increasingly leads to project abandonment. For us, our goal is to see that your dream house project is completed with the available budget within the agreed timeline.
2. Choosing the Wrong Building Contractor So many factors determine the kind of dream house you end up building, we’ve just identified poor budget planning. Following poor budget planning is the choice of a building contractor.
A contractor is like a medical doctor, making a wrong decision is costly both in cash and in kind. What is lost is nothing compared to what you think you might be saving. Apart from the very obvious headache that comes with hiring an unprofessional building contractor for your dream house project, the future potential loss of lives and properties that follow in the event of a building collapse is unimaginable.
So what are the things to look out for when considering a building contractor?
A proven track record: their business must be an open book. You should be able to talk with their past customers when necessary, look at their previous works/portfolio, look at the caliber of clients they’ve worked for and check out their reputation.
Expert teamwork: constructing your dream house is no child’s play and will require the expertise of more than one person. So you do need to look out if there is a solid network of staff, subcontractors and suppliers behind the contractor you are considering. They all must be available and ready to go to work on your dream house.
Expert Opinion: a good contractor knows their stuff in and out largely because of their training and years of industry experience. You need to ascertain this through your initial interaction with the contractor. And a good way to know if they have got this is the quality of advice you are given pre-project and not during or after the project has begun.
3. Deciding to Do It Yourself For some people, hiring a building contractor is considered a waste of money and so they decide to handle the whole construction of their dream house by themselves. After all, they will simply hire the specialized labour they need for every phase of the project and acquire all the materials needed.
It doesn’t take long for many who have made this residential building construction mistake to realize that they are unqualified for the role they are trying to play. Besides the obvious fact that you have to be an idle person who doesn’t have a job or business to attend to, you also must be very knowledgeable about project management and civil engineering.
So before you head out on your own to handle the entire construction of your dream house, here are some practical questions you seriously have to answer;
Experience: How much personal experience do you have to be competent in the construction process? * Do you have the ability to recognize and stop potential problem areas as they occur? * Can you devote 3 to 4 months of “daytime” supervision that is required on the job? Will your own job suffer? * What is your personal knowledge of the Residential Building Code?
Job Costing
* Do you have the final completed price guaranteed in writing before starting? * How do you handle cost over-runs?
Liability
* How prepared are you for the unexpected? * Are you insured against injuries on your job site? * Do you have a Health, Safety, and Environment [HSE] policy in place to minimize accidents? * Do you have fire and damage coverage?
4. Ignoring Necessary Residential Building Construction Laws Building your dream house in the Nigeria of today, especially in the urban areas is no longer a joke in terms of laws.
Gone are the days when you can just buy a land and start erecting any kind of structure you like without acquiring necessary permits and conforming to building regulation laws. Many residential buildings have been marked for demolition as a result of ignoring these laws.
And here’s the interesting part, this laws are not uniform across the country. There are different laws guiding the construction of residential buildings in different states of the country as well as national laws that equally apply.
This is where a good building contractor comes in handy. They are aware of these laws and its part of their contract to comply with them from start to finish.
5. Poor Space Planning Have you ever been to some personally owned houses and wondered if they were rented apartments?
This is often because of the tightness or smallness of the house. From the sitting room, to the placement of the bedroom and the kitchen, everything seems choked. Little or no space is structurally provided for.
This is what you get with poor space planning when designing your dream house. Except your idea of a dream house is a boys-quarters, I really don’t see why you shouldn’t provide for space in your house. The structural layout of your dream house must be spacious to allow the rooms to be fully utilized.
6. Not Using Quality Building Materials Buildings are essentially supposed to be built to last. And a major part of achieving this fundamental objective is the quality of material used in the construction of the building. Cutting corners with building materials will affect the lifespan of your dream house.
Again, working with a good contractor is a guaranteed way of ensuring the materials used are of high quality. They know the right combination of materials to use and have a network of trusted suppliers to work with.
I stopped going to the markets several years ago. I’ve established relationship with reputable manufacturers and dealers who do not only give me good deals and incentive to buy but also offer great after-sales support.
A good example was when I bought 90 pieces of 60 x 60 suspended ceiling led light from a manufacturer in 2019. They gave me 2 years part and labour warranty on the product provided the issue with the lights is not caused by lightning, surge or wrong voltage usage.
When we had issues with the light due to high voltage during the testing of one of our newly installed generators, we got all the lights fixed at no extra labour cost. I was only asked to pay for the replacement parts.
The beauty of all you expended on your structures is finalized by the Quality of Paint You Use to paint it. I strongly Advise that You buy Products directly from The Company. VALUE PAINTS AND VALUE PLUS are Quality Paint products prepared to bring out the beauty of your structures. For your Direct Supply Of Quality at affordable VALUE PAINTS AND BUFFALO PAINTS from The Factory, Call or Whatsapp Mr NASS. 08163862804. A trial will convince You.
spyder880: Understanding the building materials market in Nigeria.
This thread is for everything in building construction, of which building materials is a strong part of. We want to xray the building materials market, procurement processes and the best way to position yourself so you can get the best of the open market. Part of my growing up years were spent in a market in Enugu, so I know the inside operations of a normal market.
There are two types of building materials markets operating in Nigeria, the Supermarkets and the open market, in the supermarkets, tou can get your materials in a more organized manner, goods are well arranged and sometimes the costs are known and displayed on items. You can even get a price quote online, there are no chances of haggling for prices, the best you can get is a discount from the owners or managers. But these shops are very few at this time of our economic development.
We are going to concern ourselves with the open markets, because they constitute over 90% of the purchases we make as small players in the construction sector in Nigeria. I am talking of markets like Alaba international market, Main market Onitsha, Orile, Tejuosho, Dei Dei in Abuja, Mile 3 market in Port Harcourt, Building materials international market, Ogidi, Anambra state, plus other markets across the country where building materials are sold.
The open market is mostly controlled by sole proprietors, those entrepreneurs that own their business and control it directly, by themselves, their immediate family members or by their workers and apprentices. These people take all the risks and usually operate with zero insurance. They also dont get any help from any government as they build their own markets and operate them. If these groups of sellers lose their wares either by road accidents, fire, rain, flood or theft, they absorb all the impact and can go under, or restart their business if they can raise more funds. Some goods can also expire even while inside the shops, or go obsolete. I am just preparing our minds so we can understand why some things happen the way they do in our markets.
There are about three types of sellers in every market, they are the wholesalers, the retailers and the hustlers.
The wholesalers dont usually advertise their precence, or their locations, in fact, most wholesalers are either manufacturers or importers. They like to sell their goods to only known major retailers, while they remain in the background to advertise their goods and collect their payments. The wholesalers sells good on credit to trusted retailers, sometimes on credit. If you as a small buyer gets to meet a whole seller, you will discover that most building materials are cheaper than what you have been paying for them. Wholesale prices are much cheaper, but the problem is on how to find the funds to buy on wholesale, or who will lead you to a wholesaler.
The retailer buys from the wholesaler, in bulk. He then displays his goods for smaller buyers like us, and factors in his overheads and his profits. The retailer usually has many shops staffed by workers and apprentices, and sometimes, a warehouse where bigger quantities are stocked. They usually stay in their showrooms where they sample latest products. The retailers might not have time to persuade customers compared to the next group.
Then there are the hustlers, they are everywhere, they are well known to everyone, they are just in the market to direct you to whatever you want to buy, at a cost of course. They sell everything in the market, while they have no shops of their own. They are usually efficient salespeople, sweettalking people into buying things they dont need, and assuring you of the best performances of their chosen brand of products. They are also well dressed, well spoken, exudes confidence while interacting with customers. They can invade and occupy any shop and claim to be the owner, and the owners shift for them to sell the goods, funny right?
Well, the psychology behind the hustlers is that they serve a need in the market. They close the gap between the customers who has little knowledge about the market and the actual goods they need. The hustlers has complete knowledge of shops where they can get bargains, current prices, plus all othe necessary information needed to make a sale. They can intercept a customer from the gate, or from the lines, they then take the people to a chosen shop where the good is sold, they sit down behind the desk and ask you to sit down also, the owner and his boys will just move away as the hustler stays to sell, if an item is selling for N100, the hustler will aim to sell at N110, or N120. After payment, he will write a receipt at the shop and order the boys to give you the goods, he escorts you out of the shop, then returns back to collect the extra money on the top of the known cost of the item, the more quantity, the better for him.
For us buyers, its usually better if we have some knowledge on what we are buying, so we can spot the fakes. There are about 3 classes of each good. The original, the second best, and the fake.
While I cannot rule out the bad practices of some unscrupulous individuals selling fakes to unsuspecting people, I also believe some people ask to be shortchanged. A customer comes to the market and asks of good A, the seller tells you the cost, and the customer starts to haggle for reduction, the seller might refuse to sell. The customer goes to another shop and repeats same, the second seller might have a lower quality or class, and sells to the customer at a reduced price, and the customer goes home with a reduced quality. Later on he will discover from friends and family that there is a better quality out there and he will start to blame the seller. But remember, the first seller told you the cost of the original.
Whenever you go out to the open market to buy something, always "shine your eyes" be careful and alert, but remember, there are still many honest salespeople out there, I have am friends with many of them and they are the first to call me if there will be a major development in the market. I get first hand gist on price increases, price reductions or new product offerings in the market. We need to work out a smooth relationship with our dealers so we make the best of our own work.
........Hrm Ogiame Atuwase Newly Consecrated Olu of Warri
* Former President Olusegun Obasanjo paying homage to the newly crowned Olu of Warri Ogiame Atuwatse III, formerly known as Omoba Utieyinoritsetsola Emiko
Good evening house. For your Quality at affordable price Paint, for the best of Acrylic Emulsion, Premium Quality Value paints Product for Schools, Hotels, Offices, Hospital and Houses. Don't go far. Get your quality Paints directly from the Company. Contact-: Mr NASS. Coporate Sales Excecutive VALUE PAINTS AND BUFFALO PAINTS. 0163862804. Calls and WhatsApp. A trial will convince you. Have a productive week ahead. https://www.nairaland.com/6626105/value-paints-value-plus
theshadyexpress: Acres and Plots of Land for sale in ikorodu
Location: Majidun- Ogolonto, off Ikorodu Rd
Land specifications: - Located at the entry to Ikorodu from mile 12 and Exit from Ikorodu from Agric B/Stop - Virgin Semi marshy land - Same community with new Lagos high court (under construction) - 1km from JustRite superstores - 200m from the main road (Ikorodu Rd) - 12km from mile 12 market - 5km from Ikorodu Lighter Terminal - close proximity to BRT Terminal and Busy Bus Park - Close Proximity to Jetty and ferry terminal - Good Access Rd - Fast Developing community with several new estates and housing constructions (completed and semi completed) - Heavy Discount for Developers buying in acres - Rapid Value Appreciation (was N1.5m last year)
Suitability: - Warehouses (Mega or Medium) - Factories - Residential Housing - Housing estate development PRICE: N4.5M/PLOT (Asking Price) DOCUMENT: DEED OF ASSIGNMENT
micronut: A house girl has been caught and later arrested in Lagos after it was discovered that she poisoned family soup with Hypo - A Chemical for bleaching and cleaning dirt.
The house girl, who perpetrated the evil act first denied, but late confessed later after being asked by her boss to eat out of that food and she declined, eating only Amala but avoiding the vegetable soup.
The Couple who are speaking in Yoruba low tone midnight voice were seen begging the girl to know why she did what she did.
The couple invited a police officer who took up the case further.
Reactions have been following this from social media especially on Instagram with some blaming the couple for trying to kill the girl too by asking her to eat what's evidently poisoned and others saying many house girls nowdays are becoming wicked unknowningly even if you handle them with love and care as one of your own blood.
Good afternoon Nigerians and Nairalanders. Hope We had a nice time in Works. For your Quality Acrylic Emulsion, textured, Gloss, Satin Paints; Paints with Assured Quality at affordable Price. Contact.-: Mr NAS 08163862804. Valuepaints188@gmail.com A trial will convince You. Have a Productive week.
spyder880: I understand the rains are still planning for more as the sky is dark as they took the pictures. I plan to be in this site soon to see the pace of the work here.
_pure water factory with bottle water factory and nylon factory together with full functioning equipment on a two plot of land at iju road. Title: c of o Price:300m. Contact; 08125693262
Properties › Re: General Topic Thread-To Discuss Anything And Everything in Building Construction by Valuepaints20(m): 4:25pm On Aug 24, 2021
