Contractor rep recording conversations in the home - AITA?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you mind telling us the state where this occurred? I recently had a JES rep out to my house in Maryland because I'm getting water in the basement and he didn't mention anything about recording. His phone was sitting on the table next to his IPad while we talked but I didn't think anything of it. Now I wonder if he was recording us.

Maryland is a two-party state for recording which means if they recorded you without your consent, or without informing you, that's illegal.

+1 But if they ask you for permission it's fine. I don't see the issue. I have friends who do contracting, and they're always saying their biggest headache are clients that change their mind and don't expect to pay for it even though adjusted plans cost time and money. if it's not well-documented, it's a he-said, she said type of thing.

The point here is that there might be recordings floating around without the owners' consent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you mind telling us the state where this occurred? I recently had a JES rep out to my house in Maryland because I'm getting water in the basement and he didn't mention anything about recording. His phone was sitting on the table next to his IPad while we talked but I didn't think anything of it. Now I wonder if he was recording us.

Maryland is a two-party state for recording which means if they recorded you without your consent, or without informing you, that's illegal.

+1 But if they ask you for permission it's fine. I don't see the issue. I have friends who do contracting, and they're always saying their biggest headache are clients that change their mind and don't expect to pay for it even though adjusted plans cost time and money. if it's not well-documented, it's a he-said, she said type of thing.

The point here is that there might be recordings floating around without the owners' consent.

Exactly. And what are they doing with them? It's a sleazy practice for sure.

[Anonymous]

I don't get it. It's more understandable to me that a homeowner would want to record a contractor to capture all the verbal promises they won't put in writing. But why would a contactor want to record? The contract and proposal will have everything he wants there and he prepares it. What is the benefit?

[Anonymous]

Contractor here (HVAC). One of the the big service management software providers is starting to push a real time AI driven sales tool that analyzes conversations between homeowners and customers. My guess is that's what going on here. I don't know all the nuts and bolts about how it works as I would happily go bankrupt before trying this nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. It's more understandable to me that a homeowner would want to record a contractor to capture all the verbal promises they won't put in writing. But why would a contactor want to record? The contract and proposal will have everything he wants there and he prepares it. What is the benefit?

Probably to see what the most successful sales people are doing and to create a sales training program.
Verbal promises are usually voided out in the written contract by putting this is the whole contract.

[Anonymous]

The way he said it, it was more for them to see that he is following the script and presenting things the way they want him to present it. Like a big brother if you get the reference. Sorry, I'm an old lady. We had to read, 1984 in school.

It just really bothered me that he said they told him to record anyway even if the customer refused but flip the phone over to play it up like he wasn't recording, or don't even ask permission or inform the customer, just record.

I'm surprised the guy told me all that but I think he already had one foot out the door from some of his other comments about the company.

[Anonymous]

That AI theory is interesting and scary!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow that’s terrible. Why are you protecting the company? Name the company. I would definitely look elsewhere and I wouldn’t hold back letting everyone know why. Someone who is gonna do shady (illegal???) stuff like that is not going to be someone I’d ever enter into a contract with.

It's a well known foundation repair company.

It makes no sense that you’re being so vague about this. Just name the company so we all know to avoid them.

Right OP why come and not state company name?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You don't want to be doing business with "a well known, heavily advertised home repair company."

In construction or home repair, any advertising beyond a minimal web presence and a sign on the side of the truck is an indication to stay away.

This. 100% this.

Have no idea why people don't understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow that’s terrible. Why are you protecting the company? Name the company. I would definitely look elsewhere and I wouldn’t hold back letting everyone know why. Someone who is gonna do shady (illegal???) stuff like that is not going to be someone I’d ever enter into a contract with.

It's a well known foundation repair company.

It makes no sense that you’re being so vague about this. Just name the company so we all know to avoid them.

Right OP why come and not state company name?

I did. Scroll back. JES Foundation Repair. I had them because I have water in my basement. One of the top rated companies recommended by Angi's list for what that's worth.

[Anonymous]

Their office people keep calling me to follow-up and see if they can salvage a sale with promises of a discount if I sign now. I finally asked one of them to let me speak to a supervisor so I can explain the problem I have with their company. They promised to have one call but it's been a few weeks now. If I never hear from JES again, I'm fine with that.

[Anonymous]

I get it. They want/need the data if the corporate strategy depends on improving the conversion rates for those sales calls. The benefit of having the recordings for the company outweighs the downside of alienating X% of people who are mad/weirded out.

It wouldn’t bother me, personally. I think generally having recordings benefits everyone. It feels weird because we feel like we’re giving up important privacy, but I think on the whole we come out ahead.

Basement problems are full of fraud and scams and gray areas and chaos, but I don’t think any of that is going to be made worse by recorded sales calls. Personally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don't want to be doing business with "a well known, heavily advertised home repair company."

In construction or home repair, any advertising beyond a minimal web presence and a sign on the side of the truck is an indication to stay away.

This. 100% this.

Have no idea why people don't understand this.

Oh, it depends. Basements are so tricky. Hiring a small company is no guarantee of value or effectiveness either.

And there are times when hiring a big company will be expensive but easy. I use a big plumbing company, because it’s easy to schedule them, they’re very reliable, and I don’t mind paying a little more for that.

My elderly parents call CASE Fred handyman service for every little thing. It’s crazy expensive, but easy as pie. Worth it for them, and I like it because I think they’re going to pay an exhorbitant rate for good people but not get ripped off in any other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow that’s terrible. Why are you protecting the company? Name the company. I would definitely look elsewhere and I wouldn’t hold back letting everyone know why. Someone who is gonna do shady (illegal???) stuff like that is not going to be someone I’d ever enter into a contract with.

It's a well known foundation repair company.

It makes no sense that you’re being so vague about this. Just name the company so we all know to avoid them.

Right OP why come and not state company name?

I did. Scroll back. JES Foundation Repair. I had them because I have water in my basement. One of the top rated companies recommended by Angi's list for what that's worth.

Nothing

[Anonymous]

Who cares? Like honestly, why is this a problem? Just be noncommittal in your verbal responses, ask any questions you have, & then request an emailed quote with details that you can review & consider.

I wouldn’t care if the whole world heard me interacting in this way. What’s the problem?