Contractors & Chauvinism
Chauvinism is bad for business. The second largest group to purchase homes, after married couples,are single women. On my block alone at least a third of the homeowners are single women. BTW this is the group that by and large started CHNA which spearheaded the Landmarking of Crown Heights North…yes the core group (the Board)…
Chauvinism is bad for business.
The second largest group to purchase homes, after married couples,are single women. On my block alone at least a third of the homeowners are single women. BTW this is the group that by and large started CHNA which spearheaded the Landmarking of Crown Heights North…yes the core group (the Board) was mainly women.
While it may seem archaic to post on gender inequality the fact remains that in spite of our buying power many contractors/building supply vendors make inappropriate remarks and behave in offensive ways that frankly will continue to loose them business, at least mine.
Todays’s event prompted this post.
During a transaction at the electrical supply store on Rogers and Licoln Place in response to my question on price, the proprietor made a comment about women ,trying to be jokey I guess.
THen his assistant said: “Want me to beat her?”and chuckled.
I could hardly believe it.
“Excuse me…what did you say?”
“oh…maybe I should get my whip…ha ha”
“THis is not amusing…joking about violence against women is not funny….it’s offensive and you are out of line”
He got very tense, stopped laughing and the owner stepped in and apologized, then the staff member who said it apologized …
In the past weeks while this current renovation has been underway some of the comments made by folks interviewed:
“Don’t need to worry your pretty little head about that” (not hired)
“You look so delicate”(not hired)
“Oh you seem like you have a brain and know what your are talking about” (lol NOT HIRED this guy had the thickest Bensonhurst accent imaginable)
“linda…sweetheart”(not hired)
One friend shared that a contractor actually made a physical pass at her while she interviewed him for roof replacement…this woman owns a couple of apartment BUILDINGS plus her own brownstone…she was mortified and he was not hired.
This is not everyone but the lack of awareness is common enough amongst contractors’& vendors’ and prompted this post.
This is disturbing to hear and unfortunate. There are good, respectful contractors out there that wouldn’t even think about making comments like those. One in particular is Marc Appelbaum of Radius Construction, Inc. who is a well-educated family man.
You should contact him for your next project.
You are 100% right there is no excuse for any of these offensive comments or actions.There are still alot of contractors and (supply houses) or stores in general that still believe in treating EVERY customer or client with respect and integrity with making you the client as comforatable as possible, after all clients and customers make our business prosper
I stopped reading when I saw that its actually Mrs Mopar all this time!! Rock on you’re doing a bang up job!
to slick: those are not the only two choices!
Also I would add, for those who say it comes with the territory, none of the men I’ve hired to work on our house said things like Argentina heard and I genuinely did not believe they were misogynists just putting on a show of good manners for me. They treated me with respect. So the good ones ARE out there. No reason to put up with anything else.
Regarding Slick’s comment: But that’s the thing, I would expect a contractor to disappear from a job who DOES say misogynist things to his prospective employer from whom he is asking huge amounts of money. It shows lack of respect, lack of ethics, lack of intellect & reason, lack of emotional intelligence (simple common sense). Culture schmulture.
http://www.pwcusa.org/
Link to professional women in construction. (Men are members also).
Link to Lenore Janis on the news, wrapped with her talking about Emily Roebling – an engineer on the Brooklyn Bridge.
http://www.pwcusa.org/flyers/video_small.mov
…another footnote.
Home renovation is stressful, that’s universal for all homeowners;the dust, the cost, the unexpected delays, etc.To bring in someone that adds to that stress with their attitude is just foolish. A colleague who had her place done recently gave me condolences when I told her I was doing this project. She is a breast cancer survivor and said that was easier to deal with than her kitchen renovation. Yes it is a joke but the point is that the wrong contractor can make your life miserable for the duration.
To slick:
Mysoginy and dissappearing from the job are not mutually exclusive.
to traditionalmod:
your post really gets the point I am making.
In this economy you can place yourself to an advantage by behaving professionally but overtly chauvinistic behavior is not professional and you will loose out financially. It’s not about kumbaya moments it’s respect for your client, you know the one that PAYS you.
I have heard so many comments from other women friends too numerous to list frankly, but they are intimidated by contractors…and contractors get away with stuff. I’m not intimidated and have fired people as well as developed long term relationships with contractors for specific trades over the years (plumbing, exterior work, mason)- guys I use repeatedly. In short I’m not a newbie and have done a lot of the work myself (with friends).The exchange in the electrical store really ticked me off. I was willing to let the proprietor get away with his dumb joke until his staffer piped in….not good.
Thank you all for posting your thoughts and weighing in.