E496: Ask Coach – Dealing With A Bully
The construction industry has it’s fair share of bullies, be prepared for them.
Q: How do I deal with a project team that wants to bully the subs into doing things?
A: There are two ways to deal with a bully. Avoid them or stand up to them.
- This is one of constructions biggest problems in my opinion
- A staff member / team of a Prime Contractor that tries to bully the subcontractors into doing things that are not part of the contract to cover their errors or estimating gaps
- Unfortunately, we have all heard these statements:
- You contract says “all labor, equipment and materials” to complete your work
- It’s not listed in your exclusions
- That’s your problem, not mine
- These folks don’t care one bit about you or if you make any money
- There are two ways to deal with bullies
- Avoid them – don’t work for them if you know it
- Stand up to them – stuck working for a bully, start standing up to them
- The contract does protect you as well – know it, use it
- Start using the contract to stand up to them
- Most contracts slant towards the Prime, however, there are provisions for how you deal with them
- I have found that once you start stating the contract and issuing notices they tend to back down
- What comes around, goes around
- Just know that sooner or later that bully is going to need something from you
- Take advantage of weak spots and put the pressure back on them
- Share you experience with other subcontractors