GU, customer service and communication extremely frustrating

In December 2020, we signed the contract for a turnkey single-family house with a regional general contractor. Due to development and other delays, construction only started in November 2021. We had already noticed before that the communication was very sluggish. Questions went unanswered for ages; agreed phone appointments were simply not kept, and so on and so forth. When a call did take place, we clearly but always politely and factually expressed our frustration. Our GC justified everything with too much work, constantly overturned schedules because of company xy, etc. Of course, also Corona. From his point of view, our questions are not important at all. That may be true on one hand, but for us it is impossible to know, since we are completely unaware of the schedule, who does what when. On the other hand, one can expect that questions about one’s commissioned and six-figure project are answered within a reasonable time. Our impression is that he himself does not take any notice of this and basically says: “that’s just the way it is, deal with it.”
As a remark: there is nothing to complain about the work done so far; even our independent construction supervisor has nothing to criticize. But there are often questions and some requests for upgrades (recessed lights, sliding door, things like that). When you then have to wait 3–4 weeks for a response (mind you, just a response, not even an answer) to your questions, the frustration grows enormously. We asked for a list of craftsmen; this was promised to us again 2 months ago after repeated inquiries — but we never received it. We have questions about the further schedule, when the house will be ready to move into — we have long given up the illusion of the contractually assured construction time; the standard excuse is Corona. We just want to know what the realistic schedule is. No sign of life, again for 3 weeks now. Twice since then, phone appointments were scheduled, but simply passed without cancellation, rescheduling, or any other comment. We have not the slightest idea when it might be finished, because the entire interior work still has to be done. That we ourselves also have to plan vacation (for the own work — painting etc.), termination of the apartment, and so on and so forth — these are all things that from his GC perspective are not important. But they are for us. And, not to sound vain, we are CUSTOMERS and have so far paid everything properly and on time; therefore, I expect my questions to be answered.
We do know that all order books are overfull and many companies possibly do not even know how they will manage all this. But is such behavior really the standard in the construction industry nowadays? How do you deal with such people/companies?

In December 2020, we signed the contract for a turnkey single-family house with a regional general contractor. Due to development and other delays, construction only started in November 2021. Even before that, we noticed that communication was very sluggish. Questions went unanswered for ages; scheduled phone appointments were simply not kept, and so on. When a phone call did take place, we expressed our frustration clearly but always in a factual and polite manner. Our general contractor justifies everything with too much work, constantly changed schedules because of company xy, etc. Of course, Corona as well. From his perspective, our questions are not important at all. That may be true on one hand, but for us, that is impossible to guess since the schedule, who does what when, is completely unknown to us. On the other hand, one can expect to have questions answered in a reasonable time concerning one’s commissioned six-figure project. Our impression is that he himself doesn’t care and basically says: "It is what it is, deal with it."
By the way: There is nothing to complain about regarding the work done so far; even our independent site supervisor has nothing to criticize. But there are frequently questions and occasionally some upgrade requests (built-in spotlights, sliding doors, things like that). When you then have to wait 3-4 weeks for a reaction (note: just a reaction, not even an answer) to your questions, the frustration grows enormously. We asked for a list of craftsmen; this was promised again two months ago after repeated inquiries – but we haven’t received it. We have questions about the further timetable, when the house will be ready to move in – we have long since given up the illusion of the contractually promised construction period; the default excuse is Corona. We just want to know which schedule is realistic. No sign of life, again for 3 weeks. Twice phone appointments were arranged since then but simply expired without cancellation, replacement appointment, or any other comment. We have no clue when it might be finished since the entire interior finishing still has to be done. That we also have to plan vacation (for our own work – painting, etc.), terminate the apartment, and so forth, are again things that from his GU’s perspective are not important. But they are for us. And, without wanting to sound vain, we are CUSTOMERS and have so far paid everything diligently and on time; I expect my questions to be answered.

We know all order books are overflowing, and many companies probably no longer know how to handle it all. But is such behavior in the construction industry really the standard nowadays? How do you deal with such people/companies?

I can say something about this. We also submitted the building application in December 2020. Construction started in November 2021. It took 9.5 months until the construction permit was granted. Communication with the regional general contractor… I would rate it a 4. But I can recommend hiring an external site supervisor. I always discuss technical questions with them and whether everything is okay. Since the construction company performs all tasks very well – excellently even – I have never complained.

We asked for a list of craftsmen; this was promised to us again 2 months ago after several inquiries - we have not received it.

From a commercial point of view, I do not see that you are entitled to it either: the scheduling of the work and personnel is the responsibility of the contractor, and it is his business when and where he uses his own people or external agents ("subcontractors"). What is owed is the finished work at the agreed time - c'est tout.

From a commercial point of view, I also don’t see it as your right: the scheduling of the work and workforce is the contractor’s responsibility, and it’s his business when and where he uses his own people or external agents ("subcontractors"). What is owed is the finished work at the agreed time – c’est tout.

I wouldn’t emphasize it. We received a construction plan including all trades with contact details. Questions could then be directed more specifically and did not first have to go through the general contractor, who then passed them to the trade and back. Additional work was also agreed upon directly with the trade.

We received a construction plan including all trades with contact details. Questions could then be directed more precisely and did not have to go through the general contractor first, who would forward them to the trade and back. Additional services were also agreed upon directly with the trade.

Exactly this "skip chain of command communication" directly between the client and subcontractor is something that not every general contractor "likes" – and I can understand that very well. This bypass is not "smart" for any of the parties involved, especially popular with clients who make their special requests at high speed and change them up until the last minute. Such anarchic communication regularly causes chaos because detail plans circulate in outdated release versions. This drives site managers crazy ;-(

Don't fret. In my 10 years on forums, I have rarely read that communication was good or satisfactory. We customers are just one construction pair among many. We only see ourselves. The general contractor (GU) is either busy or on site. He has a schedule for the number of construction sites… He has your file when it's your turn. And yes: he doesn't care that much about what matters to you. What matters to him is the division of trades, that everything runs smoothly, tooth in tooth. It doesn't matter to him which tile is laid… after all, he's not an interior designer :) The construction schedule doesn't exist everywhere either, because things could change. Especially Corona has put several craftsmen out of action: where two teams used to go, only one goes now. Yes, it's annoying. Apparently, though, you reach someone by phone… maybe the questions are asked wrong. Don't ask "Why don't we hear anything…" but rather: "I need the plumber’s phone number, and when will he come?" and "When will the screed guy come, how does the drying process work?" Then there isn’t such an unnecessary back-and-forth or he can’t respond:

Wenn dann doch mal ein Telefonat zustande kam, verliehen wir unserem Frust deutlich aber stets sachlich-höflich Ausdruck. Unser GU begründet alles mit zu viel Arbeit,

Because accusations bring nothing in this situation and distract from the essentials. Now, we don’t even know what kind of GU this is, so we can’t judge anything further…