When and how to complain "professionally"

My husband and I hired a contractor in late November to remodel most of the main floor of our house. We have had quite a bit work work done, including tearing down walls, replacing floors, installing windows, cabinets, sinks, stove, and new lighting throughout the downstairs area. When I think of all of the work that is done, I almost feel bad complaining, but still, here goes.

The contractor we hired originally said the remodeling would take no more than a month, maybe six weeks at the most. That was in late November. It is now the end of February and our contractors are still not done. I would not mind this at all when I think of all our remodelers have had to do and how much has been completed. Right now, the walls are in and painted, the hard wood floors, lighting and all of the electrical work is done as well as the windows and kitchen cabinets.

The remaining work includes, staining the cabinets and woodwork, installation of a new ceramic tile floor, counter tops, sink and appliances. Also to be completed is the installation of a sink, vanity, toilet, and mirror in the bathroom as well as installation of our new front door.

The biggest problem with all of this remodeling, aside from the intrusion of workers in the house, the noise, and the dust (my God, there is a lot of dust!) is not having a kitchen. My stove is not operational, and my refrigerator is in my family room. (at least it works!) For the last two months I have had to cook meals in either the microwave or the toaster oven. I recently purchased an electric frying pan just so I could make Hamburger Helper and eggs - whoopee! I wash dishes in my laundry tub, and when I cook, it is in the laundry room where I have to unplug the washer and dryer to use either my toaster oven or microwave. I can't run these at the same time - it will overload the outlet and blow a fuse. Needless to say, cooking can be a challenge, but honestly, we are so tired of fast food that eggs and Hamburger Helper is a real treat!

When our contractors first started this job, they were at the house every day, started work at about 9am, and left after 5:00 or 6:00. Now, after over two months of work, they don't arrive until well after 10:00, and leave by 5:00 at the latest. They rarely make an appearance on the weekends, and some weekdays, they will only show up for an hour.

I can't help but feel that at this pace, the work will never be complete, and I will never have a kitchen or a decently cooked meal again!! I have approached my husband about this and asked him to say something to the workers. His response is that he doesn't want to make them angry for fear that they won't finish the job. I just want my house back.

This long, sad tale leads me to my question. How does someone complain "professionally"? I agree with my husband in that I don't want to anger our contractors, but at the same time, I feel like something should be said about the fact that they are certainly not working with the same standards they were when the job began. I feel that they are taking advantage of us in that they know we need them to finish the work, but at the same time they are doing a large amount of work, and I am sure they will be looking for a good reference. I am going to need all of the good communication skills I have learned in my PCM classes here at Alverno to tackle this one....

Any ideas??

My path at Alverno

In looking back at my career at Alverno, that it was almost inevitable that I would not just work here, but I would attend school here as well. I have worked at my present job at Alverno College for many years. I started in 1996, working as a part time secretary in the Academic Computing Department. I enjoyed my job tremendously. I felt a sense of accomplishment when performing my duties, I became good friends with my co-workers, and I had the best boss in the world. During the years between 1996 and 1999, I was also busy personally. I gave birth to my beautiful daughter, Rachel in 1998. After 8 weeks of maternity leave, I returned to Alverno, part time again, and began the sometimes daunting task of managing my job, home, and being a mom. Life was hectic at best, but in time I felt that I was beginning to get the hang of juggling the workload. I also thought that working part time was perfect for me. I had the best of both worlds. I was working at a place I truly enjoyed, and I also had time at home with my wonderful baby. Then, 16 months later, my son Jacob was born. My husband and I often say that having Jacob was the best thing we didn't plan to do. He was a surprise, but a wonderful one. After Jacob was born, I decided to take some time off and stay at home with my two babies, both in diapers. If I thought life was crazy with a job and a new baby, staying home and having an infant and a toddler was crazier. It was a stressful time having two young children so close in age, but it turned out quite well. They have become the best of friends and playmates, and I couldn't ask for two more amazing children. As time went on, life slowly became calmer, and the pace a little slower. In 2001, after being home for two years, I decided to go back to work. By a stroke of great luck, my previous position at the college had opened up again. I called my supervisor, and after some discussion, I decided to return to my old job. It was the same part time position I had left two years earlier, with a few extra duties thrown in as our department evolved and procedures had changed. An added bonus was that my children could attend Alverno's childcare center while I worked. This allowed them to interact with other children their age, and learn in a preschool environment. Most importantly, they loved it! Now - fast forward to 2009. I have been back at Alverno for more than eight years, and I am still very happy. My position and title have changed, and even though I work for the same department, my job has evolved into one that combines technology, as I am responsible for the creation and maintenance of student computer network accounts, and communication, as I also work with both faculty and staff to reserve computer rooms and equipment for classes, and events. One of the best things about being at Alverno is that it is the kind of place that whatever your strengths or interests are, you are encouraged to build on those strenghts and find ways to incorporate it into your job. The people here truly want to help you accomplish your goals and to see you succeed. The mission of continuous self improvement does not just apply to students. Faculty and staff have the same mission and work to investigate and implement ways to improve services and procedures all of the time. I guess that is why when I thought about returning to school to complete my Bachelor's degree, coming to Alverno just made sense for me. I knew I would be in an environment where I would be encouraged to both learn and to grow as a person, and I have not regretted my decision for a minute. It is an experience I will always appreciate, and I will never forget. I am looking forward to seeing the new me emerge both personally and professionally as I continue my educational journey.

So, what do I want to be when I grow up?

What I want to be when I grow up is a question I have struggled with for years. When I was in high school, my loftiest aspirations were to be a secretary. I never really thought of myself as the powerful executive type. In high school (this was back in the 80's!), I took classes like typing, stenography, financial accounting, and business law. In my senior year of school, I worked at a co-op job where I went to school part of the day, and worked in an office the other part of the day and received credit (and pay) for my work. Later, after the birth of my oldest daughter, I decided to go back to school. My first college major was accounting. After a year, I decided it just wasn't for me so I switched to a major in computers. I like working with computers, and find technology a fascinating field, but it is not really where I want to be either. I really enjoy working with people and in my current job I work with both students and instructors every day. With this in mind, when I decided to continue my education, and pursue a Bachelor's degree, I thought a good area of study for me would be professional communication. This leads me to where I am right now. I still work with computers daily, but I am learning to combine technology with professional communication. It is my hope that once I earn my degree, I could move into the field of academic advising. I enjoy creating and critiqueing resumes. I am always counseling my family and friends on employment opportunities and things they can do to further their careers. My husband says career counseling is my superpower. I have created resumes and successfully counseled several of his friends in their job searches. Maybe this is (finally!) the path for me....

Advertising copy assignment (con't)

Well, I have finished my assignent, and it really was a lot of fun. Writing a sales pitch for an item is much more fun and interesting to do than informational term papers. This type of writing forces you to focus on who your audience is and write to that particular demographic. It was also challenging to write the copy for the J. Peterman store because every item description begins with a story. Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment!

Advertising Assignment

My newest assignment in my professional writing class is to write advertising copy. My task is to pick one item, and write an advertisement about it based on three very different types of audiences. My first audience is younger, and more frugal. The second audience is more of a soccer mom/professional type of buyer. The third audience is a highly sophisticated, well educated shopper with almost unlimited amounts of money to spend. Since I am a more frugal shopper, with the motto "if it's not on sale it's not for sale", writing advertisements in a more luxurious, and more story-like tone will be a challenge for me. At the same time, I really like writing creatively and I think writing advertisements are the epitone of creative writing. I am looking forward to doing this assignment and can't wait to see the final product.

Who am I?

Hi, I am Kelly, and I am a Professional Communication major in my senior year of college. I have worked for many years in an administrative position at Alverno College. In that position, I communicate and work with many different people in a variety of ways every day. My goal is to complete my education, earn a Bachelor's degree, and possibly go on to a Master's degree. I really enjoy working with and helping people. I would like to use my degree to go on to a more challenging position in higher education and continue to work with students. My future goal is to go on to an advising type role. I am married and have three amazing children, ages 21 (yikes!), 11, and 9. While I have never written a blog, I do come from a technology-oriented family. My husband is a computer programmer, and my current job is in Technology Services, where I work with computer hardware and software applications every day. I am hoping to expand my writing skills in my professional writing class this semester. My oldest daughter is a writing major at Cardinal Stritch University, and I hope I can tap into some of her writing talent to help me excel in this class.