Dietz Offers His Side of the Angie’s List and Yelp Reviews Lawsuit
I spoke with Chris Dietz on Saturday December 15th 2012. He seemed very upbeat about the attention he has been getting from the media as well as his peers in the construction and remodeling industries regarding his lawsuit against Jane Perez due to her reviews on Angie's List and Yelp.
He had posted the comment below on line at Leah Thayer’s Daily 5 Remodel and gave me permission to post it here at the Design/Builders Blog. I offered my support to Chris for what he is doing and complemented him on the professional approach he has demonstrated online and in the media. He shared that he hoped his lawsuit would make a positive difference for other remodeling contractors as well as all business.
Chris Dietz's side of the story in his own words:
I am a member of NARI, NARI-Metro DC. Thanks to a vendor I use, one of their staff is on the recruitment committee, and suggested I join. One of the best business decisions I ever made. I love my chapter and all it does for me and my fellow contractors (trainings, product demos etc).
I will not make much in the way of comments, due to litigation still in progress. Her is a bit of my side:
The issue here is simple, the client crossed the line of opinion, and into the realm of defamation. I contacted Yelp and Angieslist, with documents (legal ones, countering the defendants postings), and they refused to remove or alter the postings. I was told I had two options, 1-poster removed their own post , or 2-a judge's order removing/altering the posts. My hand was forced in filing a lawsuit. It is a true shame, that myself, and other businesses, in our line of work and others, are forced to take defamatory type comments, and just live with them, based on what everyone says. The response usually is, hey just get more positive comments. Easily said, I usually do full renovation or larger type work. SO if Iose 1 customer, my revenue can drop dramatically and ruin my entire year.
I had nothing to do with the work that was showed in the pictures. Compare the pictures shown in the press, to my portfolio. Not even close.
We need to push for legislation to change provision 230 of the CDA-Communication Decency Act, and also hold Yelp and Angieslist accountable ( and all other ISPs) for the way they permit postings and review them. Yelp is more at fault, as they claim, algorithms are to blame for the negative posts being public, and your positives being filtered. YET, for a fee, Yelp miraculously offers to fix this(Yes, I did receive a sales pitch).....Angieslist, is far better in this area.
Yes, I can really use help in paying my legal bills, as the case is far from over. Feel free to contact me privately via my Facebook page, Dietz Development. Also, there you can see that my work portfolio, is so far higher in quality, than the pictures that have been shown to the public. I sincerely appreciate the moral support I have received, and I am very determined to work with NARI-local and national, and our industry to make changes so this cannot happen to someone else.
Chris Dietz, Dietz Development
Manufacturers can and should provided information and education relative to product options, differences and price points. Retailers selling to remodelers should be getting this information from their distributor and manufacturer reps. The entire supply chain should be sharing this information with contractors through trade shows, educational events and personal interaction. 
Looking back our ideal customer was a middle aged middle market married couple, both working with either very young or high school age children. These people worked hard to earn their money and therefore respected the fact that my employees and I also worked hard to earn our money. They looked at my employees as partners in the project, not nail bangers. Due to the age of their children, they had little time to do their own work, they didn’t want to move or change school systems, and they typically needed more space at their homes. Unlike wealthier clients I had worked for, these clients would say; “I know I will owe you the next payment on Monday, but I won’t be here. Can I pay you today”? I never had to use my line of credit to finance their projects because waiting for a stock dividend delayed progress payment.
These clients needed additions to their homes, but we didn’t want just an addition. We wanted an addition with a kitchen and/or a bathroom. We came to find that simple family room or bedroom additions came with too much competition from laid off framers or inexperienced low price remodelers. If the project included a kitchen and or a bathroom, most low price completion lacked the skills to design and build the project. We also found that these projects, because of the baths and kitchens, were material and sub contractor intensive. We found it easier to mark up and manage more materials and subs, rather than more labor. We also found they brought in more gross profit in less time than labor intensive projects.
We purposely timed our marketing for addition work relative to the New England weather realities as well as the typical lead time required to sell, design and permit additions. The idea was to get foundations in the ground and shells constructed before the weather made it impossible or impractical to work in the cold. Using similar tactics, we marketed in advance for Kitchens, baths, attics and basement remodels to fill the cold months. We marketed these projects to the same client type. The attics and basements typically included bathrooms.
As the business grew and competition increased within our market, we decided to expand our footprint. Through experience and detailed job costing we came to see that commuting more than 30 minutes from our office typically lead to increased costs, compromised supervision on projects, a dip in client satisfaction and therefore a dip in referrals. We also found it ideal to work on homes built in the 60’s or later. These homes were built with standard lumber sizes, drywall rather than horse hair plaster, PVC drain lines rather than cast iron, copper water supplies and poured concrete foundations. These homes were easier to work on, they made it easier to anticipate and estimate costs and they were typically one of many similar homes within concentrated subdivisions. By marketing to target home owners in target neighborhoods within 30 minutes of our office, we attracted addition projects in high exposure locations, leading to more work and more referrals in those same areas.
To me the why was the easy part. The why’s were all the benefits my business came to enjoy as a result of defining our ideal niches, the biggest being improved profitability. If you concentrate your efforts in a defined area, you and your team naturally become better and more competent at what you do, leading to improved efficiency across your business. We realized efficiency in our marketing efforts because we knew who and what to market for and how to get their attention. Estimating and sales also became simplified because projects and clients were very similar. It was easier to find and train good employees and subs because the work types were fairly consistent and the clients were almost always a pleasure to work with. Because we could successfully deliver the right projects to the right people we enjoyed a steady flow of high quality referrals. Because, because, because…
Success Stories might make you feel good about leveling the playing field
Take this self quiz to see if a properly set up financial system would benefit you and your business:
Unless they have been under a rock somewhere, most professional remodelers are now aware of the 
He sets a great example for our industry. We are professionals and as an industry we need to stand up for what is right. By what he is doing, and assuming he is successful, he will be establishing a precedence that consumers cannot lie with impunity about their experiences with a professional contractor. I think it’s great that this woman will now have a taste of what it’s like to be financially challenged to defend herself, a position many contractors find themselves in when consumers sue contractors.
According to Perez the pending court case has left her reeling and potentially facing thousands of dollars in legal bills to defend herself. She has definitely come to realize the consequences of her actions because Dietz had the guts to stand up for his rights. Had he not done so she would have established and or helped to maintain a precedence of “let’s bad mouth that contractor so we can blackmail him for the money we owe him”. She took a calculated risk that Dietz would back down. If Dietz wins the calculation of risks for homeowners who use such tactics will change going forward. 
The books in the list I offer below fall into the top five books I think remodelers should read if they want to grow a successful business and reduce the total time it takes to do so. More importantly, these books can help remodelers avoid the frustrations, wasted time and wasted money that come with the trial and error approach of going it alone as a business owner. Even if you still can’t build the business you want on your own after reading these books, you will definitely know what help you will need to get there
Reason #1: Some profit sharing plans have to do with creating retirement plans for employees. Remodelers who have the ability to offer such plans can take advantage of them to attract good employees. Most remodeling businesses do not offer retirement plans, so if yours does you might be able to grab the “cream of the crop” to enhance your team. Also, properly designed profit sharing retirement plans can even help keep employees working at the business long term by including a vesting schedule that requires the employee to be at the business for a certain amount of time before all or portions of the money shared becomes theirs. If you would like to use this type of profit sharing plan one of your first decisions should be whether to set up the plan yourself or to consult a professional or financial institution for help with establishing and maintaining the plan. I recommend getting help due to the complexity of legal and tax considerations.
Reason #2: A smart remodeling business owner understands that employee performance is tied directly to how vested they feel to the company they work for. Because they can be a powerful incentive for employees to work harder for the company many remodelers are now beginning to consider profit sharing plans. By sharing profits earned the plans benefit both the business and the employees. Employees gain a sense of satisfaction from knowing they'll all get a cut of the profits. For the business, it's also likely that the added productivity will increase the overall financial performance of the company. Basically, if the business earns more profit, and the amount shared back with employees is less than the extra amount earned, sharing some with employees is a no brainer.
Reason #3: By creating and offering a profit sharing plan a business can change the culture from "let’s just get it done" to how do we get it done and maximize profits at the same time. As long as employees have a way to understand how profits are earned and can then measure how their efforts impact the company’s bottom line, the business can create a culture where the entire team feels and believes “we are all in this together” and everyone involved is focused on profit. An additional benefit of such a culture is that vested employees start holding other employees accountable to contributing towards profitability.
When some or all of the above happen:
Bonuses are compensation for employees for work performed; they are paid in addition to salary or wages. Often business owners give out bonuses without any structured plan or objective method for determining the amount or even how the bonus can actually be earned. Although typically given out around Christmas time, bonuses can be given out any time of the year. 
Profit Sharing is an arrangement between an employer and an employee in which the employer shares part of its profits with the employee. The key difference between a bonus and profit sharing is that there must be profit before any is shared with the employee. 
Keep in mind that depending on how a bonus or profit sharing is distributed the employer may incur additional costs over and above the dollar amount given to the individual employee. Depending on the employment relationship the company has with the employee, the business may incur the expense of payroll related taxes, liability insurance and/or workers compensation insurance on the dollars paid to employees. Its best to consult with your accountant regarding the total cost of offering a bonus or profit sharing plan before discussing with or offering either to employees.
