AACRE Request the Diagnostic

The recurring failures · Field research 2026

What actually goes wrong.

We read 290 negative customer records across 67 Oregon builders. Almost none of them were about the building.

4:1management vs craft
41%invisible to a star filter
47%start mid build
0escalated over price
What clients say

Ranked by how often, and by how much damage.

Click any complaint to see the number and what a customer actually said.

01
Communication and responsiveness
The most frequent complaint in the market
100of 290 ▸
"I would recommend for the quality of the final product. I would not recommend because of the lack of transparency regarding scheduling."Design-build client, Portland
Note
  • Highest volume, one of the lowest escalation rates
  • Clients rarely escalate; they simply stop recommending
02
Warranty and callback response
Rare, and by far the most damaging
46%escalate ▸
"After install I was basically dropped."Design-build client, Portland
Note
  • Happens after the money has been collected
  • Nearly half reach a formal dispute body
03
Accountability and follow through
Appears alongside almost everything else
67mentions ▸
"Many flaws had to be pointed out by the client. We had the feeling that quality control rested with us."Design-build client, Springfield
Note
  • Rarely the primary complaint, almost always the secondary one
  • The compounding failure sitting underneath the others
04
Cost transparency
Never about the price itself
30%escalate ▸
"The project costs escalated significantly beyond our original budget, but we were given opportunities to make adjustments and are very pleased with the result."A client whose budget was blown, and who is happy
Note
  • Twelve clients called the builder expensive; none acted on it
  • Twenty could not see how the number was built; a third escalated
05
Schedule visibility
The silence, not the delay
66mentions ▸
Note
  • Clients forgive a date that moves and was communicated
  • They do not forgive discovering it themselves
06
Punch list and closeout
The last two weeks decide the story
35%escalate ▸
Note
  • The client's final impression is formed here
  • A job built well can still be remembered badly
The pattern underneath

The client ends up managing the project.

"Unless my friend is willing to basically do their own project management, I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending them."Design-build client, Portland

Once that happens, every later problem is experienced as the builder's fault, because the client is now close enough to see all of them.

Inside the shop

Four failures the client never sees.

These cost margin on every job instead of costing a referral. Click any one to see how it unfolds.

The Intent Gap
What the owner wanted gets lost in the relay
A·01failure ▸
How it happens
  • Direction arrives as a hallway aside, a text, a call
  • The architect heard one version, the designer another
  • It is relayed twice and loses something each time
  • Invisible until the owner walks the site
What closes it
  • Every expression of intent captured where it lands
  • Filed against the right scope, dated and sourced
  • One record the field reads from
  • A decision made without you still reaches the crew
What changes
  • What gets built is what was asked for
  • Site walks stop producing surprises
Relayed intentBuild to wrong specThat is not what I wanted
Selection Miscues
The wrong item gets ordered
A·02failure ▸
How it happens
  • Selections live in an email thread
  • The client replies to an old message
  • The allowance figure is three versions stale
  • Caught when the item is on a truck, or on the wall
What closes it
  • One owned record, out of email
  • Every choice carries its allowance and sign-off
  • Variance flagged before anyone places an order
What changes
  • The item ordered is the item approved
  • Overages surface as a priced change order, not a surprise
ReordersLead-time hitsThat is not what I picked
The Draw Squeeze
The office is buried and subs bill late
A·03failure ▸
How it happens
  • Invoices arrive by text, email, and crumpled photo
  • No order, no fixed time, no queue
  • A sub misses the cutoff but still expects payment
  • The GC floats cost it has already earned
What closes it
  • Intake captured the way it actually arrives
  • Coded, routed, tied to the commitment
  • Billable but uninvoiced surfaced before the draw closes
What changes
  • Costs make the draw they belong to
  • Trapped cash comes back on schedule
Floated costTrapped cashMissed cutoffs
The Submittal Gap
The sub installed the wrong thing
A·04failure ▸
How it happens
  • Review is incomplete, information scattered across inboxes
  • The approved spec is never confirmed against the order
  • The sub installs to the wrong submittal
  • Nobody notices until it is built
What closes it
  • Submittals, RFIs, and approved spec in one record
  • Open items cannot quietly disappear
  • The gap is flagged before the sub orders
What changes
  • Rework is caught at the paper stage
  • A phone call instead of a demo crew
ReworkSchedule slipEaten general conditions

Which of these is costing you right now?

The Diagnostic answers that with your own numbers instead of someone else's research.

Four minutes

The Operating Gap

Ten questions about how the company runs. A ranked install list, not a grade.

Run the check → The answer

What we do about this

The bar, the system that runs the day against it, and the training.

See how it works → Start here

Measure your operation

Two weeks, remote. Three engagements per quarter.

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Working with someone who should see this?

The people who notice these patterns first are often not the ones who can act alone.

Someone counted 290 real customer complaints across 67 builders. Management failures beat workmanship failures four to one. Almost none of it was about the building. Worth a look.
290 customer records · 67 builders · counted, not estimated What we do about this →