Roofing Industry Can Be A Vicious Place. Learning How To Spot A Lying Contractor Can Make It A Little Easier.
As the owner of Storm Group Roofing in Minneapolis, Dmitry Lipinskiy has seen firsthand how ugly the roofing industry can be it can be.
“I’ve been cheated many times,”
Dmitry reveals, citing unsavory employees from his past who have taken advantage of his goodwill.
Dmitry once had a receptionist who was siphoning money from him. That woman was promptly fired after she admitted Dmitry’s suspicions were valid.
Another past employee who wronged Dmitry was now-felon Steve Odenthal, a professional swindler who has been stealing money from various people for years. Odenthal has taken almost $50,000 from his church, and thousands more from Dmitry by selling jobs he never should have sold.
He also robbed Storm Group Roofing by marking checks as deposited on QuickBooks, but then would go and cash those checks under his personal account.
This meant that Odenthal was asking customers to address checks to him personally, and not to Storm Group Roofing.
Once made aware of these transgressions, Dmitry fired Odenthal and pursued litigation.
A judge forced Odenthal to repay Dmitry for all the money he stole, but that money was nowhere to be found, and Dmitry anticipates he will never see that money again.
What makes Odenthal an interesting case study is if you were to put him in a lineup, he would be one of the last people you would expect to be a thief.
“It’s not about color or race. The people who stole the most from me, they’ve always been the most religious,”
Dmitry says, mentioning how Odenthal and other swindlers like Joshua Waxman repeatedly tell customers how devout they are to their religion.
Of course, the religious spiel these scammers throw in people’s faces is only a mask to their underlying and reprehensible behavior.
Here are 5 ways you can spot a liar:
1. Sweet Talkers
Most con artists know how to talk and sell. It’s what makes them attractive to potential customers.
Joshua Waxman is one example of a person who is great at deflecting the spotlight away from him.
Waxman knows that if he talks long enough, he may just weasel his way into a sale, or out of trouble.
2. They Usually Talk about Themselves and Their Character
Swindlers never talk about the value they can offer.
Instead, they focus on themselves and try to get you to believe in their personalities, as opposed to their product.
3. Inconsistent Job History
Shane Lee is one scammer who loves to talk about how long he’s been a business owner, but he always conveniently forgets to mention that he’s bankrupted many businesses, and that even a simple Google search won’t reveal any information on his companies.
“Those people [guys like Shane Lee] are absolutely delusional,”
Dmitry points out.
4. Lack of References
Joshua Waxman loved to rave about the 150 satisfied clients he used to have.
Yet when pressed to rattle off a few names, Waxman couldn’t mention even three of his past clients.
Waxman is one of too many people in the roofing industry who rip off homeowners for all they can.
5. They Always Have Drama Stories
Biggest telltale sign of a scammer:
It’s never their fault for why they don’t deliver on their promises.
“With a con artist, it’s always someone else’s fault,”
Dmitry explains.
Summary:
Good companies grow by referrals. They don‘t need gimmicks to sell their services because their work speaks for itself.
“If you have a good product, you don’t have to sell yourself very well,”
notes Dmitry, while also offering a warning for homeowners:
“Homeowners, please be careful who you hire.”
Thank you for reading about the 5 ways you can spot a con artist!
Don’t forget to subscribe to all of Roofing Insights’ social media pages!
