What scares you the most about Halloween?
Is it the Headless Horseman? Creepy clowns lurking around the corner? Haunted Houses?
The spirit of Halloween gives us a plethora of reasons to be frightened. Monsters, vampires, and ghosts…oh my!
Most Halloween villains may be fictional, but we can’t help but compare make-believe creatures to real-life characters.
When you’re looking for the right home remodeling contractor for your project, who is your villain? Maybe it’s the contractor that takes your money and runs. Or maybe it’s a company that replaces your windows and leaves them totally botched.
As a San Antonio contractor since 1989, Southwest Exteriors has become familiar with quite a few common villains in the remodeling world, and we want you to be aware of them too.
This article will outline ten common home remodeling villains disguised as your favorite Halloween characters, like Freddy, Jason, Chucky, and many more.
Then, you’ll be able to identify a faulty contractor by remembering their frightening counterpart and can avoid having your home haunted by one of these types of companies.
#1. Freddy Krueger: The contractor who manipulates your dreams and reality
Freddy Krueger is a classic Halloween horror favorite. One of his specialties is manipulating your dreams and blurring the lines between what’s true and what’s not.
The Freddy Krueger contractor will talk up their products, services, and company as a whole and make themselves seem like a “too good to be true” contractor.
You start seeing this contractor in your dreams and visualize what your perfect home will look like after your remodeling project. And then….BAM! The Freddy contractor drops the ball while you’re in your sleep, leaving you with a horror of an experience with them.
What to beware of:
- Talking themselves up with “too good to be true” deals
- Speaking badly of their peers in the industry
- Creating false, dreamy expectations only to never meet them
Photo Credit: Horror Film Wiki
#2. Michael Myers: The contractor who continues to chase you
Michael Myers is a character that you can never seem to get rid of, no matter how hard you try. Like Michael, this contractor archetype continues to chase after you with deals and discounts that just don’t make sense.
Once the Micheal Myers contractor gets a hold of you, he won’t let you go, no matter how hard you try. Even Jamie Lee Curtis would have trouble running away from this contractor.
Photo Credit: Michael Myers (. (2022, October 17). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Myers_(Halloween)
What to beware of:
- Continuous offers and discounts that seem shady
- Being bombarded with emails, texts, and phone calls
- Getting roped into a lengthy conversation with a contractor who only talks about themselves
#3. Pennywise the Clown: The contractor who preys on your insecurities
Similar to Freddy Krueger, Pennywise is another classic character that gets in your head. They mess with your instincts and make you forget what’s right and wrong.
The Pennywise contractor will listen to what you’re most concerned about for your remodeling project an
Pennywise hears that you’re concerned about your budget, so they try to upsell you on everything to make the most money they can.
Another example would be if you’re afraid your siding won’t be installed in time for the winter. Pennywise knows for the siding to be installed properly and of quality, it will take time. But instead, they tell you they will install it for you faster while also charging you an additional. Photo Credit: Cinema Blend
fee for the expedition of your installation.
What to beware of:
- They get excited when you mention a concern
- They are overcompensating for your concerns and combat them with something bigger and better
- They gift you a bunch of red balloons
#4. The Zombie: The contractor who doesn’t really care about anything
Zombies are an iconic character group of Halloween villains. Some move slowly, and some move very, very quickly. This type of zombie contractor is taking on the slow-moving character trait.
The zombie contractor does everything at a snail's pace. They take forever to answer your calls, texts, and emails. They’re reluctant to send you the information you need. They generally just don’t seem to care about you in any way to show any sort of urgency.
This zombie contractor will be easy to spot because you’ll be wondering where they are and if they’re ever going to catch up to you.
What to beware of:
- A contractor who never communicates with you
- Missed deadlines and calls that are never returned
- Feeling abandoned and always questioning what’s happening with this contractor
#5. Ghostface: The contractor who catfishes you over the phone
Ghostface is a Halloween favorite that you hate to love. They’re comical and slightly charismatic, but, on the other hand, they’re a killer.
The Ghostface contractor acts the same way. You give them a call, and they are extremely friendly, joking with you and making you feel heard and cared for. So, you decide to schedule an appointment with them only to be met by the complete opposite of what you heard over the phone.
They are pushy, rude, and don’t listen to you. All they want is to take your money. This Ghostface contractor will set your expectations high over the phone, then let you down in person.
What to beware of:
- Friendly over the phone but rude in person
- Not listening to your needs and talking over you
- Pushing you to one option over the other
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Photo Credit: Scream Wiki
#6. Count Dracula: The contractor who sucks all your money away
Everyone knows what vampires are most famous for…sucking your blood. Count Dracula as a contractor? He will suck all your money away.
This contractor will continue to push you to upgrade your products and add-on services, whether you want them or not. They’ll insist you need them.
The Count Dracula contractor may even tack on extra fees and change orders to your project without you knowing. All in all, this contractor is greedy and only uses you for your money.
What to beware of:
- Feeling pressured to upgrade your project
- Noticing hidden fees or charges to your project
- Always being asked for money
Photo Credit: Count Dracula. (2022, October 16). In
Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Count_Dracula
#7. Chucky: The contractor who plays sweet and innocent
Chucky has one of the most classic horror storylines: A cute (sort of), innocent-looking toy turns demented and wreaks havoc on its family.
Similar to Chucky the doll, Chucky the contractor will give off the same first impression. They will be the nicest people you’ve met, and they’ll make you feel like you want to take them out to dinner.
Then, once you get to know them, they’ll turn on you and do everything wrong. They’ll become rude and mean, and everything about your experience with them will turn into one scary movie.
What to beware of:
- An overly excited and people-pleasing contractor at first
- Drops in communication and listening to you
- If they wear a striped turtleneck and overalls
Photo Credit: By Universal Pictures - https://www.curseofchucky.com/movies/
childs-play/review/, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=55543416
#8. Jigsaw: The contractor who always wants to play games
Jigsaw is another childlike Halloween character we love to watch torment others. But when it comes to us
, we wouldn’t want to play any games with him.
The Jigsaw contractor may not explicitly ask if you want to play a game, but it sure will feel like you are jumping through hoops with them.
This contractor may pose a variety of hypotheticals in a game of “would you rather,” cornering you into one choice or another. They may send you lengthy documents and contracts that feel like an impossible puzzle.
The consequence of losing these games? Losing thousands of dollars and a botched home remodeling project.
Photo Credit: Villains Wiki
What to beware of:
- Confusing questions that feel like a trick
- Using words and phrases that are impossible to decipher the true meaning
- Feeling like a pawn in the contractor’s game
#9. Frankenstein’s Monster: The contractor afraid of fire
Frankenstein’s monster is known for being slightly brain-dead, slow-moving, and famously afraid of fire. This type of contractor is afraid of fire, too, or for that matter, even a spark.
The Frankenstein contractor is afraid of any sort of fire or blame that comes from their doing. A complaint from a client, a bad review, wrongdoing on their part…they don’t want any part of it.
They are afraid of fires because they don’t want to deal with them, even when the fire is all their fault.
What to beware of:
- Ignoring your concerns
- Getting mad at you for their mistakes
- Making excuses for every fire they start
Photo Credit: Wikipedia; Frankenstein's monster. (2022, October 12). I
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n Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein%27s_monster
#10. Jason Voorhees: The silent killer contractor
This last type of contractor is another infamous masked character: Jason. Jason was abused and bullied as a child
up until his disappearance. He was then reborn as a killer, vengeful against those who badly treated him in his past.The Jason contractor may have been a contractor whose business failed in the past, then tried to restart their business only to take advantage of more and more homeowners.
A Jason contractor is similar to Count Dracula, but they don’t just suck your money away from you, they take everything, and leave you with a mess to clean up.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia; By New Line Cinema - Nightmare on Elm Street Films,
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Fair use https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14257326
What to beware of:
- If a contractor has only been in business for a year or two
- If they mention they used to be in a different kind of business
- If they’re afraid of water
Is your potential contractor disguised as one of your favorite Halloween characters?
Now you’re familiar with how shady contractors can be disguised as your favorite Halloween villains and know what to beware of to avoid becoming their next victims.
Finding the right contractor for you is crucial to the success of your project. Even if the highest quality products are not installed correctly, they will not last and perform as well as they should.
In order to find the right contractor that will meet your needs for your remodeling project, it’s important to know what to look for to find the best company for you.
A part of this is assessing certain characteristics of a contractor to determine the level of risk you may be taking if you choose to work with them. So, how do you choose the least risky contractor and avoid becoming the next victim of a botched remodeling job?
Check out this article and quiz that outlines ten characteristics to consider when choosing your home remodeling contractor. This quiz allows you to rank each characteristic on a scale of 0-5 so you can decipher if your potential contractor is a risky decision or not.
Are you ready to work with a home remodeling contractor that won’t haunt you?
Southwest Exteriors has been a trustworthy San Antonio remodeling contractor since 1989. Whether you’re looking to replace your home’s windows and siding or add a garage floor coating to your space, we have a high-quality solution for you.
We promise we won’t play games with you like Jigsaw or pressure you into any decision and take your money like Count Dracula.
Our expert products and professional installation, paired with our lifetime warranty, ensure your products will last for as long as you own your home.
Ready to get started on your next project with a contractor you can trust?