We keep hearing more and more feedback from our customers that roofing contractors are not willing to come work in the Detroit anymore. They are getting stood up for appointments, and when the salesman shows up they are just jacking up the price because they don’t want the work. Now, we may be biased because we have always served the Detroit Community and have built a strong business on this alone. Every sign seems to be pointing to improvement within the city, there is money flowing in with programs like the Detroit interest free home improvement loans, Dugan is implementing a number of great programs, and people are starting to move back as it is almost becoming trendy again. The question is then, why are there still roofers that don’t want to work in Detroit?

When interviewing new employees, it is one of the questions that we have to ask. Do you have a problem working in Detroit? There is still a major social stigma that goes with the city, whether we want to admit it or not. Is there still crime that occurs there? Absolutely. Does that mean we should simply stay out and leave the hard working residents to fend for themselves? Never. To often we see these poor residents get taken advantage of because there are a lack of quality roofing companies in Detroit. That means the sub par talent can charge whatever they want and that they have limited accountability. We will say this, the Detroit building department has its disadvantages for contractors, but they do go above and beyond to try and ensure the homeowner is taken care of. This includes mandatory installation of smoke detectors in the homes, no one else does that.  

The blight that we face in Detroit is not just going to go away, no matter how much we try to ignore it. There are a number of people actively trying to turn around certain areas and then countless more that are just trying to live there lives within the city limits. Be careful when doing work there but absolutely do not let yourself get scared away from the entire area in itself. It is a bad habit to get into and can be a slippery slope. If you try to pick and choose the areas that you work in, next it is the roofs that you will bid, or even customers that you want to deal with. An honest and fair business does not operate like that, everyone deserves the same amount of respect and attention regardless of the circumstances.