“Will I ‘rock the boat’ if I discuss an issue about my Pager with you?”

Here’s a question we’ve been hearing a lot lately from homeowners.

It’s such an understandable worry. You’ve finally found a builder you like, the work’s underway, and the last thing you want to do is create tension or make things awkward. But here’s what we want you to know: talking to us about your renovation isn’t rocking the boat. It’s exactly what we’re here for.

The truth is, most of the time when homeowners reach out to us, there isn’t actually a problem. More often than not, you’re just checking in to make sure what you’re experiencing is normal. Maybe your Pager’s mentioned something you weren’t expecting, or you’re unsure about a timeline, or you just want to run something past someone who knows how this all works. That’s not a crisis, that’s just renovation. And we’re here to give you that reassurance so you can keep moving forward with confidence, instead of lying awake at three in the morning wondering if you should be worried.

Henry, Co-founder

Henry has been previously burned and taken for a ride by a cowboy builder who was over charging him when he didn’t know what the standard procedure was. He puts it plainly:

“No, not at all! We’re a team. We aren’t their agent, teacher or parent. There’s no risk of your Pager abandoning you if you need to discuss your renovation with us because our relationship with our Pagers is genuinely collaborative. We work with them on anywhere from 5-20 projects every year. We speak to them all multiple times a week, we visit them on site, we go for coffee or a beer with them every so often, and George has even been for dinner at a few Pagers’ homes! We’re an extension of their business and they’re an extension of ours. We know how they work and how they communicate. We work with the smallest number of Pagers we need to satisfy homeowner demand and we try to be as large a portion of their overall business as possible to strengthen the relationship even more.”

What Henry’s getting at is this: your Pager isn’t going to drop you because you spoke to us. The relationships we’ve built with our Pagers are deep and mutual. They value working with us because we bring them great clients, support them throughout the project, and help smooth out any bumps before they become problems. You coming to us with a question or concern isn’t a betrayal of that relationship, it’s part of how we make sure everyone’s on the same page.

George, Founders’ Associate

George is also Head of Pager Acquisition and speaks to multiple Pagers every single day. He says:

“I can see why you might think that but no, not in the slightest. Long story short, the goal of everyone involved is to make sure we’re all happy, and the standard of work is great.

The longer story: there are many reasons why questions might come up during a job. We choose our Pagers because they care about their craft and reputation. Constructive feedback is a gift to improving our business and theirs. However, we all know that giving criticism is really tough, so The Page is here to defuse tension, aid collaboration, and offer impartial advice on jobs. Having said that, it’s very rare we should ever have to deal with criticism. Often the fires we’re putting out aren’t fires at all, they’re homeowner doubts about how it all works when it comes to renovating. We’re your expert and guide to help reassure you when you don’t know what’s going on, and need to check that what you’re dealing with is, in fact, standard procedure.

In addition, renovations are such large financial investments, homeowners deserve to be confident in where their money is going. Not only should homeowners come to us if they have worries, but we encourage Pagers to do the same!”

This is the heart of it. We’re not here because things go wrong all the time. We’re here because renovations can feel overwhelming even when everything’s going right. When you’ve never done this before, or when you’ve been burned in the past, it’s hard to know what’s normal and what isn’t. Should the plasterer really need another day? Is it reasonable that your Pager’s asked for the next payment now? Why does the tiler want to do it in a different order than you expected? These aren’t necessarily problems, they’re just questions. And you shouldn’t have to carry that uncertainty on your own.

Thomas, Co-founder

Thomas has renovated his own home and is the first port of call here at The Page for homeowners and Pagers when it comes to the smooth running and process of projects. He brings it home with:

“Henry and George have hit the nail on the head! I’d like to highlight what they’ve said by thinking about what the alternative is: not saying anything so as not to rock the boat.

The worst case scenario here is your builder dropping the level of communication and maybe even abandoning the job. This decision will obviously lead to a very unhappy homeowner and project no one feels proud to own.

Pagers know that this isn’t an option when they sign up to work with us. If there’s an issue, however minor, The Page’s job is to bring all parties together as soon as possible, resolve it, and re-align towards a happy completion.

There is zero need to suffer in silence if you’re using The Page!”

Thomas is right. The alternative to checking in with us isn’t a smoother project, it’s you dealing with stress and uncertainty on your own. And that’s exactly what The Page exists to prevent. We’re not just here for when things go wrong. We’re here so that when you have a question, a concern, or even just a niggling feeling that something’s off, you have someone to talk to who knows your project, knows your Pager, and can give you an honest answer.

The bottom line

The relationship we have with our Pagers is built on mutual respect, open communication, and a shared goal of delivering brilliant renovations. When you come to us with a question, we’re not running to them saying “your client’s unhappy!” We’re having a conversation about how to make sure everyone’s singing from the same hymn sheet and the project stays on track. Often, it’s as simple as explaining to you why something’s happening the way it is, or flagging to your Pager that a bit more communication would help. That’s not drama, that’s just good project management.

So, if you’re wondering whether to reach out to us about something, here’s your answer: yes. Always yes. Whether it’s a genuine concern, a question about process, or just a sense that you’d feel better if someone confirmed you’re not overthinking things, we want to hear from you. You’re not rocking the boat. You’re making sure everyone’s rowing in the same direction. And that’s exactly how it should be.