What We Do Not Do
Purpose: The jobs Summit deliberately turns down, and exactly how to decline them. A wrong-fit job costs more than a lost lead: it ties up a crew, blows the schedule for good jobs, and usually ends in a review problem. Saying no fast and politely is a skill, and this doc is the script. Rosa and the sales reps use it at intake; the agent uses it to pre-sort leads.
The hard NOs
These are never taken, regardless of price offered. Only Dave can make an exception, and he has not made one since 2023 (fictional).
1. New construction
No ground-up builds, residential or commercial, and no acting as GC on a new build. Summit's crews, estimating model, and insurance posture are built for repair, restoration, and remodel work on existing structures. "New construction" includes full home builds, additions that constitute a new dwelling unit, and detached new structures beyond simple re-roofs of existing outbuildings.
Decline script: "We only work on existing structures, so a new build isn't something we take on. For the roof or exterior once it's built, we'd be glad to be on your list."
2. Interior-only handyman work
No small interior punch lists that arrive on their own: door adjustments, drywall patches, fixture swaps, painting a bedroom. Interior work is only done as part of a Remodeling Services project or as the interior repair that follows a leak or storm damage Summit is fixing. A $300 handyman visit costs Summit more to schedule than it earns and displaces real work.
Decline script: "That's honest handyman territory and we're not set up for it. If it ever grows into a kitchen, bath, or basement project, that's exactly what we do."
3. Jobs outside the service area
Nothing beyond roughly a 45-minute drive from the Riverton, Fairview, or Lakeside crew bases. The map and edge-case rules are in Locations and Service Areas. Out-of-area jobs destroy the response-time and estimate promises in Business Rules, so taking one quietly breaks promises to every other customer that week.
Decline script: "You're outside the area we can service properly, and we'd rather tell you that now than give you slow service later."
4. Commercial high-rise
No commercial buildings above four stories, no high-rise roofing, curtain wall, or work requiring swing-stage or suspended access. Summit's light-commercial lane is strip retail, small office, and multi-family up to four stories, as described in Ideal Customer Profiles.
Decline script: "We stop at four stories. Above that you want a commercial specialist with high-access crews, and it's better for you that we say so."
The soft NOs (escalate, do not auto-decline)
These get flagged to Marcus rather than declined at intake:
- Remodels under $15k. Below Summit's project minimum, but occasionally taken as a first job for a strong property-manager account. Marcus decides.
- Labor-only requests ("I bought the shingles, just install them"). Almost always declined for warranty and quality reasons, but Marcus hears it first.
- Jobs at the edge of the radius (45 to 60 minutes). Marcus and Pete weigh crew routing before answering. See Locations and Service Areas.
- Customers currently in a legal dispute with another contractor. Dave decides. Nobody promises anything on these calls.
Why this list exists
Every item was learned the expensive way. The point is not purity, it is protecting the promises Summit makes: 15-minute contact, 3-day estimates, weekly updates. Those hold only if the pipeline contains work the company is built to do. Fit criteria from the customer side are in Bad Fit Customers.
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