Troublesome Customer

[Knobhead]

I have had this once, on a loft conversion that was being overseen by the customer. After giving them the quote, over a week later he phoned asking for an itemised quote.

I told him that i didn't have the time to list every switch or socket and as the builder/joiner had told him it sounded expensive, i suggested he had them do the work if it was that easy!

Even now, 6 months down the line he still hasn't had the work done, so it wasn't just me who was expensive then lol

Knowing the area your in, they’ll want 10% luck money back if they pay up!

 

[Amp David]

Come to think of it, why would anyone want a loft conversion on a caravan!

 

[kenny7askew]

i have customers pubs and the like who want a breakdown of charges but i tel them its not that simple afterall you have to measure the job up collect the kit from the wholesalers run about,pay scheme membership,take time to do certs ect,i say to them when i come into your bar for a beer or food i dont ask for a breakdown of your material and labour costs and profit margin so dont ask me for mine.

 

[Knobhead]

You’ve made my day! Caravan loft conversion :cheesy:

I’m from Buxton originally.

Did a lot of wedding photography in the area. Father would always dig the wad of notes out of the back pocket, carefully count each note and then stand there with his hand out for his luck money! Once it got known I paid back I was snowed under with work, what they didn’t know was I had two price lists! Lots of my work was over towards Leek (Staffordshire), weird people out in the wilds.

 

[Guest111]

Yes mate we,ve all been there unfortunately, two that spring to mind were both for foreign gentlemen that owned corner shops, 1 asks for a price for a basic alarm 3 pir,s so I quote him say £300 he says a guy down rd will do it for £150, I cant even get kit for that so I ask him what you ringing me for? go get it. second was a cctv gave him price he decided to supply own kit, 2 weeks later system goes down due to operator error,he rings me and I tell him I want a call out fee, he doesnt think he should pay as kit is under guarantee, not with me it aint that was months ago and he still aint got it working, if he had gear supplied by me no prob but he supplied it to save money(cheap rubbish) and can,t understand why I want paying to go back and sort out the problem.oh btw he wants me to take it back for him and explain whats wrong.

 

[Kiers1970]

does any other trade have to walk in the minefield we have to? SO annoying.

 

[UNG]

A number of years ago was promised the electrical work on a property after doing some minor work for a who owns the local hire shop. The original house on the plot was being flattened and a new bigger one being built in it place. 18 months to 2 years later get a call asking me to have a look at a few problems he was having in his house only to find it was the new one so went to have a look, the house was wired by a relative of the roofers and was a bit of a disaster with overloaded dimmers and all sorts of harmonic problems with the electronic dimmers and LV electronic transformers that had been installed. Managed to resolve most of the problems and got paid but he kept on asking me to call manufacturers as more problems appeared and I had to point out if I had done the original install then I would have done but as I had no knowledge of the design or the size and routing of cables then I was not prepared to do it. The guy admitted he wasn't sure the guy who did the original wiring knew what he was doing

 

[needasparks]

Highspark, In our game we have to not only be good sparks but good business men and only have our nose to tell us when things seem wrong.
Yours is obviously twiching so trust it !
We haven't even met the client and you can see the replies.

 

[Kiers1970]

Highspark, In our game we have to not only be good sparks but good business men and only have our nose to tell us when things seem wrong.
Yours is obviously twiching so trust it !
We haven't even met the client and you can see the replies.

Definitely, I've been on jobs, and got the wrong vibes, made the mistake once of not trusting my instincts and got burned. Walked off others after that. Only a couple! (honest)

 

[Amp David]

You’ve made my day! Caravan loft conversion :cheesy:

I’m from Buxton originally.

Did a lot of wedding photography in the area. Father would always dig the wad of notes out of the back pocket, carefully count each note and then stand there with his hand out for his luck money! Once it got known I paid back I was snowed under with work, what they didn’t know was I had two price lists! Lots of my work was over towards Leek (Staffordshire), weird people out in the wilds.

We're a little more refined here, not much more mind!

 

[Welchyboy]

see this kind of thing gets me......its not just about what stuff costs or how much the labour was/is......what we offer is a service......from initial consultation and survay of the job....through the first fix stage...second fix and completion...then handover....all done in an orderly and smooth manner so as to cause minimum disruption to the client and other trades.....what the hells up with some folk??.....

^^^EXACTLY^^^

Why are you even bothering to entertain clients like this??, you are running a business and offering a package!!

thats why you put a price in for the job, to supply and fit, if they dont like the price end of...of course you have to put a mark up on your materials you have to pick them up and come back and sort them if they go wrong

Seriously you dont need customers like this!, walk away, walk away!

you have to earn a wage, cover the materials and gain a profit to grow your business, cutting 30% off your rate is madness, stand your ground man!

let her get polish pete in instead and call you back to put it right afterwards!

 

[Dave 85]

I'm sure everyone else has said the same (not read it all) but wtf are you doing? No profit on materials? 30% off labour? and yet still you're bending to her neurotic whims. I do, for the love of god, hope you're desperate for work because if this is your normal business practice you're not gonna get anywhere in life.

What I'd do is tell her you'll happily break the quote down into individual units and that you are also willing to come and wipe her arse for her, followed by....

"IF YOU EVER CALL ME AGAIN I'LL HAVE YOU DONE FOR HARASSMENT YOU CRAZY PHSYCHO BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Its been one of those days.

 

[Dave 85]

does any other trade have to walk in the minefield we have to? SO annoying.

Not sure...is the army a trade?
Cos I think they have to walk through a bit of a minefield in Afghanistan from time to time. I guess thats annoying for them too.....

 

[highspark]

I'm sure everyone else has said the same (not read it all) but wtf are you doing? No profit on materials? 30% off labour? and yet still you're bending to her neurotic whims. I do, for the love of god, hope you're desperate for work because if this is your normal business practice you're not gonna get anywhere in life.What I'd do is tell her you'll happily break the quote down into individual units and that you are also willing to come and wipe her arse for her, followed by.... "IF YOU EVER CALL ME AGAIN I'LL HAVE YOU DONE FOR HARASSMENT YOU CRAZY PHSYCHO BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Its been one of those days.

I don't need her work and the 30% was a mark up on labour anyway...this is what I told her.

 

[Dave 85]

To be honest
When I give a quote I always give a per item breakdown but never labour/materials. The per Item breakdown has won me jobs before even though I've not had the lowest price.
I find if you divide labour and materials they will either say "why's the labour so much" or they'll go out and buy a load of cheap crap from screwfix with bits missing which you have to wait for.

I always give a fair price and never negotiate. The only circumastance in which I'd reduce a price is if it was a nice job with plenty of profit and they showed me a better quote from another contractor.

 

[Kiers1970]

Not sure...is the army a trade?
Cos I think they have to walk through a bit of a minefield in Afghanistan from time to time. I guess thats annoying for them too.....

Metophorically.

 

[TaffyDuck]

If I`m asked to quote which is rare these days for me I quote, all in, If they want a breakdown to the last clip I just say no. I tell them what matters is the quality of the job and value for money not me spending hours on a breakdown. If they dont like it thats fine, go somewhere else. The only exception recently was a quote for 10 identical housing association 3 bed terraces which was worth the effort. But hours spent for some little job isnt worth the hassle.
I also nowadays take my laptop to site so the client can see how long the certs take. Did a PIR on a pub/hotel last year and was sat in the bar for a whole day doing PIRs for all 9 boards. Otherwise they think the paperwork just does itself.

 

[parker56]

We got caught last with a big job,we did all the leg work,weeks and weeks of costing then the customer used are quotes and design to show other contracters,got the job in the end by dropping £80,000 of the quote

 

[ishy747]

I gotta say I`m Lucky in these matters, I can always sense who Is going to be a bad payer so for them this is what I do, and it`s a lot better than just walking away.

If the job I am quoting is worth excluding materials £300.00 (for example`s sake) I would price them in the reigion of £450.00. and ask that I want 50% when I get my tools out of the van to make a start. And remainder has to be ready on job completion. (applies on jobs where your`e there for 2 days or more)
when I provide them the quote I do tell them that my Installation Is guranteed to be of quality and safety as I`m a proper sparky and have 20+ years experience and also certified and you get what you pay for.

A) They would turn around and say your expensive and not get you to do the work..... (which I didn`t want to do it anyway).

B) If they go ahead with it, you have made a better mark up and can afford to do a discount on job completion entirely your own choice.

This method has worked for me and with God`s grace I don`t come across these situations that often.
I also have short print at the bottom of my quotes as follows.
Quotation prepared by: ____________________________________________________________________________________
This is a quotation on the goods named, subject to the conditions that all goods remain the property of Horizons Contracts until paid in full. To accept this quotation, sign here and return:

 

[mackers]

I gotta say I`m Lucky in these matters, I can always sense who Is going to be a bad payer so for them this is what I do, and it`s a lot better than just walking away.

If the job I am quoting is worth excluding materials £300.00 (for example`s sake) I would price them in the reigion of £450.00. and ask that I want 50% when I get my tools out of the van to make a start. And remainder has to be ready on job completion. (applies on jobs where your`e there for 2 days or more)
when I provide them the quote I do tell them that my Installation Is guranteed to be of quality and safety as I`m a proper sparky and have 20+ years experience and also certified and you get what you pay for.

A) They would turn around and say your expensive and not get you to do the work..... (which I didn`t want to do it anyway).

B) If they go ahead with it, you have made a better mark up and can afford to do a discount on job completion entirely your own choice.

This method has worked for me and with God`s grace I don`t come across these situations that often.
I also have short print at the bottom of my quotes as follows.
Quotation prepared by: ____________________________________________________________________________________
This is a quotation on the goods named, subject to the conditions that all goods remain the property of Horizons Contracts until paid in full. To accept this quotation, sign here and return:

what happens if materials get nicked off site before your paid ?lol