Crazy Customer

klucrezi

I sub for a local general here who is doing pretty good keeping me busy with the local economy being what it is. He got me a gig this week for an old cowboy who looks like hes done pretty well for himself. First day on the job he starts telling me the horror stories of past work done on his house. I realize pretty quick this guys is critical of your work and expects perfection, at the discount price of course. So the GC tells me its a tight bid, the old guy wants to reuse as much material as possible. ( Extended his sauna room for a newer bigger spa). All clear redwood. So I know going into it its a loser. Look at the adds for the "reclaimed" enviornmently sound building material, it is twice what new costs because of the work to get it to reusable condition. Any way, first board tells the story. Ringshanks. No way to save the wood, without ridiculas time spent. So I do the best I can, I meticulasly clean up every night, I play country music on my radio, I do all the extras for him even though I know we wont get paid for them. So by wed he's telling me what a great job I am doing, how nice I am ect. Job was slated to be finished fri, but I needed a couple extra hours to finish plus clean up so I tell him I will come back mon morn to wrap up and be out by noon. The sweet old cowboy turned into Mr. Hyde. Went off about stuff that was'nt even part of the original bid. Claimed all us kids (im 44) are lazy, how he'd stay till midnight if he had to to finish a job. How he wasnt paying a dime over the bid for the extra material or time, and generaly mother @#*%&@% me. Now a few years ago, certainly with a younger client, I would of packed up my tools, told him the job was gratis, and knocked out a few teeth. Well, I am a bit older now, with a few payments, so walking away from a weeks wages isnt pretty smart, and with jobs getting scarce, so I tell him him no problem. I ran out to get a couple more materials that wernt part of the original job, finish everything up, and when I left I thanked him for the job and told him I really enjoyed working for him, even though he is a grumpy old bastard. He laughed and asked if I wanted to come back and do another job. I told the GC double the labor bid or get someone else. The old guy wants me. Guess it pays to be nice huh? Cost to be an jerk though.

MALCO.New.York

A stroke goes a whole lot further than a kick in the knuts!!!!!

The most successful persons in life have turned "Sucking Asssss" in to an Art Form and THAT IS HOW they have overcome the highest of obstacles.

It is all part of "Salesmanship".

__________________
Something to One may be Nothing to another!

Ultimate Wisdom---------
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW-cnizLDEE

Treeandland

I can't say I envy you, I just can't do it yet, maybe when I'm 44 in another couple years.

Good job making him come around.

genecarp

Excellent post, pay attention you young guys. THE SOONER YOU LOOSE THE BAD ATTITUDE, THE SOONER YOU RETIRE!!!!!!

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wyoming 1

Bingo.... More flies with honey and it does cost to be a jerk I have a customer that is a absolete jerk automaticly 25% more right on the top and the funny thing is this guy has been such a jerk it trickles down to the concrete supplier lumber an so on. He truly believes by being a jerk everyone will do a better job and not rip him off and it is the oposite 2 out of three concrete suppliers will not even go there so the third hoses him.

klucrezi

Its a strange climate for builders now. Some of my mentors say this is what will weed out all the trash and fly by nighters. However with the news cranking out stories of building in the toilet and the highest percentage of unemployment is amoung the construction trades, but and this is the killer, interest rates are the lowest ever. Here there are alot of remodel work. People are getting the low rate 2nds or even thirds to pay off their higher 2nds, and fixing stuff up. I have not had to take more than a couple days off for lack of work. I did spend the first 4 months this year building my house and it was perfect timing as that was the slowest period this year. Any way, the point I was originally going to make is with this cheap money, and the widely publicized slump in construction, home owners are looking for that low ball labor price from the starving contractor who went out and overleveraged himself back in the gravy days. Their are alot of guys working pretty cheap which stiffens the competition, but it also decreases the value of a "honest" days work. Just the other day I gave a bid to a guy for a one day job who had to have the job done the following monday. I had to reschedule to accomodate him and he calls sunday night to say he has a "mason" buddy who "might" be able to save him money, could he call me monday morning to to let me know if he needs me to do the job. Again not trying to be a jerk I tell him ok, try to let me know early so I can reschedule again. The whole thing threw a wrench in my week and I didnt get the job, but it turned out he paid the same price, his guy just said he'd do it for the same price. I guess its the old win some lose some, but what have you really lost?
Dont get me wrong, I know about trying to save money, I just built my own house, but that taught me a lesson from the other side. THere are ways to save money, but when you try to save it on a mans, or a womens, labor, you get someone who is going to look for every way to make the loss up, which is usually in quality, or worse.
I guess ill step off the box now, sunday morn rant I guess. This probebly saved me a couple hundred in counseling.

Tiger

That depends on how the next job turns out at final payment. Sometimes it pays to give the troublemakers to your competition. There are always surprises in remodeling and your only guarantee is...it's your fault, not his and he's not paying for it.

A W Smith

oh i can tell some stories, but seeing as this particular thread is in the public section I won't. seeing as a google search might bring them crazy ones right here.

__________________
Al Smith
http://www.awsmith.com

Bodger

I'm 55 and at this point, couldn't walk away from a week's wages without it hurting. And I admire your patience and ability to do what was clearly the right thing.
I must admit, although this hasn't happened to me in a while so I can test if time and maturity have mellowed me, but in the past, I have responded to abuse like that by telling the person to go f**k themselves. Not the best way, but I just can't help myself when I do a good job and then get insulted and a person threatens not to pay? Fight's on, **** 'em.

Snobnd

I did a repair last week (finnish another carpenters odd ends) for this lady it took me about 1/2 days work for what should have been 1 hr repair $100 she keept asking can you just do this, and this ,and that while you have that putty put some over here, and there.......arrrrrrrrr I kept my mouth shut and did it. I get a call the other day - now I have crown moulding, new flooring kitchen, hallway and next year she wants to do over the bathroom.........It pays to shut your mouth SOME times. (not all)

fireguy

I call that an "asshole tax" . If there is no GC on the job and the business owner is acting as the GC, I have started to charge 10-15% more on my contracts . My contract states if I am delayed by the other trades, I charge by the hour for stand-around time. I also charge $1.50 per mile for return trips.