Customer Has An Interesting Request...

Brock

We had to knock on the neighbors mansion this morning to use her driveway for temporary and she came to the door in the one piece nighty.

Neither of us could close the deal though, and yes she was a "tropy" wife indeed.

hbelectric

Better luck next time young grasshopper.

billgorgas

just as we have different levels of comfort contracting with certain clients, they have different levels of comfort dealing with us. perhaps this is a process driven problem/solution. this stuff doesn't happen in a vacuum. if my web site/referrals/site visits to previous work/normal contract/personal spiel have not convinced the client that i am worthy, i suggest to them that perhaps we are not well suited. there are tons of truly good clients out there with whom a win-win situation can be created.

once had a client who viewed my portfolio, said they really liked it, then said they trusted me but wanted something totally different. we didn't work together.

final cut: my wife can tell by my muttering that the bid/client is a loser. she has been correct 100% of the time. i hate that.

each time i have turned down a problematic job, a good job has turned up in its place shortly thereafter. either that or i play (bad) golf for a week.

Dr Heat

Sometimes you don't get what you pay for. Bad contractors over charge at times. Good contractors undercharge at times. Written warranties are not worth the paper they are written on.

In my humble opinion the less you put in writing about how or what the easier life will be.

As for the code being a minimum standard (a "D") it may be what the customer wants, lets start with the "D" now what will you be willing to pay for an "A".

Finally if the client got your name from a phone book run, if they got your name from a former client talk to the former client to get a reference for this customer. Their is nothing wrong with checking out a customer.

Just my two cents maybe 1 cent.

bwalley

I think the client is being reasonable, she asked for a job to be done a certain way and it wan't done.

If the job was spec'd to use screws and he said he would, and he used some nails, he breached the contract.

I have worked for people that were overly picky after the job started and were unreasonable, I refused to work for them in the future.

I also have some clients that are very picky, spell out exactly what they want and I have no problem with them, because if what they want is not possible, I let them know, I typically will undersell or under promise what I can do and then over deliver and that makes them happy.

I had a client that wanted a disposal on the left side of the sink, but it was the larger deeper bowl with the drain in the back, instead of the right hand sink with the shallower bowl with the drain in the center, which was next to the DW, the plumber installed the disposal where it belonged, but the client didn't like it there.

She told my lead guy she wanted oit moved, he called me and we discussed it and I didn't think it would physically fit on the left, he told her that, she simply said, it is non negotiable, it has to be on the left, just do it and send me a bill, she was very polite but firm about it, it was a major PITA to get it installed properly over there because of the location and it being a deep sink and undermounted as well, between myself, my lead guy and the plumber we got installed where she wanted it, and it wasn't cheap, I gave her a bill and she didn't bat an eye, she paid it and said Thank You.

I have done almost 2 million dollars worth of work for them and am doing a 1.5 - 2 million dollar job this year for them.

I puts some windows in that she didn't like, I changed them, never charged her for changing her mind, but when a client spends that much money and pays me whenevr I give them a bill without beating me up, they get that kind of service.

She taught me a phrase, "It didn't meet my expectation's" I am very clear with her on every job I do for her, but if I "don't meet her expectation's" I work on the job until I do.

She is picky but I would rather work for her than someone who has high expectations but want it for free.

PA woodbutcher

Can I get an Amen?

Duckdown...Simply put it in your contract that all work will be done to industry standards and that "no shortcut will be taken"

I'm with you. You don't need to run fom this lady. She had legitimate complaints about the previous contractors. I would however let her know that you will not hold her hand throughout the project. Many customers ask a ton of questions...I would throw on a little extra for answering these questions

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'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.' - Ronald Reagan