Indecisive Client/ $$$$/ Completing The Job

woodworkbykirk

currently working on a renovation and were at the trim stage of the job, unfortunately the homeowner does not know what they want but does know what they dont want after weve completed something. so same ol same ol, trim something, tear it apart, trim it tear it apart. we knew the client was like this going into it so no contract was signed its simply cost plus. the big issue is things are costing too much and its taking too long (homeowner).

theres a basecap on a 7 1/4 flat stock and i was installing new base where old was removed. this trim is 30 some odd years old. we've tried matching it but cant find it so we went with the closest thing we could find, today the client blew up at me because "thats not what i asked for, thats no where near what we talked about" when the exact words were " im not sure, find the closest thing possible". so the general came in and calmed here down but 2 hours after the general left the homeowner comes back and wanted to know if he had found the match. ( they got upset when we said to get an exact match custom knives would have to be made and 150+ ft would have to be milled up

anyhow, their complaining that labour is costing too much money and were taking too long, so they want us to work into the night but only wants 1 man on the job. it will take one man 2 1/2 weeks to complete whats left to be done not including change orders which theres roughly 5 a day on a good day

so anyhow, how does one handle a client such as this. i have zero patience for people like this, i tend to drop what im working on and go to a different task or goto a different site

what to do, what to do

GregS

s. donato

can i just say i work with a few clients like this, unfortunately most of them are family too.

my suggestion would be to explain to them that their indecisiveness is what is killing there job. i know it may hurt them, but sometimes they need to see what the problem is. explain to them that if they want to come in on budget and on time they need to make a decision and not change it.

i also make sure all of my change orders have a spec for how much additional time this CO adds to the project, this helps have a paper trail of them changing the schedule not you... just in case ;-)

woodworkbykirk

nice

woodworkbykirk

i try explaining this too her, my main guy on this does, the general does as well, its good for about 30 minutes then its the same ol'

did i mention its the wife, when the husband shows up, we explain things to him and hes cool with doing what will get things done, however shes a difficult person so she strikes me as the type who always has to get her way no matter whom she walks on to get it

i know she beat down the hardwood installer just about lost his shirt do to her beating the supplier down on the install cost, roughly 4000 sq ft for $1.20/sq ft. didnt help that the supplier only ordered enough for one floor and the installer had all his gear in the house couldnt get it out while waiting a week for the rest to show up.

we have to get out of there ourselves we have another big job about to start and we need all hands on deck. is there any legal repercussion for pulling out from a cost plus job

Snow Man

the picture tells a thousand words

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DECOSnowRemoval&IceControl
Serving Delaware County & Philadelphia Pa
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DecksEtc

As I see it, you've got 2 options:

1. Get paid for what you've done so far and get your a$$ out of there before you lose your shirt. You said there's no contract so what repercussion do they have?

2. If you do want the job get a contract drawn up now and only install what the contract states - no more, no less.

If it were me, and this is just my opinion, I'd do #1 and move on to the big job waiting.

woodworkbykirk

id rather move on the next job, keep them happy since their a recurring customer with my gc, they move every few years and get something major done, not for a flip they just havent found a neighborhood they want to settle in for good, i especially want them to be happy with it because their ony 5 blocks from where i am

AtlanticWBConst

Sounds like getting the custom knives and milling the stock up, would be less of a headache and less costly...tho, I'm sure that the owners would not have the patience to wait for that route to happen...

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BuiltByMAC

Yet another example of why contracts are important... for every project. Not only do they line out pricing but they also have a detailed scope of work. That way, there's no problems w/ loss of memory or changed minds down the line. You can do the ol' "I said, she said" thing forever but it really doesn't matter - w/o a safety net (contract).

I'd say good luck but you brought this hell upon yourself.


Mac

woodworkbykirk

its a hard customer to deal with, we explain situations and details to her 15 times and she doesnt get what were saying, i get the impression she thinks were trying to pull a fast one over her

as for the knives, she says she understands but "has the same moulding in the house their living in now". which means nothing to me because that was the moulding that was regularly available 30 years ago, now its not. just doesnt get it. after explaining that to her and her leaving site only thing coming out of my mouth is

woodtradesman

holy fooxen! go get paid for what you done so far and get out.

woodworkbykirk

well, im out im being taken off that job for good, she doesnt even want to talk to me because she thinks im bs ing her will only talk to my other guy, and im the foreman. my other guy has to tell her exactly what i just said

anyhow, im getting to do a large exterior finish job, which im happy about as opposed to being inside all summer doing basements and kitchens. spent the last 2 winters framing

Double-A

My advice? If you're working for the GC, the client ain't your problem. Call him and get him on the problem and pull up stakes if necessary.

I can't believe that there is nothing in writing to back up these discussion after all these problems. Just when is someone going to write something down and ask the client to agree to it in writing?

Oh well, I guess they can sign on the dotted line when they sue. Its never too late to sign.

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006