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Dear John
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11-02-2009, 03:41 PM
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#1 |
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Pro
Trade: Perfessional Contracter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Frozen North
Posts: 828
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Dear John
Anybody else firing customers lately? I've been working for these folks for the past five years. Second customer in a month I've had to fire.
Somebody out there must be teaching homeowners that contractors are desperate and need to be trodden upon. Last edited by davitk; 11-15-2009 at 06:23 AM. |
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11-02-2009, 03:43 PM
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#2 |
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Pro
Trade: Perfessional Contracter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Frozen North
Posts: 828
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Re: Dear John
-COMPLETE HOME REMODELING-
11/02/09 Dear John, Enclosed is your check for the amount of 90.00 for the service call on 10/15/09. Please void this check as I will not be depositing it. I have dozens of satisfied customers who do not have a problem with a minimum charge for a service call, which in the Madison area is 150.00, and Cambridge is 90.00. I regret that it has come to this, but in order to maintain our friendship I feel it would be best if you found a different home repair professional. Sincerely, davitk Last edited by davitk; 11-15-2009 at 06:26 AM. Reason: Because I can. |
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11-02-2009, 04:33 PM
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#3 |
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Illusion of Perfection
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Douglassville, PA
Posts: 2,619
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Re: Dear John
What's the backstory on this?
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11-02-2009, 04:50 PM
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#4 |
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Pro
Trade: Carpentry
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 646
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Re: Dear John
Yeah, gotta know what lead up to this letter. (and I hope you sent it to Tom and Suzanne
 )
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11-02-2009, 05:03 PM
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#5 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
yeah, I'll bet you'll continue to be great friends from this point forward
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11-02-2009, 05:05 PM
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#6 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
Of course, that's all consumers are hearing is how remodeling work will be 30/40/50% CHEAPER, because all contractors are DESPERATE....and don't forget the fact how every single one of has has been screwin' the h/o's for years with our OUTRAGEOUS prices....time for payback!!!
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11-02-2009, 05:07 PM
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#7 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
I dare ya to send them a check for $90, for the privilege of serving them.
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11-02-2009, 06:19 PM
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#8 |
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Pro
Trade: Perfessional Contracter
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Frozen North
Posts: 828
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Re: Dear John
Ah, yes, I am sure I will regret starting this thread...
I have done tens of thousands of dollars worth of work for these folks and they have always been pleased with both the service and the product. However the issue of price has been coming to a head lately. No need to bore any of you voyeuristic contractors with the gory details leading up to the firing, just suffice it to say that 90.00 refund will be money well spent.
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11-02-2009, 06:20 PM
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#9 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
you're just a tease
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| The Following User Says Thank You to J F For This Useful Post: | rselectric1 (11-02-2009) |
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11-02-2009, 06:42 PM
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#10 |
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Chief outhouse engineer
Trade: mason
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: NW Indiana
Posts: 985
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Re: Dear John
Anybody that does "tens of thousands of dollars of business" with me would get multiple "service calls"
For Free as an acknowledgment that I appreciated their previous business. If I thought they were trying to take advantage, I would state in person that I have to start charging a minimum as I am in business for profit, not pleasure. I would also take time to thank them for their past patronage and check to see if all is well with the previous projects. Sell the benefits of lower cost materials and faster job completion in this downturn, not cheaper labor. Thats the best response for anyone trying to leverage you. This is not the kind of economy where we can be firing good customers.
__________________
D K & Sons The maintenance schedule for brick 1. Stand back and say "man that looks nice!"  2. Repeat as often as needed. |
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11-02-2009, 06:43 PM
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#11 |
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BLDG Inspector, G.C
Trade: BLDG Inspector, G.C
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: N,Calif. Between Sacramento & San Francisco.
Posts: 186
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Re: Dear John
I bet your going to be put on Flakycontractor.com.
Now that you pissed off the HO.
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| The Following 4 Users Say Thank You to spdtrx For This Useful Post: |
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11-02-2009, 06:44 PM
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#12 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
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11-02-2009, 08:08 PM
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#13 |
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General Contractor
Trade: General Contractor
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: St. Petersburg, FL Minds of moderate caliber ordinarily condemn everything which is beyond their range.
Posts: 2,652
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Re: Dear John
Just one point. I hope you didn't send that exact letter shown in the pdf file. The part where you are talking about being a professional.... "feel" is not usually spelled like that.
 Kinda takes the effective punch out of your professional delivery.
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"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is." François Duc de La Rochefoucauld Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL Last edited by Willie T; 11-02-2009 at 08:13 PM. |
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11-02-2009, 08:10 PM
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#14 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
ya lost me willie....unless something has been changed in the previous posts
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11-02-2009, 08:12 PM
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#15 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
"I feel it would be best if you found a different home repair professional."
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11-02-2009, 08:14 PM
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#16 |
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Pro
Trade: Renovations
Join Date: May 2005
Location: West Coast Canada
Posts: 1,716
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Re: Dear John
I don't get it, why would you fire them over $90?
For me the service fee is to weed out the tire-kickers not to pay the bills. The tens of thousands is to pay the bills.
__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science) |
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11-02-2009, 08:14 PM
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#17 | |
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General Contractor
Trade: General Contractor
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: St. Petersburg, FL Minds of moderate caliber ordinarily condemn everything which is beyond their range.
Posts: 2,652
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Re: Dear John
The pdf version says: "fell"
Quote:
__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is." François Duc de La Rochefoucauld Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL Last edited by Willie T; 11-02-2009 at 08:18 PM. |
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11-02-2009, 08:16 PM
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#18 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
that's the "tease"...$90 vs. "tens of thousands"
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11-02-2009, 08:16 PM
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#19 |
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Pro
Trade: Renovations
Join Date: May 2005
Location: West Coast Canada
Posts: 1,716
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Re: Dear John
I just did a free service call to an old customer, wound up getting a bathroom reno out of it. You think I'm gonna send him an invoice for the call?
__________________
From where does knowledge come? If you need to know what is in a box, you could ask someone (not reliable), you could pray, (not useful), you can consult with the scripture (not helpful) or you could open the box (science) |
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11-02-2009, 08:28 PM
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#20 |
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You did what??
Trade: Carpenter
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: North of Atlanta
Posts: 6,586
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Re: Dear John
Now, normally I'll charge for "estimates", which in reality are the opposite of estimates...they're firm quotes for the work to be done, with drawings to illustrate said work.
For this project the drawings were "free"...only because I had done over 60k worth of work for these clients....so it some cases, for me it does make sense to do a "free" estimate.   http://picasaweb.google.com/jjfwoodw...eat=directlink http://picasaweb.google.com/jjfwoodw...eat=directlink |
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