Diplomatic Way To Tell The HO I Messed Up

constrkings

I underbid a job by $300 -- may not sound like much but it was a two day small job to fill in some between time so my total price isn't that much. I went to the lumberyard -- got all my stuff, met my guys at the job and happily started building this porch.
My wife comes by to pick up the receipts and some other stuff and realized that I paid $300 MORE for the cedar than I had planned. First of all, don't ask how I did this. I estimated the same way I always do. So either I am just a nitwit and did something wrong that I don't know about or cedar prices have risen.
My question is: How would you handle this if it was you? At this point, after I pay materials, labor, overhead, I break almost even. I basically have the joy of working for almost free for two days.
Should I just eat it or talk to the HO? He is a nice guy but . . . he has alot more work he wants us to do in the future and I don't want him to look at this badly and then not want us for the rest of his projects.

nap

You say "underbid". If this ws a quoted job, unless you have something in your contract to allow for your mistake, you legally and simply have to eat it.

Hell, if you lost $300 because of your mistake and had no contractual language to correct it, you would still be required to do the job at the price you quoted.

genecarp

if he is a cool guy, you could approach him with your tale of woe, dont request the additional $, tell the story, and see if he offers, **** happens.

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constrkings

underestimated would probably be a better word simply b/c I estimated on the job. I didn't have to bid the job (which implies competing with other contractors) -- he called me based on a referral from a friend.
He has about 10 things he wants done -- all of which are 2-3 day projects and is letting me do them when work is slow. The original signed contract has a total figure for all the projects but that has a clause in it allowing for changes due to square footage or material options, etc because there were a few things that his wife hadn't decided on -- fixtures, tile, etc. Then we decided to just do one or two things at a time. So, the porch was included in the total price and then when we decided to do just a thing or two at a time, I told him the porch would be $xx.xx. I was wrong.
In writing this, I feel very stupid.

constrkings

he is a very cool guy -- one of those few and far between ho's that you don't mind coming out while you're there and talking for a few minutes. -- he never tries to help or even learn what i'm doing. just hangs out for a little while he smokes a cig then goes away. and he has $ so you can see why i don't want to look unprofessional or stupid

wizendwizard

The first thing that needs to be established here is: was it an estimate or was it a bid.

Estimates are just what they sound like. Estimates fluctuate and are changable as materials and labor prices vary.

Bids are written in stone and there is no changing it.

You did have a contract on this I hope. If so you should have language in it that allows for miscalculations on materials. If this is the case you should be able to explain the delima to the HO with little arguement.

If he has other work to be done and likes your work and will only let you perform the work then you have to make the decision if you want to push the boundary of your miscalculation.

I say push for the other work and get a locked in contract then eat your loss on the porch. You should be able to make up your loss since it's your fault to begin with and such a small amount.

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jmic

Just eat it for now, and build it in to the other quotes little by little till you make it up.

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buildenterprise

That'll work, eat it now, make it up later.....

thom

When I did that kind of work it was pretty common for customers to ask "what if the cost ends up being less than you thought?"

My response, "You'll never know, nor will you know if it costs me more than I thought".

I screwed up and lost money a time or two. My bad, my loss. There was never a reason to bring the owner into it.



This should be the same with you. If you stand to gain because it costs less, then you should lose when it costs more.

smellslike$tome

Just my opinion here but if you are at break even for two days work as it stands but would be happy with $300 more dollars ... then I hate to break this to you but you have waaaaaay bigger problems than your estimating skills.

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Jason Whipple

I'd say you gotta eat it. Be glad it wasn't more. You gave him a price, he agreed on it, end of story. You could end up losing a whole lot more if you tried to charge him for it. You might also lose his confidence in you if you let him know you screwed up.

Prices are flying upward every day now. Always check your local yard before it go's on paper.

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constrkings

I said "almost" -- as in not quite making the profit I had hoped for.

constrkings

Thanks to everyone for the advice -- I think it is good advice to eat it now to stay in good with the HO and try to make it up in the future.

boman47k

constrkings

obviously i was not clear in my ALMOST -- after material, paying my guys, overhead (ins, comp, gas, etc etc etc), I personally am ALMOST working for free -- i don't particularly feel like sharing how much I pay myself but $300 would be that much more in my pocket. So I guess I am being a bit stingy or overly grumpy here. But after all, the business got it's due, the men got their due, I just wanted a little bit more of my due.
Anyway, per everyone's advice, I'll just eat it for now.

HomeSealed

Good choice...It wouldnt hurt to tactfully let the customer know that you are helping him out though. Turn it into a positive.

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orson

I don't think I would do that, you're not really helping him out, you simply screwed up. It would be unprofessional imo to try to tell the customer you did him a big ole favor by screwing up, no matter how tactfully you attempt to do it.

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Jason Whipple

Yup! Keep smiling, and start asking about those other projects he needs done!

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Mike Finley

Sorry, but

is pretty predatory way of thinking. It's the old sliding scale of ethics, or what can I get away with or what's in it for me in the long run.

How about what's right instead?

If you gave someone a price, honor it. Fixed priced quotes are fixed price. What would you do if you over estimated it by $300? Would you be giving it back to the customer?

Tscarborough

The HO should never know, any more than you would tell him you made an extra 300 bucks.

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