I did a trade with a customer once.

about 15 years ago I took a 1949 chevy low-rider, pick-up, custom paint, gold leaf pin striping, really nice looking for $10,000 in trade.

Of course I added the $10,000 back into the price of the project so I got the show truck for free.

All in a days work, I guess.

 

Bigger deck, less money, is that how it works?

 

Thats the same thing I was thinking. :laughing:

 

UUGGGHHHH! I hate that "sharpen your pencil" crap!
Sure I'll sharpen it,and poke you in the eye with it!

 

I like your style, we think alike!

 

Cant you guys just picture him there on the phone with his WIFE standing behind him poking him in the back with her pencil making him make that embarrassing phone call

 

Along with a "sharpened pencil" comes a brand new eraser!

This particular eraser also comes with a USB drive :thumbsup:

 

hell, I was thinking I'd just pay him and leave my pencil sharpener out of it

 

I thought this was going to be an educational topic on the best method of sharpening your pencil with a utility knife, You know without chopping the lead off with the final swipe with the blade

 

lol almost pissed meself:laughing:
actually I hate flat carpenter pencils, I gave up on them years ago for good ol round #2's and I keep a bostich electric sharpener out on jobs with me.

at the mitersaw stand I keep high quality drafting lead holders and hard lead for important marks and an alvin drafting lead sharpener in the tool pouch, your pencil cursing days will be no more:thumbsup:

heres the accompanying email correspondence just for *****s and giggles
notice the sharp (no pun intended) increase in size:w00t:



--------------------------------------------------------------------------
well, yes price is important. It always is.
Since I don't need anything extravagent, it is a matter of quality and price.
Like any business, some places work on different margins. If you don't need or want my job, I understand.
No hard feelings.

________________________________

From: Chris Kadyszewski [mailto:snus280@msn.com]
Sent: Thu 2/21/2008 1:36 PM
To: Jeffrey Hussler
Subject: FW:





-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Kadyszewski <snus280@msn.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 12:48 PM
To: xxxx@cheapresources.com
Subject: RE:

Hi Jeff,
It's been hectic here last few days, I did get your message, thank you for asking.
Back to your project, I may not be the right company for you, as price seem to be the driving force behind your project. I do not cut any corners to achieve cheap results, In fact I do entirely the opposite, I produce stellar design, craftsmanship and service at an outstanding value. Good luck with the project.
Regards,
Chris Kadyszewski
484-467-0458
www.customdecksandcarpentry.com


-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey Hussler <xxxx@cheapresources.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 8:45 AM
To: snus280@msn.com

Hey Chris,

I dropped you a message yesterday. We are prepared to move forward asap if we can get the price per square foot down a little bit.

I am thinking 400-500 sq ft surface area.

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Kadyszewski [mailto:snus280@msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 12:58 AM
To: Jeffrey Hussler
Subject: RE: Decks.com Template Site - Request Custom Quote


Hi Jeff,
Feel free to contact me any time tomorrow to discuss this project getting started.
Sincerely,
Chris Kadyszewski
www.customdecksandcarpentry.com

-----Original Message-----
From: <xxxx@cheapresources.com>
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 9:55 PM
To: snus280@msn.com
Subject: Decks.com Template Site - Request Custom Quote



I would like a custom quote.

NAME: Jeff Hussler
COMPANY:
PHONE: 610-322-xxxx
EVENING PHONE:
CELL PHONE:
FAX:

EMAIL: xxxx@cheapresources.com

ADDRESS: 4007 pencil sharpener court

CITY: eagleville

STATE: pa

ZIP: 19403

SERVICES: Decks

APPROX AREA: 100 to 300

TIMEFRAME: Just Inquiring

HEARD ABOUT THROUGH: Referall

Thank you.
You can contact me at xxxx@cheapresources.com or REPLY to this email.

 

I love it when a customer asks me to sharpen my pencil. I always seem to "find" things that I missed. Either they want me or they don't. Seems there is always another customer ready to fill my schedule.

 

Yep, you gotta love it, he thinks someone should lower their price so that he can afford a bigger deck! I mean, it's only fair right? does he go to the car dealer and say that they really need to sell that Ferrari for less because he needs a better car?

as for pencils, I made a great find a month ago, a mechanical pencil meant for taking standardized tests that use bubble sheets- the lead is oval shaped like a carpenters pencil, but it stays nice and sharp and doesn't break! I don't expect to ever find replacement lead, but new pencils with a package of the special lead is only $1.25, and one stick of lead has lasted me all month. when I run out of lead, I'll toss the pencil and get a new one.

 

when someone asks me to sharpen my pencil the lead mysteriously breaks right off.:laughing:

 

Sharpen the pencil

Ask him if you lower the price to his expectations if he's buying lunch, coffee, sending you home with groceries, etc.

Perhaps you should pay him for the privilage of working on his property

 

Have I misunderstood? I got the impression that the guy was asking for a lower SQUARE FOOTAGE price so that he could have a larger total area deck? So this means he's not asking for more area for less money?

Anyway, there are some that would say that a prospect asking for a discount is a 'buy signal'. I know it might well be one of those situations where one 'had to be there' to know whether or not it there was any chance of doing serious business with this person so the rest of this might not apply- but I would ask what price the prospect had in mind? When he answered (unless it was a ridiculous one) I would have opened a negotiation and maybe ended up with a viable sale.

John

 

Good for you Chris!

"Sharpen your pencil" must be an American term as I've never heard it before. I have had lowballers, they've just never used that term.

As to really sharpening carpenter pencils, I use the CH Hanson one below. It gives me a great sharp point on the flat lead.

 

"You need to sharpen your pencil" as much as I hate that saying, the one that really annoys me is this one......

Got a phone call 2 days ago,....

Hello Kevin, this is ____ I got your name from _____, he tells me you are "Hungry" for work...etc.

First of all, I am not hungry for work, second of all, if forcing me and my family in to a substandard lifestyle where we are going hungry is his reward for me to do this work, keep it.

 

I alweays ask budget when meeting HO they will usually tell you I was thinking it should be around... My response is always, Well Mrs X. how did you arrive at that number, they usually reply, I heard it should cost xxx.xx I have a s little sales talk for combatting that mentality some you win wome will never learn. As to the hungry comment I would have told that guy where to put it!

 

I guess buddy with the hungry comment wasnt' the "sharpest pencil in the box!"

 

You know, it's his tone in that audio recording that really bugs me. "WE HAVE to sharp the pencil on the price". No WE don't HAVE to.

 

Nothing wrong with that. He says he trusts you and wants you to do the job, which is nice.

Sure he wants a better deal, but from the message I can't tell how serious he is..could be he just wants to make sure the price you gave him is the best you can do, could be he thinks he should get 30% knocked off everything he buys as a way to earn his business, or anything in between.

He almost sounds a little embarrassed, Might just need a little reassurance and maybe a little extra thrown in somewhere on the job, something decorative but not too time consuming.

I try to always look at the sales end of it as a game(a very competitive game) and not take anything personally. I try to always remember I can't eat my ego, Its not very filling

Wow!! That is a beautiful website you have btw

 

He almost sounds a little embarrassed, Might just need a little reassurance and maybe a little extra thrown in somewhere on the job, something decorative but not too time consuming.

He didn't sound embarrassed to me, he sounded like he was in a hurry and was trying to sound polished, but just stumbled over every point he was trying to make, "I've talked to my wife and some other people"... OK, so what did they say? Dunno, he never revisits that subject.

"We want to go with the black rails or whatever"... OK, or whatever what? Whatever you decide you want after they are installed and not what you had in mind?

This is a person that has self confidence issues and is used to talking from a script, not from the hip. This is another good reason to avoid doing business with him, as he does revisit the price issue several times, in order to be sure you have no doubts as to exactly what his buying objection is.

He's laid his cards on the table and his ace in the hole, and he's left with a pair of duces showing. He should have folded when Chris told him his company wasn't for him and he would not compromise.

This idiot doesn't listen to anyone but himself and when he does, he only hears what he wants to hear.

Listen again and see if you think its embarrassment or just a severe case of ADD. I think its ADD.

 

We get this all the time. (It doesn't help that a lot of fencers are the bottom of the barrel as far as contractors go. They are often one step away from bankruptcy. We priced a fence yesterday that two other fencers had lowballed for less than the price of materials. Riiiiiight. The client understood she'd been lowballed and we expect to get that contract.)

First, don't take offense. Shrug it off. There have been threads here about how other cultures want to dicker the price. The fact is that many Americans are the same way.

Next, you have to find out what they want. Maybe there really are some costs you could cut and still have a happy customer. A cheaper wood, less ornate finish, the client stains the deck himself. This is called the "take-away". If the client really does need a cheaper price, and you can find a way to give it to him, everybody wins. If the client is really looking for the same deck for less money, well, the price is the price.

It's very hard for us to match lowballers, so we don't even try. If it's all about price, we don't even want to go there. If it's a matter of bringing the price down with some compromise on materials or labor (paint for board fence is expensive, for example) we might be able to win that contract.

edit: Bone Saw, your work is so beautiful that I suspect you might be able to find quite a few things to take away. Maybe this guy just wants *you*. But I sure wouldn't trade work for Pottery Barn crap. :laughing:

 

I received a letter in the mail last week from one of our suppliers to tell of all the materials price increases we can expect in the coming season. They had to smally size the print to fit one page.

This inspires me to let them know I will be buying more so we need to lower the prices so I can.

As Susan said, you can sometimes make the deal by taking away to lower the cost. We sometimes pull that off without lowering our rates at all. Maybe even a slight increase to compensate the extra BS. But we make sure to specify that the customer does not start his work until after we are finished and left the site. I don't want any liability that belongs to the savings.

Good Luck
Dave

 

I just tell them that I use a pen, not a pencil.

 

actually, I believe he did ask if the deck could be simplified to lower cost per foot, so that he could afford more square feet. Asking the contractor to sharpen his pencil in the same conversation isn't a good idea though.

 

conditioned to believe that haggling is a part of business. They also think that any monkey can do our job and they shouldn't have to pay a lot for something they can do but just don't have the time.

 

conditioned to believe that haggling is a part of business. They also think that any monkey can do our job and they shouldn't have to pay a lot for something they can do but just don't have the time.

"Well sir,I do have the time.And here is what it's going to cost you."

 

Quality is like buying oats. If you want good, fresh oats, you’ll have to pay a fair price. If, however, you’re satisfied with oats that have already passed through the horse, you may be able to save a little money.

 

:laughing: :clap: :w00t: :notworthy

I got to remember that one!

 

Quality is like buying oats. If you want good, fresh oats, you’ll have to pay a fair price. If, however, you’re satisfied with oats that have already passed through the horse, you may be able to save a little money


Love that quote, I need to remember that.:lol: Phil