How do you deal with difficult customers???

[LD1]

I understand what you are saying Arc, and there is indeed risk with not surveying. But I figure if I dont spend an hour seeing the job first hand before bidding that givesme an hour cushion for an over-the-phone bid. So even a worst case scenario, I am still okay.

This job.was what I expected, and I am happy with my bird, if I spent an extra hour seeing in person, I would have come to the same conclusion.

I did ALL the work agreed upon and for the price I quoted. When I was all done, she wanted more for nothing. So if I had gone out and bid the Job in person, I think the result would have been the same, except I would have An extra hour involved.

 

[Woody65]

I rarely do repairs but when on a job site doing a whole home remodel I do get neighbors come by and ask of I could repair something on their home. I would go by, agree on a price and fix the problem and when I am done there would be the inevitable " while your here ". It would be something like putting up a 40 foot extension ladder to a 12x8 pitch roof to repair the chimney flashing. When I would say $75 to do it, they would say, I am already paying you. People think you do this as a hobby. And, because you have the skill and equipment, it should be for nothing.

 

[OrangeGuy]

I may be the only one that thinks this way, but I don't see what the lady did wrong. All I hear on this site is to make sure you price multiple dealers and multiple brands, local and far away, to get the absolute best price you can on equipment. All seems fair in getting the best deal you possibly can. The lady asked for a little better deal. LDI said $50 bucks more. She declined and paid him for the work already completed. It doesn't sound too difficult to me.

 

[LD1]

I may be the only one that thinks this way, but I don't see what the lady did wrong. All I hear on this site is to make sure you price multiple dealers and multiple brands, local and far away, to get the absolute best price you can on equipment. All seems fair in getting the best deal you possibly can. The lady asked for a little better deal. LDI said $50 bucks more. She declined and paid him for the work already completed. It doesn't sound too difficult to me.

Nothing wrong with shopping around for the best deal. I am sure not the only one with an ad on c-list for bushhogging in my area, and I am sure I am not the only one she called.

So she already was getting the best deal. And it was here attitude and tone when I refused to do it for nothing, and said an additional $50. IF it was "hey do you think you can do this and still be at the $150" and when I said no, her reply would be "okay then, dont worry about it, everything looks great, let me get you paid"...........

IF it was like that, I wouldnt be ranting about it. It was the attitude, and comments like "I am in the wrong business" and "$50 per hour, holy cow". Those type of comments are what upset me the most.

I deal with similar situations (usually with better outcome) all the time. Finish working, customer says "Hey, how much would you charge to do......" IF it is small, and I am ahead of schedule, alot of times I say I'll just throw it in. Sometimes I quote a price and they say...go ahead. Othertimes they decline. But never before have I had the attitude, and expectation of doing it for Free.

 

[Krapie]

Sorry, i disagree. Your ad said 30-50 Per acre, with a minimum. You told the lady $150 minimum which most would say is three acres. You mowed the two acres, but asked for additional dollars for the third acre, which should of been included in ogirinal $150 minimum based on your high end of your rates, $50 per acre.

Per your original post, you never mentioned 'hours'. I do not care if it takes you an hour or a week to mow an acre, your ad is by the acre, not by the hour.

And yes, some people will try to screw you.

 

[Larro Darro]

For over thirty years I did yard work as a side job. In that line of work you keep the same yard for years and years, so picking the right customers is very important. The way I did pricing was double for the first hour, with a one hour minimum. Since most yards were one hour or less, this turned away a few folks. But I had more than I could do, and if anyone didn't live up to their end of the bargain, I let them go.

In my real job, we provide space for social events. Weddings, baby showers, family reunions and birthday parties are my main line of work, and it is very rare that I have problems from them. But once in a while someone will complain about the bill, or not want to clean up like they should. I just put on my biggest smile, and say how sorry I am that they are not happy with the service we provided. Since we always want our customers to be happy, it would be best if they go somewhere else to have their events in the future. We are not the only place in town to choose from, but we are by far the best, so no one wants to be black listed. They always pay the bill and go on.

 

[NVArt]

That's when you say, we sure can and start putting together the change-order for them. :thumbsup:

Or, "Gee! Great! Another new job. Whoopee. And you don't have to pay travel time."

 

[LD1]

Sorry, i disagree. Your ad said 30-50 Per acre, with a minimum. You told the lady $150 minimum which most would say is three acres. You mowed the two acres, but asked for additional dollars for the third acre, which should of been included in ogirinal $150 minimum based on your high end of your rates, $50 per acre.

Per your original post, you never mentioned 'hours'. I do not care if it takes you an hour or a week to mow an acre, your ad is by the acre, not by the hour.

And yes, some people will try to screw you.

NO. my ad says prices NORMALLY 35-50 per acre. Again, NORMALLY. There was nothing normal about mowing around hundreds of large trees in 3 small lots that total 2 acres, and briars and torn trees so dense they needed backing through. THATS NOT MOWING.

But all of that is irrelevant. I dont price by the acre, or by the hour. Those are just tools I use to figure a price. I bid a job PER JOB. She called. Wanted X amount of work done. My price was Y. I did X amount of work, and she want more done without paying. How is that hard to understand??? Are you one of those customers who wants tihings done for free, and get mad cause someone wants to charge more, to do MORE than agreed upon????

 

[Arc weld]

This wasn't a normal job. What if there would have been rocks and debris or you got a flat tire from something sharp? It always best to look over the job first. Why would it have taken an hour to look at it? Even if it did, it could save you a headache in the long run. One of the problems I had when being an owner/operator is I did everything myself. I had to look at jobs, do the jobs I had and try to call back everyone else wanted work done. It can difficult at the best of times.

 

[TomSeller]

When renting I ask more than the usual and almost never get a bad renter. Those looking for cheap rent are often "grinders" as mentioned above, can't afford to pay rent or don't have their priorities correct. Maybe you should increase your rates.