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Clients that make you go hmmmmm.


Mick Dempsey
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Went to take out a large overgrown privet/bramble hedge a while back.
real pig of a job, with wire and bailer twine throughout.
clients wife appeared after 10 minutes work, asked if we wanted to come through to the kitchen for a cooked breakfast?
Hmmmm :thumbup:


You'll be telling us next she just happened to bend over to get something out of the fridge...
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When you just know what's going to happen........

 

So yesterday I went pricing, one of the clients was difficult to understand on the phone, sounded very old, but I got the essentials and after a bit of asking in his village I found him (the two people I asked were related to him)

 

As I thought he's old  (86) living alone in his farmhouse, he has a decent size maiden lime in his rear courtyard, wants it topped, just the top half, no lower branches. Renders it a bit more complex as the pieces will have to pass through the lower canopy, no big deal, you get some odd requests here, you learn not to argue.

It's over a couple of outbuildings so not crash'n'bash but simple enough. Mornings work, max.

As usual he says leave all the stuff he'll clear it up to save money, I say to him 

"€400 but I will clear it up for nothing" after all I have to pay the guy who works for me and I own the chipper so it costs me nothing to clear it up.

 

He explodes with rage, says it'll take half an hour, how can I justify charging such an amount!

 

I clear up my papers, say my mercis and au revoirs and leave.

 

 

Edited by Mick Dempsey
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  • 2 years later...

Bit long winded this one.

 

A few weeks ago a client with whom I’ve had some dealings, disputes with neighbours, that sort of thing called for a quote.

 

I don’t like this guy and I feel it’s mutual.

But it’s local so I rock up, it’s a job in two parts, some large horizontal limbs over a garage off a couple of oaks to remove, and a largish oak to take out.

I price it in two parts and off I go.

A couple of weeks later I see the removal has started with the oak butchered a bit (lot) but it never gets finished.

He phones me to do the stuff over the garage, we set a date (yesterday) and I turn up.

The client explains that he got someone to do the oak for the butt, however he was clearly out of his depth and ended up cracking his sternum in two places, one break making contact with his heart, lucky to live.

 

Now, I’m reasonably fired up about this, sure the climber or whatever he was bears some personal responsibility for his own safety, but the client looking to save money wherever possible (clearly he’s not without judging by the car/house) has to shoulder some as well.

He is anxious to get the tree on the floor and gone, presumably as it’s a smoking gun litigation wise, asked me for another price. 
 

I suspect France being France there’s a court case coming.

5D2A07A1-3D35-4CEC-A4D3-5AB0BD3412D1.jpeg

Edited by Mick Dempsey
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I had a guy last week, who used to rent a flat from me.

 

Had a catch-up, walk around and talked through removing quite a few trees.  Estimated at 2 days with two men on site each day.  He agreed and asked the price.  I told him 500 per man per day, chipper will be 150 plus vat.  Total 1150 plus vat at 25%.

 

I got in there last week and cracked on got the first part of the job done and afterwards I explained I would send the invoice so it will be in February’s accounts.  He agreed.

 

I get an email that night, offering the advise that if I quote someone verbally it has to be inclusive of vat.  So he was expecting 2 men on site for a day for 400 plus vat at 25% making the bill 500.  Not the 1437.50.

 

i explained everything that I had said during the quoting stage and his response was he must have missed the plus Vat bit...  what about the rest he chose to ingore?  Extra man, chipper and plus Vat?

 

Anyway, I am booked in for the second day this Thursday.  He seemed ok when I explained the lot to him...

 

But really, expecting two men on Site and machinery for 400 quid and having to pay the wages of the groundie?

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Rich, you have to look to yourself on this one.

 

20 seconds on a follow up email confirming the prices would have saved all that unpleasantness.

 

Domestic clients only hear the first number, they never see vat on everything else they buy so don’t register it mentally.

 

I have made that mistake too many times.

Edited by Mick Dempsey
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I know mate.  I even asked if he wanted a written quote.  He declined but I almost sent it regardless, then something came up.

 

He paid and I half expected him to cancel the second day but was all up for it.

 

But yes, next time I will follow your advise and my own intuition.

 

it wasn’t so much the vat issue, more the fact he expected 4000nok approx 400 quid to pay both mine and my helpers wages.  He has no excuse as he used to own a Ltd. Company before he sold it to a huge multi national.  He knows how much employees cost in this country and taxes etc.

 

He is just oblivious to anything other than sitting behind a keyboard.

 

 

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Bit long winded this one.
 
A few weeks ago a client with whom I’ve had some dealings, disputes with neighbours, that sort of thing called for a quote.
 
I don’t like this guy and I feel it’s mutual.
But it’s local so I rock up, it’s a job in two parts, some large horizontal limbs over a garage off a couple of oaks to remove, and a largish oak to take out.
I price it in two parts and off I go.
A couple of weeks later I see the removal has started with the oak butchered a bit (lot) but it never gets finished.
He phones me to do the stuff over the garage, we set a date (yesterday) and I turn up.
The client explains that he got someone to do the oak for the butt, however he was clearly out of his depth and ended up cracking his sternum in two places, one break making contact with his heart, lucky to live.
 
Now, I’m reasonably fired up about this, sure the climber or whatever he was bears some personal responsibility for his own safety, but the client looking to save money wherever possible (clearly he’s not without judging by the car/house) has to shoulder some as well.
He is anxious to get the tree on the floor and gone, presumably as it’s a smoking gun litigation wise, asked me for another price. 
 
I suspect France being France there’s a court case coming.
5D2A07A1-3D35-4CEC-A4D3-5AB0BD3412D1.thumb.jpeg.c55a697af61475757af555d37ce4209b.jpeg

Double your price, you owe him nothing !
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