Pesky client

[oldwoodcutter]

I shan’t be even bothering to quote for them anymore, I went out last week to one that was begging me to come and look at his trees, and against my better judgment thought I’ll give it a go, and it ended like a Karachi street market, at the finish I just walked away and continued on my way to quote to my other potential customers. I’m getting too old for all that malarkey.

[Mark J]

Choose your battles. I couldn't be arsed with batlling, which coupled with injury, got me where I am today,
I've found that old people are either the nicest or most cantankerous bastards out there, irrespective of creed or colour. Generally though, people are alright.

[TIMON]

Tricky customers almost always give away ‘warning signs’ during the quoting stages, if you know what to look for. (Sadly this kind of wisdom usually comes through having learned hard lessons)
Thankfully , it’s always your prerogative to charge accordingly..

[doobin]

Trouble is, as you say, five-ten years of experience needed to hone your client radar. 

[TIMON]

An obvious warning sign is evidence of unfinished projects on the property... usually (but not always) indicates a dispute has taken place with a contractor.


If someone appears wealthy yet insists on haggling the price. Not a good sign.....

If a prospective client is very elderly or shows signs of mental health issues, I’ll ask if a relative could get involved, brings a bit of accountability to the situation and could help with securing payment.

Being really clear with a written quote carefully specifying exactly what work will be done, with detailed specs etc.. avoid verbally agreeing stuff that isn’t on the written quote like the plague.

I’ll always try and work out what a customer’s expectations are, and ask “am I going to be able to meet them without it becoming an absolute nightmare?” If a client starts getting very fussy and exacting at the quoting stage it’s usually not a good sign...

[Jack.P]

once it’s been realised you’ve got a time waster .how to get rid off these nuisance people without being rude ? say ie the Indians have worked out where you live and they come looking for you .Or another good example is a relative or neighbor which you don’t particularly  like phones or pops in asking for jobs to be done

im like yeah I’ll get back to you but know i won’t lol 

 

[Mike Hill]

10 hours ago, Jack.P said:

once it’s been realised you’ve got a time waster .how to get rid off these nuisance people without being rude ? say ie the Indians have worked out where you live and they come looking for you .Or another good example is a relative or neighbor which you don’t particularly  like phones or pops in asking for jobs to be done

im like yeah I’ll get back to you but know i won’t lol 

 

Over here we have an internet site where people list a job they want doing and those contractors must pay to acess the site and the clients details.

 

The customers who use the service are universally hunting the cheapest price.Should all the contractors still be to expensive they call reputable firms.If I get the feeling they are price shopping and beleive it or not I have had people answer the door,clipboard in hand and ask me " what company are you?" .

I say since you have clearly advertised on "MIT anbud" I won't be the cheapest so won't waste any more of our time. Of course this leads to a 100% failure rate on these quotes but a 100%  saving in time as I never got those jobs anyhow.

[TIMON]

I ALWAYS tell people we’re not the cheapest.... helps sort the wheat from the chaff..