To Charge or not to Charge?

[Raywood]

This question is in relation to a very good customer who asked me to accompany them to a garden centre to 'help' her pick out a few new shrubs and trees for her garden.

 

She finally picked out about a dozen shrubs and a large Bhutan Pine. She also wanted to look a semi-mature Cedrus atlantica glauca and at the same time she noticed a Carpinus betulus 'Fastigiata'.

 

To cut a long story short, I spent the best part of 5 hours in the garden centre on two occasions, plus travel time of 45minutes each way.

 

Musta cost me over well over £30 in diesel and petrol for the pickup and the car on the two occasions I was there.

 

Should I pass on a charge to her for my time and fuel or because I offered to advise her, should I therefore sup it up and forget about passing on a charge??

 

Any thoughts?

 

BTW - Ended up getting 3 Hornbeam (3.5mtrs) of which I'll be planting next week along with the pine (85ltr liner) and a liquidamber (30ltr liner).

Edited May 11, 2010 by Raywood
typo

[ad15]

suck it up....

[ad15]

add £5 onto the next few jobs to pay for it..

[armchairarborist]

good customers become like friends and of course we want to help them, but dont forget that in business the customer pays for 'everything' even if that means as ad15 says adding a bit on extra on other bits..

[ukminch]

I've done this type of thing in the past. Me and a couple of mates have got a saying of don't put yourself in the situation, sounds like you have....

 

Use it as a learning experience and set the ground rules in advance next time. She won't be happy to suddenly get a bill for something she wasn't expecting. I'd put a bit on each of the planting, are you delivering them, a delivery charge would be expected.

 

Most importantly learn from it and decide what you'd do next time, your only stupid if you make the same mistake twice!!

 

The other approach is to explain to the customer that you hadn't even thought about this and suddenly realised you'd lost out on a days work, and see what there attitude is....

 

R

[felixthelogchopper]

If they are a regular customer, just get it back over the next few bills. That way, you get your money without causing ill-feeling

[18 stoner]

IMHO, it would depend what type of pricing you are on.

 

If you are hourly rate, it goes on the bill. If it was fixed price, this should have been quoted for, or not.

[Frank]

I don't really think you can do something and then charge someone in hindsight. What you should of done was get them to go to the garden centre and peruse at their own leisure and wrote down some names, then asked you what you thought. My next door neighbour and I were good Buddha and I did a load of favours for him, free firewood, put fence up (he supplied materials) etc etc, so when I needed some work doing to my van he said yeah of course I'll fit and paint your new wings, no bother mate.

3 days later he dropped an invoice off and we have literally never spoken since.

[felixthelogchopper]

Hope you dropped your invoice off for a little bit more in exchange

[Ian H]

I agree with ad "suck it up" It's a good deed you've done which as a great believer of karma I feel will be paid back to you in some form:thumbup1: