Misunderstanding with customer.

[pault]

A friend of mine managed to get me a job from her parents, They wanted a row of ash taken down and logged up for firewood. The purpose of taking them down was to get their view of the river back. I quoted them 600 for the row of small/med ash. Once we had finished the job i went to the house for payment but was told that i had to take a LARGE ash down as well just the other side of their fence as well. Then i was told that i would have to do it included in the original price of 600. The misunderstanding is that i thought they just wanted the trees directly in front of the house taken down and they thought that i gave them a quote for the small/med ones and the big one as well. Now he is refusing to pay anything until i include the large ash in the 600 quoted.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Am i in the wrong? What can i do?

 

Cheers in advance Paul.

[Stihlben]

This is why written clear quotes are so important, to you and the customer.

I allways write what has been asked of me and the price, then have the customer check it and sign it that way there can be no confusion and any 'while your here' will cost them extra...

[testcricket01]

all depends what you have on paper that you said you would do. if you didnt give a quote on paper or didnt do it in enough detail i think you will find you dont really have a leg to stand on. unfortunatly.

[gardenmad]

I have had same problems and you HAVE to do everything in writing. As it was a recommendation I would just suffer it to be honest, Sometimes it's better to lose and learn if it all blows up it may damage your reputation.

[easy-lift guy]

This is why written clear quotes are so important, to you and the customer.

I allways write what has been asked of me and the price, then have the customer check it and sign it that way there can be no confusion and any 'while your here' will cost them extra...

Prepare a change work order for the customer explain everything that you have done to this point and include the additional removal of the Ash as well for 600. Have the customer sign off on this change work order and proceed with the job. If the customer refuses to agree to these terms explain that this is the best interest of both parties and you are willing to remove the other Ash as a business courtesy.

easy-lift guy

[WorcsWuss]

Have you told your friend her parents are a bunch of shysters yet...?

They might have a habit of doing this and she might get them to pay up....

 

Alternatively, she might speak to them and find that your 'quote' was misleading and they genuinely believed they were getting the other tree included in which case you need to just get on with it and be more specific in future...

 

I suppose the best outcome would be they accept they perhaps didn't explain things properly, you admit the same and you meet halfway...

 

[i mark all the trees I have to take out with aerosol in the presence of one of my clients because he's known for giving poor instructions and then throwing the dollies.... but then I guess that's the relationship fathers & sons have!]

[Tommy_B]

Who owns the other Ash? You mentioned that it was on the other side of the fence. Is it their's to take down?

[Le Sanglier]

You're stuffed, and it's your fault. Similar thing like this happened to me recently, I was right (and we both knew it) and eventually got my money. I should, however, have made the quote clearer.

I got lucky partly due to my "robust discussion technique" But next time out comes the aerosol and a more detailed quote.

[pault]

All points well made gents. The other ash belongs to the castle grounds next door but aparently they had permission to take it down which i was unaware of. I will try and meet them half way but if that doesnt work then i guess ill just have to bite the bullet and get on with it. I cant afford to get a bad reputation. It is a comfort to know im not the only one out there that this has happened to. Guess its a learning curve.

Written quotes from now on me thinks.

Cheers for all the advice lads and wish me luck.

Paul

[gardenmad]

Make sure whatever ...If any.... permission they have is in writing and make sure you confirm this with owner or it will defiantly hit the fan! Good luck!!