While your here!

[Ty Korrigan]

Builder in the village did house up for teacher

She kept changing the job

Added up to over £10k

She refused to pay, went to court, she won

Nearly broke builder

He should have sent new estimate every time he asked for new work

 

Close family friend in exact same situation.

I'm harder and sharper than ever with 'Just can you' demands but we have again fallen foul of a local woman who changes her ideas every hour or so during landscaping. We simply just don't have the time to keep working out how much this and that will cost then going home to write another formal quote (It is France here) It is a source of anxiety as 3 years ago she welched on paying for a job with another gardener locally.

Ty

[Taupotreeman]

I'm happy to do the odd while you're here job depending on the customer and the job obviously. Some customers get it done free if they're repeats and it's not a major. Sometimes you get a feel for a customer when you price the job and there are several now that, after I've met, I don't even bother quoting. Had one women recently kept digging me in the ribs and then pointing out jobs that she wanted doing as we walked around her garden. I didn't even bother writing out the quote. Others will get the extras done just for the browny points it might earn and the feel good factor. Maybe I'm just a soft touch but if I go home happy I don't care. If it looks like the can you just is going to be ongoing though, it's time to stop the job and have a proper discussion. I too don't use signed contracts and as of yet it hasn't bitten me.

 

 

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[difflock]

On the tee shirt front

"While your here. . ."

And on the back

"Will cost you dear"

[Stubby]

On the tee shirt front

"While your here. . ."

And on the back

"Will cost you dear"

 

Can you just and we go bust .....

[Dean Lofthouse]

I look at it in another light, if I employed say a builder to build me a wall and halfway through the job asked him to repair another section of wall or take away a big pile of rubble I have had in the garden for years, I would expect to pay extra.

 

I think anyone who doesn't expect to pay extra tells us a lot about themselves.

 

I explained to the customer yesterday, that we were running behind slightly and if we spent 30 minutes clearing a small pile of rubbish for them, it could cost me the afternoon job which is worth £250

 

He then understood the situation and tipped us £10 even though we didn't do his extras

[aquatoo]

Close family friend in exact same situation.

I'm harder and sharper than ever with 'Just can you' demands but we have again fallen foul of a local woman who changes her ideas every hour or so during landscaping. We simply just don't have the time to keep working out how much this and that will cost then going home to write another formal quote (It is France here) It is a source of anxiety as 3 years ago she welched on paying for a job with another gardener locally.

Ty

 

In my experience with contractors in France they carry a "Devis" (quotation cum contract) form in the van. If you ask for something they go to the van write it down with a price, you read and sign and everyone is happy and knows where they are. Cash jobs, of course, are different.

[difflock]

Guessing a form for "deviation from" the existing contract?

A very good idea.

[Matt_Oldfield]

Surely it all comes down to how many rounds of tea and biscuits have been produced/offered, up to the point of the question being asked, that influences the cost to the client?

[humpo48]

Surely it all comes down to how many rounds of tea and biscuits have been produced/offered, up to the point of the question being asked, that influences the cost to the client?

 

 

Nice one especially chocolate digestives!

[kentjames]

Surely it all comes down to how many rounds of tea and biscuits have been produced/offered, up to the point of the question being asked, that influences the cost to the client?

 

I quite agree for small items of 10 minutes or so.

 

Any larger 'Could you just' jobs, I usually say not today we can't no but I will happily quote you for it for another day - they usually have no issue with this and I always have it in writing that way.