customer knows best!

[dig-dug-dan]

today i did a job i priced up a few weeks back, removing some conifers, pruning overhang and he asked me to cut up and chop some logs he had scavenged from the golf club. there was a pile on a pallet, and another pile in the back garden in the undergrowth.

Did everything, but when it came to cutting the logs, the ones in the undergrowth pile i sorted as the top ones were fine, but the others were so rotten, you could stick your hand through them, and they were covered in soil.

The customer at the end of the job asked why i had not cut those, and i showed him how rotten they were. he still insisted he could burn them, and i exclaimed that it was futile attempting it. He still wanted me to cut them, and i protested as i did not want to damage my nice sharp saw chain. He still insisted, and said" ok you are making excuses not to do it" muttering "i will have to take this into consideration.

Was i in my rights to refuse to cut them, they really were bad!

I have half a mind to give him two nets worth of logs (which is about what the logs totaled) just to shut him up. to top it all, not one offer of a tea all day

[Hodge]

Just tell him you will cut them up if he buys you a new chain! God I hate customers that are knobs!

[Stubby]

Show him how a sharp chain cuts . tell him you will attempt to cut the dirty rotten logs if he buys you a new chain .

[biggarlogs]

Sounds like typical Joe public.I would have just mashed them with splitter .and collected the cash

[se7enthdevil]

if when you priced the job up you did not take in to account cutting up the logs like you did, remind him that you did them as a favour and were generous to do so and well within your rights to not have done any.

[skyhuck]

When you quoted the job did you not look at the logs he wanted cut or at least say you were happy to cut up clean logs, but would not cut dirty wood.

 

Managing customer expectations is a very important part of business, IMO.

[Daniel Jiggins]

Had you not got an old chain to chuck on just to do them doesn't need to be overly sharp if they that rotten

[dig-dug-dan]

When I looked at the job, I assumed stupidly all the logs were sound. Could never imagine why anyone would keep rotten bits.

no I did not have a spare chain. I also considered charging him an extra 20, which was double the value of the logs in the first place. He is one of those people who only use one end of the telephone

[oldwoodcutter]

Good luck there Dan,ime glad ime not the only one that has customers like that,ive had more jokers this past 2 weeks than ive had in the past 2 years.

[Mountain man]

When you quoted the job did you not look at the logs he wanted cut or at least say you were happy to cut up clean logs, but would not cut dirty wood.

 

Managing customer expectations is a very important part of business, IMO.

 

That last line is very true, not understood by many.

I work with landscapers and smaller scale tree boys and cannot believe how they allow themselves to be manipulated by clients.

Don't apologise, don't over explain, just say I can't do it.