Always Remind, Give List

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

jmellc

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
Occupation
Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
I am trimming out a whole house rewire that's been a slow job. Customers are great people, husband & wife. They don't have a lot of $ and he is dong a lot of the work, doing a decent job too BTW. . I get frustrated with them sometimes but can't stay mad at them, as they are very accommodating of me too. They kept forgetting and called me several times about when I can get a final inspection. I have told them several times that everything has to be in place and connected, after painting and other finish work. They would call again that something needed moving, etc. I had asked them to carefully look things over after rough in, that it was easier to move then. I reminded them to get lights & ceiling fans. I started rough Thurs afternoon & they came with only a few of the fixtures. A few more Fri and fans today.

I see now that on some jobs, I need to print up a chart on timelines of inspections, specifically what items to buy, etc. I specified in my quote what I provided and what they do. I need to set up a board or permit box to keep copies of lists, procedures, etc. and give customer an updated list when getting ready to start trim. Keep undated copies on job in case they or I need them. As I say, I like them a lot. Just that this is their first rodeo with fixing up a house and managing the job themselves.
 
I have to bend a little with different people. Again, I'm in a hard market right now & can't cherry pick my jobs. This couple is fixing up a house they inherited and need to sell. They didn't have enough $ to contract it all out. I'm the only contractor they hired to do my full job. They bring in others as needed & do most of the work with other family helping out. They were very accommodating to me when I had to work short days to deal with family illness, get kids from school, to appointments, etc.

I'm just saying I need to keep something on site for them to refer to. They are among the few customers too without e mail or I would e mail info to them as needed for a permanent record.
 
Sounds like they dont have money to spend because they dont want to spend money. People who cry poverty are the worst customers in the world the house will sell and they will make a nice profit .
 
Rewire said:
Sounds like they dont have money to spend because they dont want to spend money. People who cry poverty are the worst customers in the world the house will sell and they will make a nice profit .
Click to expand...

I completely agree! If they sold the house as existing when they inherited it, that's money handed to them!
They just want more. I have a house right now that over looks the river in a very expensive neighborhood. Yet the owner is playing GC to save money and he is constantly reminding us, "no extras", and he needs low cost because he's over budget. I just ignore him, in a few years he'll be bragging to his friends how cheap he built the house, and the large equity he now has.
 
Well maybe, although they may need to use money from selling house to pay debts of estate. In general I tend to agree that the ones poormouthing are often those that are bragging a few years later.
 
I am never comfortable with others doing part of the electrical I will not if it is permitted work. The main issue becomes warranty work how do you convince the new owner you didnt install it.
 
Rewire said:
I am never comfortable with others doing part of the electrical I will not if it is permitted work. The main issue becomes warranty work how do you convince the new owner you didnt install it.
Click to expand...

I never said he was doing part of the electrical. I said I was the only contractor he hired for a full job. I have done all the electrical. He is doing drywall, painting, soffit work, etc. He hired a cabinet guy for a few things & will get an HVAC guy to do what's needed there.

This has not been a bad job, just a little messy sometimes. He took a good while between rough and trim. They agreed to my price and never balked when I asked for a payment. I've already gotten most of my payments & just a few hundred to go. I hope to do more for them down the road.
 
jmellc said:
I never said he was doing part of the electrical. I said I was the only contractor he hired for a full job. I have done all the electrical. He is doing drywall, painting, soffit work, etc. He hired a cabinet guy for a few things & will get an HVAC guy to do what's needed there.

This has not been a bad job, just a little messy sometimes. He took a good while between rough and trim. They agreed to my price and never balked when I asked for a payment. I've already gotten most of my payments & just a few hundred to go. I hope to do more for them down the road.
Click to expand...

as you say, work is thin in some areas of the country, and money is thin in most of them.

one of the tests of taking something that isn't maximum profit.....
"if i weren't doing this, would i just be sitting there posting something on mike holt
about having "standards" in my customers?"

i quoted a fellow on two A/C hookups... supposedly 30 amp 3 phase 208 volt...
turns out they need to be 40 amp 3 phase. so the disconnects are more,
the wire is more, etc.

wasn't the customers fault.... hvac guy grabbed the wrong cut sheet when
i asked about the load.... it happens... the hvac is a good customer, and a
friend..... so who pays for the extra material cost?

i do. it's a few hundred bucks, and i'll probably get further work from the
customer, and even if i don't, i get a lot of referrals from the hvac contractor,
and i'm not greedy. and if you go back to the customer on the first work order,
and ask for an extra, there probably won't be a second work order.

mainly the reason is he's a nice guy i'd like to do ongoing work for.

there is always enough, and i understand why jmellic is doing what he is doing.
i'd do the same thing.

is it the hyper focused, targeted, agressive business success story model?
nope.....

but then neither was the guy who tossed me $30k worth of work, 'cause he
knew i needed it more than he did. i've had a lot of people treat me very well,
and sometimes i'm fortunate enough to be able to return the favor.
 
Job is languishing because the work isn't happening as fast as you might like? Guy running the job wants a 'final' before they're done? Requesting "after the fact" changes?

Are you sure you're not working for a general contractor?
 
renosteinke said:
Job is languishing because the work isn't happening as fast as you might like? Guy running the job wants a 'final' before they're done? Requesting "after the fact" changes?

Are you sure you're not working for a general contractor?
Click to expand...

No, he's not a GC. He is a working man, like us. Works a full time job & they inherited a house needing repairs, but not a lot of $ along with it. He's been doing as much himself as he can.

I was just saying this is the kind of customer I need to give a good list to help him/her keep in mind the order of events. They don't do this every day & it's a bit overwhelming for them.
 
a common sense list of progression your close to final it appears you can have a critical path figured in where these thing must be done before you can move on to the next

owners doing the work themselves is always slow even GCs can be slow at times
 
Just keep reminding them that your one of the last people on the job because not only do we do outlets and llights but the HVAC and plumbing system need electricity. I also explain to them that if I get in before the painter it SLOWS the job down becuase now the painter has to cut around my stuff and alwas misses so now instead of a nice new product it damaged before you get to use it.
 
andyselec@aol.com said:
Just keep reminding them that your one of the last people on the job because not only do we do outlets and llights but the HVAC and plumbing system need electricity. I also explain to them that if I get in before the painter it SLOWS the job down becuase now the painter has to cut around my stuff and alwas misses so now instead of a nice new product it damaged before you get to use it.
Click to expand...

Yes, we have that very issue too. He wants me to go ahead with my stuff, which I am doing. Most painting has been done, but kitchen has not. I'm trimming and plating. He will have to remove plates & tape devices.
 
jmellc said:
Yes, we have that very issue too. He wants me to go ahead with my stuff, which I am doing. Most painting has been done, but kitchen has not. I'm trimming and plating. He will have to remove plates & tape devices.
Click to expand...

Knowing you have to go back at some point, I wouldn't bother plating (unless the dwelling is being lived in with circuits energized).

I like your idea about making a list of events for the home owner.
Itemize the list by phase and explain who is responsible for what. Have a place on there where both parties sign off each phase as it is completed. Any changes that occur after a phase is completed cost extra.
 
Fulthrotl said:
as you say, work is thin in some areas of the country, and money is thin in most of them.

one of the tests of taking something that isn't maximum profit.....
"if i weren't doing this, would i just be sitting there posting something on mike holt
about having "standards" in my customers?"

i quoted a fellow on two A/C hookups... supposedly 30 amp 3 phase 208 volt...
turns out they need to be 40 amp 3 phase. so the disconnects are more,
the wire is more, etc.

wasn't the customers fault.... hvac guy grabbed the wrong cut sheet when
i asked about the load.... it happens... the hvac is a good customer, and a
friend..... so who pays for the extra material cost?

i do. it's a few hundred bucks, and i'll probably get further work from the
customer, and even if i don't, i get a lot of referrals from the hvac contractor,
and i'm not greedy. and if you go back to the customer on the first work order,
and ask for an extra, there probably won't be a second work order.

mainly the reason is he's a nice guy i'd like to do ongoing work for.

there is always enough, and i understand why jmellic is doing what he is doing.
i'd do the same thing.

is it the hyper focused, targeted, agressive business success story model?
nope.....

but then neither was the guy who tossed me $30k worth of work, 'cause he
knew i needed it more than he did. i've had a lot of people treat me very well,
and sometimes i'm fortunate enough to be able to return the favor.
Click to expand...
I personally can't understand this.

You say this customer is a nice guy, but then you act like he will take the job away from you unless you pay a few hundred dollars ($300?) out of your own pocket to cover the mistakes of one of his other contractors.

If he is really a nice guy, have a polite conversation with him about it. Explain what happened without throwing the other contractor under the bus, there are ways to be gentle.

But in the end, I would rather sit home than burn $300+ for no reason. Just my opinion.
 
HackWork said:
I personally can't understand this.

But in the end, I would rather sit home than burn $300+ for no reason. Just my opinion.
Click to expand...

thank you for your opinion.

and understanding it would be difficult
without knowledge of all aspects of this.

customer history, dollar value on work
performed, net profit on work performed
all affected the decision.

i'd a rather gone to work for a day and
netted what i did.

after reading your thoughts on customer
care regarding throwaway cell phones and
getting rid of fingerprints on your work,
we may have different business models
that don't reconcile well.

good luck on your endeavors.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top