Telling people no way

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bpk

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Northern Minnesota
Yesterday I went to look at a job that looks like a real mess. Its a house remodel that looks to be not well organized, the owner has started pulling wire, to save himself money the carpenters said,halfway did the service with a 100 amp 20 space panel,and is something I would not want to be involved in at all. With word of mouth advertising and keeping a good reputation how do you tell people nicely there is no way that you are going to touch there project. I thought maybe I should tell him I thought it over and Im just way to busy(I actually am pretty busy), or tell him the names of a couple other electrical contractors he might want to call. Im souppose to meet him there tommorrow but I need to call him first so I dont waste each others time when I already know that Im not doing it. Thanks guys in advance.
 
Just be honest. Tell him you have learned from other experiences in the past that its better for you to not get involved in jobs that have already been started and not done right.

I recently had a job to look at and I told the guy I was going to pass but thanks for the opprotunity to look at it. I told him that he had way too much stuff to move and all of the little jobs he needed done at different times. He wasnt sure what he wanted. Worst of all he had his own materials for me to use. Then he told me that he had other electricians look at it and give him a price to work for a day. I just told him that I dont operate this way. I dont have the time to move alot of stuff to work. I use my own materials. Im not going to make 5 trips because you cant afford to have all these little jobs done at the same time. And most of all Im not the cheapest electrcian out their so I dont strive to beat the competitions price. If he wants to go with someone that claims to work for a flat rate per day then hes better off to do that.
 
1 -go in and write your scope of work

2 -be very detailed - write lots of notes

3 -price up and total your scope of work

4 -mail him the very detailed proposal with YOUR price on it

go from there
 
jimmyglen said:
1 -go in and write your scope of work

2 -be very detailed - write lots of notes

3 -price up and total your scope of work

4 -mail him the very detailed proposal with YOUR price on it

go from there
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3 -price up and total your scope of work and MAKE IT HIGH, why not make money when you get the chance.
 
2 -be very detailed - write lots of notes

not so much so that you end up "teaching" him how to proceed on his own.
 
jimmyglen said:
1 -go in and write your scope of work

go from there
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1 -go in and write your scope of work ...which includes a complete tear out of all previously installed materials.


Many times, by the time you figure out what someone [not a pro] is trying to do, it ends up actually costing less to send in the "re-do crew".
 
celtic said:
1 -go in and write your scope of work ...which includes a complete tear out of all previously installed materials.


Many times, by the time you figure out what someone [not a pro] is trying to do, it ends up actually costing less to send in the "re-do crew".
Click to expand...
I agree by the time you try to salvage material and figure out other wiring you could almost be done.
 
When I see "red flags" i.e., owner or general contractor cutting corners...slow pay...squabbling over costs...owner wanting to save money by using used wire or pipe, there are probably other jobs that will better preserve you reputation...I always say that "I'm weeks behind and I will fit you in, but it will be at a significantly higher cost"...
 
bpk said:
Yesterday I went to look at a job that looks like a real mess. Its a house remodel that looks to be not well organized, the owner has started pulling wire, to save himself money the carpenters said,halfway did the service with a 100 amp 20 space panel,and is something I would not want to be involved in at all. With word of mouth advertising and keeping a good reputation how do you tell people nicely there is no way that you are going to touch there project. I thought maybe I should tell him I thought it over and Im just way to busy(I actually am pretty busy), or tell him the names of a couple other electrical contractors he might want to call. Im souppose to meet him there tommorrow but I need to call him first so I dont waste each others time when I already know that Im not doing it. Thanks guys in advance.
Click to expand...
If it is such a mess and you have enough other work, walk away from it and don't look back.
Tell them whatever you want to. Maybe keep it simple and just say it isn't your kind of work.
You shouldn't, in my opinion, offer the names of other contractors. That will just put them in the same situation that you want to get out of.
 
consumer right

consumer right

I am just curious: what kind of mess did he make, is it too complicated to do, why didn't you inspect what he did, or redo his work if needed? Bill the guy for T&M? And remember the consumer's four rights,my friend:
The right to safety, the right to be heard, the right to choose, and the right to be informed.

good luck
 
Just be proffesional. There is nothing to be gained by belittling the guy. Just tell him that this project is a little more involved than you initially thought and that you wont have enough time for it. And I dont agree with the "just give him a super high price" theory. if you employ this ideology people are more appt to forget you in the future for other projects, or even pass your name along. Honesty goes a long way with some people. It was a plumber that gave me this advice and he is ALWAYS busy. And he does fantastic work.
 
Forget the rest of the replies. Go with your gut. If you don't feel like you want to be involved then DON'T.

Why waste your time meeting the customer, going over the job, taking notes, and writing an estimate on something you don't want to be involved with anyway?

Also, pricing the job high to make it worth your while rarely works. Specifically in this case where the guy is doing stuff himself to cut costs it would be a waste of time.

I have been working on a major remodel for over a year that is being done in stages. Two multi familly dwellings. I had a bad feeling from day one when I shouold have said no. After a year of stress and anxiety for reasons I am not going into, I walked away just this week. It was ugly and I left about $50,000 or more in potential revenue "On the table" but knowing I won't be dealing with the situation makes it worth while.

Again, go with your gut.
 
The homeowner is not poor at all. Him and his wife are both psychologists. They appeared to be remodeling an old garage into a house. He had wood lap siding on the building that he wanted the carpenters to take off and turn around so the now "good" side would be on the exterior. Where he had mounted the meterbase on the outside he had cut a space roughly the size it needed to be with a chainsaw (the carpenters told me) so the meter would sit flat on the sheeting behind the sideing,it looked terrible. I talked to him briefly on the phone and he said he wanted to pull all the wire himself and for me to just hook it up so he could save money. I didnt look at much else that he had done. I called him today and just left a message that I was really busy and wouldnt be able to dedicate enough time to his project to do a good job. If someone actually was poor I probally would try to work with them a little so they could get there project done( I just hooked up an old guys woodstove for free but he made me coffee and a sandwich for lunch) , but I dont want to work for people like this who think others time is worth very little
 
Did one of these on Friday. My tech told the home owner that there is to much to go over and he was going to have one of the electrical consultant come out and teh consultant would take the time to go over everything with him. This would cost 228+tax and he decided to go with us that would be put toward the job.....
I went out later that day and did what someone else wrote about on the thread earlier. Detail and quoted all the options on my invoice. They did side to go with us and on Monday we filed the change of contractor and did the job today.
The homeowner said we were the only that did that. That is why he went with us. Hope this experience helps
 
celtic said:
1 -go in and write your scope of work ...which includes a complete tear out of all previously installed materials.

Many times, by the time you figure out what someone [not a pro] is trying to do, it ends up actually costing less to send in the "re-do crew".
Click to expand...

Definately agreed!
 
"I'm sorry and I hope you understand, but I can't finish this project for you. I have been in this situation a couple of times before and it causes too many liability issues."
 
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