Customers relations.

[Mike]

Im sure ive made mistakes but im voing to try to improve after an experience i had this week.

Last month i bought a junk boat on a trailer after i took the boat to the landfill i saw there was rot i missed in the trailer crossbeams. So i removed the bunke and was going to repair it myself but my metal supplier i cound doesnt sell galvanized steele. So i called welded to replace 2 3"x3" crossbeams 150. Ok so i said ill get the triler over asap. The next day i got it over and againg crom a guy in the the dest again he said $150   Not for v shaped beams that lower the boat on the trailer 150 for straight   I said ok he said a out 10 days and wrote the job on a piece of paper i got no proposal in writing. I always give in writing.
The. They call to say its done i get there this week and the bill is now $392 with tax ! More them twice i said i was told twice 150 before tax   
Now if it was myself and my brother even grossly underwuoted the job even if it was only verbal it eat it myself and keep a customer. So for a out $200 this place has lost all my future bisnedd and referals.

[Mojo]

Mike:

We have a firm policy. If we quote a job that is what the customer is billed for. If the job entails more labor or I made a mistake with fabric needs, tough crap. We eat the overages. I will never, ever go back on my word once I give a quote.

I rarely make a mistake and am always spot on with my costing but when those times have arrived where I had a brain fart then I ate the job and delivered to the customer exactly what he ordered and for what I quoted.

Obviously this guy was a hack and he wont stay in business long zinging customers like that.
I now days get everything in writing so there is no mis-communication when dealing with other businesses. I trust no one these days because of the high level of greed out there. A painful lesson for you to learn I guess. :(

Chris

[Virgs Sew n Sew]

Yup, same here.  I stand by my quotes.  If I underestimated, that's my bad.  That's how I was always taught that business worked.  Like you said, they have lost all future business and I would make sure they understand that you will be MORE than happy to explain to people exactly how your deal went down.

Virginia

[bobbin]

Add me to the "stand by the estimate" club.

I'm pretty good at spinning a basic labor quote off the top of  my head, but I make the effort to sit down and "crunch the numbers" for materials.  I have witnessed too many unhappy scenes over the years when a poorly estimated job "went over" and the customer was irritated.  Why even go there? doing the "homework" is a lot easier!

I'd have been majorly cheesed off at that one, Mike. 

[Mike]

chris I think the young guy that gave the estimate was just a employee but the bow should stick with the price and teach the guy if hes going to price jobs better.   a few  times when I go to a boat to price it the customer  thinks ill have to get back to him with a price, I say if you have a few minutes ill have a cost right now if you like it ill write a contract and well schedule it in so I can goof on things but ill stick to it not flip fop


my biggest mistake it ill measure a job like my last cover I figured 33 yards then when I cut it I saved material overlapping bow point ect and saved about 5 yards for the next job
hooray for in my favor  like making a small bimini using 60" width with a front to back center seam and it is only 7 feet wide usualy the storage boot can be made using the width of the top material  cut off  to make it rather then off the roll

[mike802]

I also stick to my estimates and have eaten many jobs over the years.  But for some reason most trades people I have had to deal with do not.  From mechanics to plumbers they all seam to have the attitude that an estimate is an estimate only and does not reflect the actual cost of the job.  Most people I deal with have such a fairy tail vision of what upholstery should cost if I did not have a reputation of sticking to my estimates I would not get the business.

[scott_san_diego]

I also stick by my estimate.  If something unexpectitly comes up, I will call the customer and discuss diffrent options they will have.
You might go on the web and leave a review for the business and let other people know how they played games with the pricing.

[sofadoc]

I've never reneged on an estimate. I've lost money a few times. BUT I've also made more profit than I originally anticipated as well.

So how many of you give back some of the money when a job went a lot easier than you expected? I'm guessing none.  ;)

[bobbin]

You win some, y0u lose some, eh Sofa.? 

I try to be fair.  You can't gouge people for too long before the word gets out and people call you less.  I have a job on my bench today that has proven more time-consuming that I thought it would be.  Simple, stapled on backs, not very large, but the staples are rusted through and the rip-down has sucked.  I do my level best to remove the "nubs"  and pound in those that I can't remove, but it eats up time. 

Note to self:  when assessing staple on items make the time test the "rustiness" and give a spread in labor to accommodate extra time that may be required.  I'll make out fine on the job, but I've been "chasing my schedule" for over a month now and every precious hour counts. 

[MinUph]

In this business an estimate is as good as a work order and the invoice that follows is the same. Win some Loose some. The trick is to win more than you loose. But in the end you must be ahead. I've always estimated mid range. In case the job may need this or that and some need both while others need neither. Win some Loose some.

[JuneC]

I've done my share of covers and upholstery for 4 or 5 $ per hour.  Some, even less.  As said, the trick is to make those situations a rarity.  And I don't change my prices either.  The quote goes on the final invoice.  However, I sometimes caution customers that I might find something unexpected (like rotten plywood) that will raise the price.  Even then, when I do, it's very little and not fore-warned. 

June

[MinUph]

Yes June I did forget to mention when I do boat work I will explain that if wood replacement is needed I will give them a call and the price will go up accordingly. I let them know what it would be if required. Most wooden boat seats need to be replaced. Even when they "Look good" from the bottom.

[kodydog]

The last fellow I worked for did his level best not to give an estimate. I kid you not. He would pick up a piece of furniture and the customer would be clueless about the cost. I don't know how he did it. My customers would never let me get away with that. He said this method came back to bite him a time or two when upon delivery the customer was shocked at the price and he lowered it to appease them.

[sofadoc]

The last fellow I worked for did his level best not to give an estimate. I kid you not. He would pick up a piece of furniture and the customer would be clueless about the cost. I don't know how he did it. My customers would never let me get away with that. He said this method came back to bite him a time or two when upon delivery the customer was shocked at the price and he lowered it to appease them.

I guess it's a good method if you can "pull it off".
It would never fly around here. Ain't no customer letting me step even one foot in their door without knowing what it's going to cost.

Growing up in the family upholstery shop, I can remember my mother being rather vague when it came to discussing price with customers. But unlike Kody's ex-boss, it didn't just bite her "a time or two".............it bit her squarely in the butt EVERY TIME!!

I swear, she dropped her price to appease the customer on every job that went out the door.

When I took the business over, I immediately stopped all that silliness. I was able to show my mother during the first 6 months just how much money she had been leaving on the table all those years.

I've had a few "oddball" jobs that were difficult to estimate. On those, I tell the customer that the job may end up costing more than it's worth.

[BlueFlamingo]

Need You Guys Honest Professional Opinions.. A friend Posted these pics on a Forum I'm a member of.  Took his Boat Seat to a "Pro" to have it recovered.  This is what the "Pro" wanted him to accept for a $1,500 Bill!!!!  My friend said it did not meet his expectations and the "Pro" said he did not care what his expectations were, he wanted his money or he was keeping the seat and in 30 days he would sell it.



I told my friend not to accept it and seek legal advice.  I've never done seats this complex but...I know I would NEVER attempt to have a customer pay for work that looked this BAD!!!  If you're a Pro It MUST be better than this or you can't expect to charge like a pro!!! 

Am I wrong???