brendonv
Tree Hugger
How many of you have an addition work order form on your estimates? Multiple times while your at the property, the customer asks "while your hear", and most of the time they are thinking there is going to be no extra charge. Depending on the situation if it's one cut I'll do something "extra", but anything I feel is going to take a significant amount of time I'll let them know I have to write up an addition estimate for them.
This all comes to mind because my bro got burned a little today. We installed a gate for an exceptionally wealthy client. The gate involved welding to their existing rock pillars on the driveway. After the last bead was laid, the lady comes out and says "don't they open more than that", mind you the work was done to estimate specs. They won't open more than 90 degrees because of the style of pillars they built, and gate they picked. These gates took 3 of us almost a day to install, measuring, welding, lifting (heavy buggers), and so on.
So the lady decides she doesn't like them now. He told her we can install a 4x4 post next to the pillars and they will open more. So we go back and jackhammer for hours along the side of these 2 pillars so he can set the post. We mixed 1800lbs of concrete, and set the $300 structural steel posts. That was a day, another 6 hrs to remount the gates on the new posts, some touch up paint, and she's happy now.
Sends her the bill, no answer, sends another one, she responds with questions. Tried calling her back- no answer. Talked to her today I guess. She feels she shouldn't have to pay the $1400 to re-install the gates. They ended up settling on half, which barely covered his materials. He ate 1 day putting up the original plan, 1 day jackhammering/cementing, and another 6 hrs welding and mounting.
Moral of the story, WRITE ANOTHER ESTIMATE!
This all comes to mind because my bro got burned a little today. We installed a gate for an exceptionally wealthy client. The gate involved welding to their existing rock pillars on the driveway. After the last bead was laid, the lady comes out and says "don't they open more than that", mind you the work was done to estimate specs. They won't open more than 90 degrees because of the style of pillars they built, and gate they picked. These gates took 3 of us almost a day to install, measuring, welding, lifting (heavy buggers), and so on.
So the lady decides she doesn't like them now. He told her we can install a 4x4 post next to the pillars and they will open more. So we go back and jackhammer for hours along the side of these 2 pillars so he can set the post. We mixed 1800lbs of concrete, and set the $300 structural steel posts. That was a day, another 6 hrs to remount the gates on the new posts, some touch up paint, and she's happy now.
Sends her the bill, no answer, sends another one, she responds with questions. Tried calling her back- no answer. Talked to her today I guess. She feels she shouldn't have to pay the $1400 to re-install the gates. They ended up settling on half, which barely covered his materials. He ate 1 day putting up the original plan, 1 day jackhammering/cementing, and another 6 hrs welding and mounting.
Moral of the story, WRITE ANOTHER ESTIMATE!