Nearly Been Screwed On Job Price Again!!!!!

[satanschild]

Will I ever learn.

We're fortunate (so the government keeps telling us!) to have a large multicultural element in this city. Inevitably, you end up getting the odd job from them. Never again.
Installed a new boiler and heating system with my partner, really hot summer days, busted a gut. Did a great job, no problems, all carpets/floors back down as if they'd never been up.
Now for payment. The customers want to start haggling on a price that was agreed in advance.

My partner has a very short fuse, so sent him out to the van before he exploded. Agter explaining that the price was agreed in advance, I offered to remove the new system with a crow bar without turning off the water or gas.
After 2 hours, they eventually went upstairs to get ALL of the cash to pay us.
This is the second time now that Pakistanis have expected to either negotiate prices at the end of a job, or even not want to pay at all.

Call me racist, but hell will freeze over before I do another job for Pakistanis.
Seems that because they work 28 hours a day for 75p an hour, they want us to do the same.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

 

[jefoss]

im from leicester so it is a multi cultural society, i understand where your coming from, i think it must be their culture, for instance if i go to asians household to quote i ALWAYS bump the price up as they ALWAYS start at half the quote and try to slowly work upwards, but as for paying, i can say ive not had a problem with them, once job is compleated all monis paid up tyvm.

but as for some other people......

 

[satanschild]

You have my sympathy Jefoss.

Don't get me wrong, they pay in the end!! It's just that after having worked hard for your money, they expect you to beg for it as well.

It's not just me, other tradesmen I know wouldn't work for Asians even if they were desperate.

 

[Bahco]

The windows company that done my conservatory had a problem with a non payer after they had installed him a lovely conservatory.

Four of them went down and started dismantling the roof which made him see sense and pay up.

 

[Bespoke]

Did once and only once. At the site meeting I was told to pull my finger out by the contract manager. Said no problem client pays bill, client says yes no , yes no at the end of the meeting when every one was going around the job Alan and team was taking down oak wall panelling in front of his builder, interior designer and architect soon paid. And the client was and may be still is a foot ball player. His agent ended up paying the bills on his behalf just so we would all get paid.

My business terms are;


• Design fee paid in full before drawings and detailed spec produced no refundable.
• 50% deposit once design approved.
• 40% payable once items delivered before fixing.
• Balance with 5 working days once final invoice as been issued.
• Price note negotiable well only upwards. This is told to the client verbally and in righting just so it clear as day.
• No design fee = no drawings etc
• No 50% deposit = no work
• No 40% = no fitting.
• Above terms are carved in stone.
• The above is mentioned in black and white twice on the estimate and twice on the final quotation every one no’s where they stand.

I will never negotiate on price I name my price and stick to it.

Life is so simple

 

[WoodYouLike]

Agree that it is mostly a cultural thing, but in our experience the worst ones are rich posh arrogant whatever you want to call them, wherever they originate from.

(No wonder they're rich!)

Like Bespoke, our terms of payment are set in stone. And hassling/discounts on price before anything is agreed only happens on large orders. Our 'mantra': take it or leave it.

 

[jefoss]

thats fair enough what bespoke says but different trades have different ways, i for one am pretty flexible with prices, i give disounts to oaps, etc i never go below a certain margin, but the original point was about being screwed totally not about prices set in stone.

 

[namsag]

Mate who had previous difficulty gettin payed dealings with owner of an indian restaurant.
Done some more work and insisted on cash no cheques was about £1000 so he gets half up front rest on completion. So he finishes day befrore grand opening guy says here is your cheque , argument ensues and its take it or leave it.
Mate had shown him all ovens and ranges working but unknown to the guy he had put an isolating valve in and hid it.

So mate says when you get the money you can have an opening ,guy trys ranges and there is no gas . He is raging and my mate walks out laughing,well the guy must have spent all day trying to work it out.
Phones my mate next day and he gets money in hand he moves range couple of inches pops a board out the way and turns valve on.

Said guys face was a picture.

 

[ColJack]

would you then moan if delays or supplies prices went up and you pass the increase on to them and they then say.. "that's not the price we agreed!!"...

we have all done it..

start the job then find that it's more involved than we first thought so it goes from 5 days to a week..

 

[Bespoke]

Place orders in plenty of time i.e. in my case when client pays deposit.
At the time of putting the quotation together ask suppliers to state how long there price is good for and delivery times.

Ask for prices and delivery times etc with your suppler via email and save a copy of the email and should you be let down by the suppler i.e. price or delivery not honoured smack them about the legs with a copy of the email you also have something concrete to show the client that shows you are goody two shoes.

Take delivery price add 4% for price increases + 5% for M.A.F.A + 20% profit do this and you wont need to go to the client cap in hand for more pennies.

Regarding the job taking longer due to unforeseen circumstance I think if some one as been in there particular trade a reasonable period of time we should now all or at lest 98% of the unforeseen circumstance there just can’t be that many.

 

[ColJack]

crushed conduit in a floor that you were going to reuse but needs to be dug out and replaced? ( existing single wires ok, but new T+E won't pull through.. )...

recently tiled bathroom floor ( as in since you quoted ) so you have to go via the bedroom to get the shower cable in...

 

[Bespoke]

Full and detailed professional site survey taking nothing for granted. Allow for all eventualities and if the goods are used you are covered and if they are not pennies in the bank.

Quote reads

It is hope to use the existing conduit and my quotation reflects this but this not found to be possible then additional cost may be occurred by the client my quotation is accepted on this understanding.

 

[oilman]

Quote reads

It is hope to use the existing conduit and my quotation reflects this but this not found to be possible then additional cost may be occurred by the client my quotation is accepted on this understanding.

I hope you are going to reword this in standard English

 

[sparkmanc]

Will I ever learn.

We're fortunate (so the government keeps telling us!) to have a large multicultural element in this city. Inevitably, you end up getting the odd job from them. Never again.
Installed a new boiler and heating system with my partner, really hot summer days, busted a gut. Did a great job, no problems, all carpets/floors back down as if they'd never been up.
Now for payment. The customers want to start haggling on a price that was agreed in advance.

My partner has a very short fuse, so sent him out to the van before he exploded. Agter explaining that the price was agreed in advance, I offered to remove the new system with a crow bar without turning off the water or gas.
After 2 hours, they eventually went upstairs to get ALL of the cash to pay us.
This is the second time now that Pakistanis have expected to either negotiate prices at the end of a job, or even not want to pay at all.

Call me racist, but hell will freeze over before I do another job for Pakistanis.
Seems that because they work 28 hours a day for 75p an hour, they want us to do the same.

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

Just done a re-wire for an asian, know exactly where your coming from.

 

[Zampa]

Its not a 'race thing' is a common sense thing..same as it is for dealing with travelers..sure not all are bent and not all asians are out to screw you..but there is no harm in keeping your wits about you and staying on your toes.

I know so many tradesmen who say '' i just wont do work for 'them' ''...I must be honest the Asians dont do themselves any favours whatsoever by doing the haggling at the end of a job and not the begining.

We were doing a local Indian takeaway...two blokes walked past and said 'what them lot boys..we done work for them and they messed us about'

Instant down tools and waited for the owner to square things first.

Worked on another indian restruant job as a favour to another decorator I loosely know...as the job was coming to an end the asian owner called in...the builder said 'not long now and youll be open''...the owner said .....I cant do the accent.....''yes and soon as we get plenty of customers in the sooner I can pay you''...

The builder went white!!!

He pointed at a really nice stained glass window and told the owner...''pay me in full on Monday..or out that comes''...

He got paid.....

The last time I priced one the ownder said ... I cant do the accent....''cash money, cash money...cheap job cheap job''...while waving his fingers at me.

I said ''no no...cheque money cheque money...expensive job!''

Needless to say I didnt get it..

It either that or they want you to cut corners like papering over paper etc..

Nah not for me...

Until they wise up they are always going to be charged top doller and end up with a barny at the end of the job

Totally uneccessary...