I recently quoted on a job to rebuild a small brick garden wall (2ft high x 6ft long) that the customer had knocked over. To save costs I agreed to re-use the existing bricks. Since this was a friend of a friend and not very well off, I gave a price of just £30.
Once I was on the job, I was asked to modify a garden fence. According to the customer, this was going to be a really easy job. The fence panels are to be left in place, and just the existing concrete posts need changing for wooden ones (she prefers the look of wood). I won't even have to do any digging as the previous fencers did that to fit the existing posts.
So all I need do is lift the concrete posts out of the set concrete (that they were planted in), and slip in the new wooden ones, and I don't even have to touch the panels, they're already in the right place
I did try to tell her that the posts don't come out of the concrete quite as easily as they went in, but she got the impression I was trying to bump the price up. She expects this job to be done for nothing, as it's such a minor thing. After all, I can keep the concrete posts and they're as good as new!
She's recons that this is about 20 minutes work, absolute tops. No way will she accept that any digging needs to be done. The last lot did that when they fitted the fence (about 6 months ago), she saw them do it, so it shouldn't need doing again so soon.
After being quite upset, because I don't want to do the job, she then asks me if I can let her have some wooden fence posts off the van and she'll get someone else to do the job. Now she thinks I'm a right tight ar se, because I told her I don't have any wooden fence posts on my van. Surely I must have wooden fence posts on the van, I'm a builder
I charged her £30 for a mornings work, including materials, yet she now thinks I'm a stingy, work shy, penny pincher. I'm also wasteful as I used NEW sand and cement on the wall and there was nothing wrong with the old mortar. She also complained that I hadn't asked her permission to throw away the old mortar. If I wasn't using it myself, I should have given her the opportunity to sell it on
Once I was on the job, I was asked to modify a garden fence. According to the customer, this was going to be a really easy job. The fence panels are to be left in place, and just the existing concrete posts need changing for wooden ones (she prefers the look of wood). I won't even have to do any digging as the previous fencers did that to fit the existing posts.
So all I need do is lift the concrete posts out of the set concrete (that they were planted in), and slip in the new wooden ones, and I don't even have to touch the panels, they're already in the right place
I did try to tell her that the posts don't come out of the concrete quite as easily as they went in, but she got the impression I was trying to bump the price up. She expects this job to be done for nothing, as it's such a minor thing. After all, I can keep the concrete posts and they're as good as new!
She's recons that this is about 20 minutes work, absolute tops. No way will she accept that any digging needs to be done. The last lot did that when they fitted the fence (about 6 months ago), she saw them do it, so it shouldn't need doing again so soon.
After being quite upset, because I don't want to do the job, she then asks me if I can let her have some wooden fence posts off the van and she'll get someone else to do the job. Now she thinks I'm a right tight ar se, because I told her I don't have any wooden fence posts on my van. Surely I must have wooden fence posts on the van, I'm a builder
I charged her £30 for a mornings work, including materials, yet she now thinks I'm a stingy, work shy, penny pincher. I'm also wasteful as I used NEW sand and cement on the wall and there was nothing wrong with the old mortar. She also complained that I hadn't asked her permission to throw away the old mortar. If I wasn't using it myself, I should have given her the opportunity to sell it on
