Mardy Customer

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Stevieo

Royal Spin Doctor
Customer has been behind me and isn't happy about what he feels is overcharging him on a dehumidifier.

Basically I quoted him £30 a day for it and he's found that I'll only have paid for the first 3 days when the machine was on the job 6, so the way he figures, my price is £90 heavy.

It's never been my practice to pass on discounts of any kind to the customer.

This is the first time this particular problem has come up.

What do you guys reckon?

I was thinking of explaining the concept of profit to him and pointing out that machines don't carry themselves up the stairs, then giving him the option to pay if he wishes. I'll accept it £90 light if he coughs up today - before it turns into a pissing contest and I have to super glue his front door shut.

Or should I stick to my guns - what do you think, wise men of tpf?
 
Customer has been behind me and isn't happy about what he feels is overcharging him on a dehumidifier.

Basically I quoted him £30 a day for it and he's found that I'll only have paid for the first 3 days when the machine was on the job 6, so the way he figures, my price is £90 heavy.

It's never been my practice to pass on discounts of any kind to the customer.

This is the first time this particular problem has come up.

What do you guys reckon?

I was thinking of explaining the concept of profit to him and pointing out that machines don't carry themselves up the stairs, then giving him the option to pay if he wishes. I'll accept it £90 light if he coughs up today - before it turns into a pissing contest and I have to super glue his front door shut.

Or should I stick to my guns - what do you think, wise men of tpf?

Very simple this one was price structure agreed before hand or just invoiced on good faith at the end of job?
 
Very simple this one was price structure agreed before hand or just invoiced on good faith at the end of job?
I quoted him £580 plus plumbing.

He asked me for a dehumidifier to speed the job up.

I quoted him £30 a day and it was at the job 6 days. £180.

But now he has my bill and he doesn't want to pay £180 because he knows I paid £90. So he feels I've pulled the wool and he's digging his heels in.
 
I quoted him £580 plus plumbing.

He asked me for a dehumidifier to speed the job up.

I quoted him £30 a day and it was at the job 6 days. £180.

But now he has my bill and he doesn't want to pay £180 because he knows I paid £90. So he feels I've pulled the wool and he's digging his heels in.
Stick to your guns . if he agreed to your price then he has no grounds to argue once the job is complete . Ask him nicely to pay you in full as of the terms and conditions and say that you will no longer wish to tender for any more work he may pass your way . Be polite but firm. I usually find this works .
 
I quoted him £580 plus plumbing.

He asked me for a dehumidifier to speed the job up.

I quoted him £30 a day and it was at the job 6 days. £180.

But now he has my bill and he doesn't want to pay £180 because he knows I paid £90. So he feels I've pulled the wool and he's digging his heels in.
Take the profit off , after your time for sorting it , and politely explain that you need to make profit to cover losses of jobs that go wrong due to unforeseen problems , after your finished and he's happy to pay , mention that one of the unforseen problems is customers who don't pay and to protect against price increases you will be declining any of his or his associates offers of work
Do it nicely or you lose the moral high ground
 
Explain fcuk all. A price was agreed to complete a specific task or tasks, those tasks have been completed and the payment is now due. It's not a negotiation.

If he wanted the best rate for hiring equipment then he should have spent his time finding it and hiring it himself.
 
Explain fcuk all. A price was agreed to complete a specific task or tasks, those tasks have been completed and the payment is now due. It's not a negotiation.

If he wanted the best rate for hiring equipment then he should have spent his time finding it and hiring it himself.

100%
 
I quoted him £580 plus plumbing.

He asked me for a dehumidifier to speed the job up.

I quoted him £30 a day and it was at the job 6 days. £180.

But now he has my bill and he doesn't want to pay £180 because he knows I paid £90. So he feels I've pulled the wool and he's digging his heels in.

Then you've had your answer from @imago
 
I understand that the quote was the quote but more or less the question rephrased is - do you think the £90 on a thousand quid job is worth the pissing contest?

I would judge it soley on likelihood of future work good contact/referees etc alone.

If none of the above he would get charged every penny. Like @imago if he wanted best discount should of sourced himself.

So long as you haven't blagged and stated the price from the offset n email quote then not your problem.

Ps this is why I always email all quoted works including any additional works prior to commence for which you slagged me off for the other week then it's all above board & formal.
 
I understand that the quote was the quote but more or less the question rephrased is - do you think the £90 on a thousand quid job is worth the pissing contest?
How does he know you paid £90? Bit of a tricky one if you've said it will cost you £30 a day and he's someone found out it hasn't then I'd be abit pissed too tbh
 
How does he know you paid £90? Bit of a tricky one if you've said it will cost you £30 a day and he's someone found out it hasn't then I'd be abit pissed too tbh
Simple. He went to the hire shop and they told him £30 a day hire for 3 days get the rest of the week free.

So now he thinks he's been unfairly billed.
 
Was your quote with hire costs provided prior before works or just as a final invoice and in writing?
It was by text.

He had his quote but then he said hurry up. I said I can't unless you want to pay for a dehumidifier and they're £30 a day.

He said do it.

And now he wants my discount.
 
It was by text.

He had his quote but then he said hurry up. I said I can't unless you want to pay for a dehumidifier and they're £30 a day.

He said do it.

And now he wants my discount.

Ok, Well this was my argument the other day texts & phone calls are just hear say imo.

Formal quotes should be via email on letter headed paper etc maybe me being old fashioned but if it's just said casualy via text then i think you look unprofessional trying to charge more now he knows the situation.

If correctly presented on email quote that the hire is in effect from you and not the shop then it would read much better and professional.
 
I understand that the quote was the quote but more or less the question rephrased is - do you think the £90 on a thousand quid job is worth the pissing contest?

The amount is irrelevant, you gave him a price and he accepted it. Also worth pointing out it's not £90:00, unless of course your time and diesel are free? You contacted the hire co, you accepted their terms which makes you responsible for the equipment, you drove out to pick it up and take it back.

The "but I could have got it cheaper" whine is just bollox. What he is actually saying is "I'll take you for a c**t and you'll just accept it."

Of course it's all just noise and opinion on a forum, you can and will do what you want it's entirely up to you how much money you're prepared to give away. The facts are simple though, legally and morally you haven't been paid until you've been paid in full.
 
The amount is irrelevant, you gave him a price and he accepted it. Also worth pointing out it's not £90:00, unless of course your time and diesel are free? You contacted the hire co, you accepted their terms which makes you responsible for the equipment, you drove out to pick it up and take it back.

The "but I could have got it cheaper" whine is just bollox. What he is actually saying is "I'll take you for a c**t and you'll just accept it."

Of course it's all just noise and opinion on a forum, you can and will do what you want it's entirely up to you how much money you're prepared to give away. The facts are simple though, legally and morally you haven't been paid until you've been paid in full.
Yeah but the customer was told they were £30 a day to hire. They aren't it's £90 for the 6 days. Unfortunately if someone knows where you hired the machine you've got to be truthful on what it costs really or you can get caught out like this.
Customers obviously thought f**k**g hell £180 for a dehumidifier and checked the cost. I'm pretty sure this isn't a discount because stevieos a tradesman but just the cost for anyone. It's always cheaper for a full week and he should of charged what it cost, not double
 
Yeah but the customer was told they were £30 a day to hire. They aren't it's £90 for the 6 days. Unfortunately if someone knows where you hired the machine you've got to be truthful on what it costs really or you can get caught out like this.
Customers obviously thought f**k**g hell £180 for a dehumidifier and checked the cost. I'm pretty sure this isn't a discount because stevieos a tradesman but just the cost for anyone. It's always cheaper for a full week and he should of charged what it cost, not double

You're missing the point. The customer was told how much @Stevieo was charging to do the work and accepted that. He was charging £30 a day for the dehumidifier.

Did the customer ask the hire shop how much it cost them?
 
Ok, Well this was my argument the other day texts & phone calls are just hear say imo.

Formal quotes should be via email on letter headed paper etc maybe me being old fashioned but if it's just said casualy via text then i think you look unprofessional trying to charge more now he knows the situation.

If correctly presented on email quote that the hire is in effect from you and not
Yeah but the customer was told they were £30 a day to hire. They aren't it's £90 for the 6 days. Unfortunately if someone knows where you hired the machine you've got to be truthful on what it costs really or you can get caught out like this.
Customers obviously thought f**k**g hell £180 for a dehumidifier and checked the cost. I'm pretty sure this isn't a discount because stevieos a tradesman but just the cost for anyone. It's always cheaper for a full week and he should of charged what it cost, not double

I stated £30 a day. Looking back I should probably have been more iron clad about renting from me.

Looking at it, I'm going to accept that I may lose the profit on this one.

I'm going to explain to the customer that what he thinks is fair means me working for nowt which was never my intention.

Up to him if he thinks I've been unfair or unreasonable and the offer is good so long as he pays me tomorrow.
 
its the same you charging say 200 a day for one of your lads but he then finds your your paying him 150. and he wants yo be charged the rate your paying your guy for.

why should.you bank roll his requirements for cost price. well less than cost price if count delivery and taking away.

always got to be a mark up. if he didnt like it he should of got it himself
 
You're missing the point. The customer was told how much @Stevieo was charging to do the work and accepted that. He was charging £30 a day for the dehumidifier.

Did the customer ask the hire shop how much it cost them?
The customers asked how much it is to hire. Stevieos said £30 a day and tried to make a £90 profit by not saying there's a discount given for a week's hire. He's got found out on this occasion unfortunately
 
its the same you charging say 200 a day for one of your lads but he then finds your your paying him 150. and he wants yo be charged the rate your paying your guy for.

why should.you bank roll his requirements for cost price. well less than cost price if count delivery and taking away.

always got to be a mark up. if he didnt like it he should of got it himself
It's nothing like that. As that's a labour charge and you can rightly charge whatever you want.

This is clearly a chat between the customer and him and he's said a humidifier is going to cost £180 for 6 days. It actually cost 90 and the customer has found out lol. Banged to rights
 
And he didn't say £30 a day in the first place to make a profit, he said that because that's what it was going to cost.
They had it longer than he probably expected and he realised he was only going to have to pay half and thought he'd pocket it. Like alot of us would of done. But he's got found out so got to hold his hands up
 
It's nothing like that. As that's a labour charge and you can rightly charge whatever you want.

This is clearly a chat between the customer and him and he's said a humidifier is going to cost £180 for 6 days. It actually cost 90 and the customer has found out lol. Banged to rights
You are one argumentative c**t with no idea of running a business. No wonder you can't believe that people can make serious money.
 
The bloke sounds like a c*** to me, I'd get what you can out of the man nicely without any hard feelings pocket it, then go in with another bill for the rest more aggressively,
 
The customers asked how much it is to hire. Stevieos said £30 a day and tried to make a £90 profit by not saying there's a discount given for a week's hire. He's got found out on this occasion unfortunately
Not quite.

I told him £30 a day.

Anyway, on this occasion, I've decided to learn from it and be clearer in future.


Screenshot_20191210_155206_com.google.android.apps.messaging.jpg
 
You are one argumentative c**t with no idea of running a business. No wonder you can't believe that people can make serious money.
I'm probably hitting the higher rate tax this year as a sole trader so that isn't bad going in my book. I'm not the one with an argumentive customer so I'm doing something right in that regard too. Cheers
 
The customers asked how much it is to hire. Stevieos said £30 a day and tried to make a £90 profit by not saying there's a discount given for a week's hire. He's got found out on this occasion unfortunately

He didn't "get found out" the customer found that he could get it cheaper by going direct. That's the case with many things and it has no bearing on what any company charges.

For any business to buy or hire something in and not add their own costs plus profit is poor practice at best, and shows a complete lack of understanding the most basic principles of running a profitable business. It doesn't matter if it's a sole trader or a multi-billion pound international, they exist to make a profit.

I had a crane and driver on hire Monday morning, they invoiced me at £350:00 plus VAT. If I charged the customer £350:00 plus VAT I would make a loss on it albeit a small one. Think of the other costs to me, my time to arrange it, the internet and phone to be able to contact the company, my insurance cover for it, my time to pay the invoice, my time to handle their invoice, the proportion of my accountant's time which I will pay to handle the VAT content and process the invoice for submission to HMRC. Then there has to be a profit margin either on the hire, or on the job including the hire. Add that lot up across all the hired/bought equipment for all the jobs done in a year and it starts to become a noticeable figure.

If you buy or hire something in for a job and don't cover all of the above then you are losing money.

Even more has to be taken into account when you buy tools and equipment. Obviously you don't break it down for each thing, but you absolutely need to make sure all expenses are covered and there's a profit on top.
 
He didn't "get found out" the customer found that he could get it cheaper by going direct. That's the case with many things and it has no bearing on what any company charges.

For any business to buy or hire something in and not add their own costs plus profit is poor practice at best, and shows a complete lack of understanding the most basic principles of running a profitable business. It doesn't matter if it's a sole trader or a multi-billion pound international, they exist to make a profit.

I had a crane and driver on hire Monday morning, they invoiced me at £350:00 plus VAT. If I charged the customer £350:00 plus VAT I would make a loss on it albeit a small one. Think of the other costs to me, my time to arrange it, the internet and phone to be able to contact the company, my insurance cover for it, my time to pay the invoice, my time to handle their invoice, the proportion of my accountant's time which I will pay to handle the VAT content and process the invoice for submission to HMRC. Then there has to be a profit margin either on the hire, or on the job including the hire. Add that lot up across all the hired/bought equipment for all the jobs done in a year and it starts to become a noticeable figure.

If you buy or hire something in for a job and don't cover all of the above then you are losing money.

Even more has to be taken into account when you buy tools and equipment. Obviously you don't break it down for each thing, but you absolutely need to make sure all expenses are covered and there's a profit on top.
Totally agree with you. But I dont think he said £30 to make money. He said £30 because that's what it cost him and he was probably to honest in that sense. Then realised he could make a few quid off it because he was going to need it for a week. That's how the customer found him out
 
Totally agree with you. But I dont think he said £30 to make money. He said £30 because that's what it cost him and he was probably to honest in that sense. Then realised he could make a few quid off it because he was going to need it for a week. That's how the customer found him out
I told him £30 a day.

I knew it would be more than 3 days and that would be profit.

My mistake was one word.

I said "it's"

I should have said "I need"
 
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