What would you do ?

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

You go to a job to start for the week, get there and its not ready !! so straight away you lose money!! , then when you do get to start the rendering /screeding done by others is appalling, do you walk away and lose a weeks money or do you stay and tile it anyway thinking it will look rough ,but at least you get your money for the week ?? Honest answers only please

 

[Concrete guy]

I discuss the problem with the customer explain the options then take it from there.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

You have it in your terms of trading when they sign up for you to do the work and pay a deposit!

 

[beanz]

Chat to the customer and explain how much more its going to cost them..

Not a good idea to tile it anyway. Yes you'll get paid (or possibly not, if it looks really rough), but it won't do your reputation much good.

 

[John Benton]

You are doing the cosmetics and that's what people see, therefore if it looks bad then you will be getting the phone call. You need to speak to the customer and relay the issues and tell them you can remedy at a cost of £*** or get the original company back to sort it. Either way you cannot tile on to what the present substrate is.

 

[One Day]

T's & C's should explain at quotation stage that charges will be made for lost days due to (insert)...
Also additional charges will be made if substrates are not suitable (and explain "suitable" beforehand)...

I have such clauses and they've saved me being out of pocket a couple of times.
I'd only really kick up a fuss if I believed the problems to be deliberate or lazy - and not unavoidable.

 

[TJ Smiler]

The trouble is sometimes, (i don't know about you lot) but for me i sometimes feel like that by telling the customer how rough there current prep work is i'm sort of calling them a mug for hiring the person who was doing it and at the same time i don't like slatting off another tradesman work, especially if they are due to come back on site.....

I had the exact same situation a couple of weeks ago, it caused me so much grief and has demolished any order i had in my diary....


Never again will i follow on from a builder without having clauses in my quote that if i can't work for whatever reason then it's a charge 'by the hour' or 'by the day' and all extra work carried out will also be a charge. I had a nightmare on my job with the builder there......... I ended up doing tons of extra work in 2 bathrooms which i told him i'm charging for (which he agreed to) but at the end of it when i asked him for the money he didn't want to pay saying it was always part of a tilers. We had a massive row which very nearly came to blows!! after all the work to then have to argue etc etc........... at the end of it i got my money though

I woul be as up front as possible with the customer mate and i would be clearly statting my T's & C's............ I will from now on. Big lesson learned for me.

 

[Andy Allen]

Honest answer Dave.......you should of walked from day one and had the week off..

im sick of being messed about by customers and it seems to be getting worse, I've taken quite a hard line this year and I find it a lot less stressfull, better to have a week off than end up with a customer from hell (see mr hobson)...

and as for trems and conditions imo the customer will still do what they want...mess you about, without the slightest care in the world.....and pay you when they want too.....no mater what your T/C say...

 

[mike1979]

A perfectionist as you are and the work you produce well you should know the answer one rough job could undo years of hard work

 

[TJ Smiler]

and as for trems and conditions imo the customer will still do what they want...mess you about, without the slightest care in the world.....and pay you when they want too.....no mater what your T/C say...[/QUOTE]

Great point mate, and very true and dare i face the shame of changing my opinion on a public forum.... i think your absolutely right :rockon2:

Am still gonna put new T's & C's on my quotes though just in case i'm ever foolish enough to find myself in that situation, at least it's something to fall back on should it ever get to that stage :yesnod:

 

[Sean Kelly]

I guess your diary dictates your actions. If you can pull another job forward and not lose money this week then all is nearly fine. If not, then it's time to do your books etc. Either way the customer has to be told the honest truth. This situation is probably not caused by the customer, but the customer should have kept you informed of the progress or lack of it of this project. The plasterer probably said that the walls should be in that state to receive tiles. If you can rectify this situation by doing the work yourself or employing someone to do it then the chances are you will come out on top (financially). Good luck.

 

[Matthew77]

I seem to be losing a lot of days recently due to booking work in and then the builder/customer not being ready and changing the start date. I'm usually booked up around 2 months in advance and people cancelling their booking slot obviously ruins my diary as then I really struggle to fit them in for another 2 months and they generally get a bit unreasonable about this even though as far as I can see its not really my fault:mad2:

The other one is quoting for basic 250x300 ceramics just around the bath and then turning up to find out they have decided to buy natural stone and mosaics and they want the whole bathroom tiling.

I'd be interested to to see what you guys put in your T&C's about this. I have just a basic 7 day payment term and all surfaces must be suitable for tiling onto or prep work will be charged at an extra hourly rate.