Who would work for this customer?

[ARWadsworth]

The customer wants an extension.

So, I met the builder and the plumber at the customers house to finalise the quote when the customer asked me and the plumber "Can you fit water and electricity meters so that I do not have to pay for the water and electricity used by the building works?". At first I thought he could claim something back by seperate useage, but it turns out he want to bill the builder for water and electricity usage.

I have no idea how much electricity will be used by the builder and all the other people on site. But I'll bet it is less than the £100 I want to supply and install a meter and a temporary socket.

[charles]

But when builders at the site adjacent to our village hall started to use our outside tap, we did get a bit cross - they hadn't even asked. It's now turned off and they need to pay for a tap at a nearby water main.

[Andrew Gabriel]

and for the electricity, it's illegal to charge any more than it costs him (don't know about water).

[charles]

I suspect that only applies to residential tenants.

[ARWadsworth]

Well thats buggered my suggestion that the builder should stick 20% his electricity bill from the customer and call it sundries in the final bill:-)

[Alan]

In message , ARWadsworth wrote

Call it VAT

[mike]

Are any of the three of you seriously thinking of working for this idiot?

[ARWadsworth]

No. He might as well have stuck a banner on the house saying "I am a wanker - do not work for me"

I have had problems in the past with a few customers who do not like to pay for extras when I am wiring up an extension, but they are few and far between. I like to make it clear at the start what is included in the initial price.

I would say that 95% of my customers are happy with my work and prices, 3% are very happy, 1% are unhappy and the remaining 1% will never be happy no matter what you did.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

On a domestic job I'd expect anyone quoting for it to expect it to be supplied 'free'. If this isn't the case - like no supply available, they'd adjust the quote accordingly. Whichever way, the customer will pay.

[ARWadsworth]

The plumber never did get back with a quote to supply 5000 litres of Evian:-)

[Andy Burns]

Quote them for weekly hire of a noisy site generator and water bowser, plus regular fuel and water deliveries ...

[ARWadsworth]

I am sure the next door neighbour of the guy we quoted for would also be unhappy if we plugged my extension lead into his house, used his outside tap, drank his tea and rifled through his wife's underwear drawer.

[damduck-egg]

Probably cost more in Diesel than paying for electric but if the builder turned up with a nice air cooled generator with a noisy exhaust then the bloke may wish he had been a bit more tactful.

G.Harman

[Owain]

plus a site office cabin, because that sort of customer won't let you use their kettle.

A site office cabin has the advantage the genny has to run overnight too to power the fax machine.

Owain

[Nick Leverton]

... ate his biscuits ...

Nick

[NT]

if only.. Seems its always someone elses fault, according to them :)

NT

[NT]

I wonder. There's only one way to find out :)

NT

[Dave Liquorice]

Shouldn't you be aiming to make that the other way round 95% very happy, 3% happy. Only 3% very happy isn't very good.

Aye, there will always be something for that last 1% to find fault with, the shade of grey for the T&E or a single bit of stripped sleeving left behind.

[Tony Bryer]

The reality is, though, that the average householder is probably not in a position to accurately judge the quality or value of work done. At two of the worst ever jobs during my time as a BCO, the householders were quite happy. The builders were probably smooth talkers who successfully persuaded naive customers that they were the professionals and the BCO was just a troublemaking bureaucrat. If they were Daily Mail readers they probably believed this without question!

I met that guy's builder once. He'd built an extension, very fair job, and received *18* pages of snagging. Things like "slots on kitchen door hinge screws don't all face the same way".

In my plan drawing era I met a potential client whose main interest was how much indemnity insurance did I hold, should he wish to sue. He got back a polite but definite "not interested" letter. The trouble is that in times like the present you may feel you cannot afford to turn away work, although you sense the sort of person the client is.

[fred]

We quote bespoke work " Subject to our standard specifications and manufacturing tolerances." We have yet to be asked for a copy of the spec or the details of the manufacturing tolerance. All our bespoke work (Furniture) is on a 50% deposit basis. I reckon that way we share the risk equally. We risk he will pull out and not complete, he risks we make a total balls up . Final rule is never, never ask the customer, especially a woman, if she is happy when the job is finished. Just get a signature and the cheque. Genuine problems with genuine customers we will always sort out but there is always the w****r who is weaseling around looking for an excuse not to pay.

Paul Mc Cann