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sturgisjr

What do you think??

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Warning: Venting happens here... I'm annoyed.

A month ago, we went to perform an estimate. She called and asked that we be there at 10:00am sharp. We showed up...it was pouring rain out. We brought our 2 year old daughter with us (it was a Saturday and didnt have anyone to watch her). We went to the door, she was on the phone, spoke with us through the storm door and told us to just look around and give her an estimate.

Most customers would have invited us into their home to talk things over. (ESPECIALLY when raining as hard as it was!) I was irritated because we had our daughter but I was so glad that we had our HUGE golf style umbrella.

We looked around and it looked like one thin layer of latex stain, looks easy enough to strip. But, thats beside the point. We went back to her front door and again, she was on the phone and again, talked with us through the storm door. You all know how important it is to talk with a customer and get information first before we can give an accurate estimate. Well... it appeared she was getting really irritated and got right to the point of just giving her the estimate but we managed to get her to go downstairs and show us the can of the present sealer. When asking her how many coats were put on, she finally said... " I am on the phone and its a long distance call" and motioned that we give her the estimate and leave.

Okay.. we gave her the estimate based on what we saw and knew.

(Im thinking, why did she demand we be on time and then she decides to be on the phone the whole time. Thats really rude, don'tcha think?)

NOW....

She called 2 weeks ago (didn't think we would ever hear from her again) wanting more information (oh, like we werent trying to do the same at the first visit.) She also asked for references of some of the jobs we did that were nearby that she could call and look at. We gave her 4 references, all within 1 to 2 miles from her.

Again, we waited.

She called last week and wanted us to meet with her again to go over some details. She was extremely impressed with the references. This appointment occured today.

Before we went to the appointment, we made out a list of things to go over. The first thing was to explain that we may not get ALL of the stain off. We always tell our customers that when they have a solid stain applied on their deck and that we suggest a solid re-stain. She wanted a semi-transparent, and we said okay, but it would bring the price up about 25 cents per sq.ft. SHE HAD A FIT! We brought the price up to cover any labor intensive sanding that we may encounter. (This cost will be waived if the sanding is not neccessary.) She looked at the estimate sheet and on there we have checkboxes of what will need to be performed. One of the boxes was checked and that was the "Detailing; sanding/defurring, hammering down any nail heads or screws" box.

She then decided to tell us "I want you to know what kind of person I am...you gave me an estimate at a set cost and I expect you to do all the work you have checked off on the estimate sheet in the price you gave me. This estimate was given to me a month ago and now you want to charge 25 cents extra?"

We tried explaining to her that that kind of sanding/defurring was detail work and will happen if any fuzzies show up. She saw it as sanding as a complete REMOVAL of the product if the stripper was not effective. I don't think she got it.

Anyway... we told her we will stick with a solid restain and if we are lucky and the stripper takes off EVERYTHING (its only one layer of Sherwin Williams Latex Solid Stain) then we can consider doing a semi-transparent for the price we gave her. She was okay with that.

The thing that bothered me was.... she really took control of the whole thing. We have never had a problem with other customers. This was the first time and she is not your average human being. She has some sort of weirdness in her that really makes you tense.

Anyway... the stain is peeling bad. It was applied in 2002 by a guy who owed her laundering money. He couldnt pay back or something so they made a deal that he would clean her house and deck. What was on it before was a clear coat and it was grey, ugly and dirty. She said he took it all off to bare wood and applied the Stain in November. It peeled when it was not even a year yet.

When we told her we may not be able to remove it all, she asked if we used a pressure cleaner. When we said yes, she laughed and said, it'll come off and told us about her story with the other guy who did it. It seemed like it was going in circles and she wants us to do it and do whatever it takes to get it ALL off....BUT... she wont pay the extra if I encounter labor intensive sanding if she is set on the semi-transparent even though she said she is fine with the Solid Re-stain.

She was ready to sign contracts and give us the deposit, but we told her we wanted to talk about it more first and do a test patch. I am sure it will come off with HD-80 or F-18 with no problem since it is only one layer, but becasue of the kind of person she is.... well... We are not sure if we want to commit on this job. Laughter was what we got when we told her what we wanted to do. "It will come off!! *laughing*"

As professionals, I beleive we should make sure before making any commitment especially with someone who is picky and I don't care if she is like "I told you so" when my husband has done the test patch.

Has anyone ever had a customer like that? There is more to the story but this is basically what happened. How do you handle customers who are like that? Should we go ahead and do the job or turn it down? I know we can choose our customers. We used the we'll talk about it and do the test patch excuse to buy more time. This is one person who really can cause tension miles away.

Even though she has the tendency to change her mind, we should be safe writing on the invoice/contract our agreement and she can't change that right?

And one last thing.... HD-80 or F-18 WILL take this thin layer off right? She really got to me. My husband is okay, but I'm not.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Sturgisjr's wife

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HD-80 will take it. But the bigger question is, do you need this job? Not do you want it, but do you need it? Some jobs you are better off passing on. This seems like one of those jobs to me.

Beth

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It's really important to have the respect you deserve from the customer, and to have them see you as the professional and to trust what you have to say. If you have this, then these situations are a non-issue. If you don't have it, and believe me sometimes there is no getting it with some people, then you are better off avoiding it.

I got confirmationa few minutes ago from a potential client via email. He's signing the contract, but has already said he is not trimming back all the shrubs around the deck. Imagine his surprise when we refuse the work. The shrubs are growing through the rail system, on 75% of the deck.

It's a hassle waiting to happen. Don't need the hassle.

Beth

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The other thing to consider when thinking about taking this woman's money - From what I've read, the following is likely to happen:

(1) She's going to be up someone's rear-end the entire job causing delays and unnessary stress

(2) One plant is going to die and that's going to be the end of the world!

(3) She will find the one corner under a handrail next to the house behind the grill that no one would ever see and the old stain still be there

(4) She's not going to like the color after you're completely done

(5) She'll find a loophole in the contract and not pay you

(6) She will shoot her mouth off about what a lousy job you did to all of her friends (since bad word of mouth travels at the speed of light)

OR

She'll be fine with the job, cut you a check and have the superior "I told you so" attitude - and still not tell anyone about you.

I would so run from this job :)

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It is sad that you have put so much time already into this bid. Not to mention your family's time in the rain. It is not worth them catching a cold due to bad etiquette on the customers part. That would have sent me running. I am hell bent on southern hospitality and proper manners. When you are treated like that it is hard to be humble.

I would not be too proud to give her the highest feesable quote possible. You have to recover the cost of your time already involved. At least you would not have to bawk anymore when she declines the bid. Or I would run like Bruce Jenner and move onto the next bid. You are the solution to her problem not a pin cushion because of her problem. No need to take guff from her if she does not recognize your professionalism.

My 2 cents......

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On the flip side....

I have noticed that some people who are like are looking to be proven wrong. They have a perception of an industry (usually caused by a previous bad experience) and are wanting to make you explicitly aware of their perception. Their reason for acting this way is in hopes that YOU will be the one exception to their perceived "rule" and will be stellar in performance. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works. I use a similar technique when buying cars and have used it in building my house. The idea is to tell the salesman/contractor that you know from experience that the sales guy is trying to screw you out of money unneccessarily or that the builder will try to cut corners. The sales guy/contractor, knowing that you expect this, typically goes a little farther than normal in working with/for you to make sure you are satisfied so they will be the ones you think about from now on (or, they'll let you walk and lose the sale, sometimes it backfires). When I did this on my truck, I beat them down several thousand on the cost of the car then turned around at the end of the deal and bought several upgrades. BUT, because the guy took my crap, I knew he was comitted to the sale and recommended the dealership to others. Just a thought.

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Interesting thought. Didn't even think of it that way.

Well.. today... my husband was out signing contracts with another customer today and when he left, he saw that lady pass him at the intersection. He ended up following her and then she pulled over to the side of the road and flagged him down. He pulled over to see what was up. She wanted to know if he could go to her house and do the test patch and that she would have the water pump turned on. (she couldn't call??) Anyway...I guess he is going over there around 5:00 to do the test patch. He will take the job if the HD-80 takes it off with no problems. He will decline if it looks like sanding is going to happen.

What do you think of that?

Also.. if he takes the job... this is what will be on the invoice/contract. Please tell me if there is anything I should add.

Strip off Old Sherwin Williams Latex Solid Stain. Brighten and neutralize stripping agent. Sand/Defurr any raised grain if present and hammer down raised nails if any. **THIS IS NOT STAIN REMOVAL TYPE OF SANDING IN EVENT STRIPPER FAILS. Solid Stain with Cabots __(Color of choice)___

*POSTS, downstairs railings and balcony are not included in this contract and will not be done*

If it ALL comes off, we can apply a Solid Color OIL Decking Stain right? And if it does not all come off, we would need to use a Solid Color LATEX Decking Stain.

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If it does all come off, why would you want to apply a solid color, even if it is oil? Did you mean semi-trans oil based?

Latex can be applied over oil stains, but oil stains cannot be applied over latex...OK?

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Yes... that is what I meant... A semi-transparent stain.

Husband went and did a test patch, but before he went, we had a call made to her and left a message. We explained that if the stain comes off perfectly, then he will accept the job and that if it looks like sanding is going to have to happen, then he has no choice but to decline the job cuz she won't pay extra for the sanding.

Well.. he went there and did the test patch. It took one hour and the HD-80 worked faster than f-18 on the spindles but on the floor, the F-18 worked better. Strange?

Before he did the test patches, he lady went up to him and said... "GET it ALL off!!... Sand if you need to and I will pay the extra 25 cents per sq. ft." She wants an oil put on and a semi-transparent.

I guess she went around asking other people for their opinion and realized that we were not playing around with her. She heard more than once that a semi-transparent was the way to go and that is what she wants.

After the test patches were done we noticed there is going to be a bit of sanding so that a semi can be put on.

We will recommend to her to go with a 2-tone, that way my husband wouldnt have to intensively sand the railings and spindles. Its much easier to do the floor only.

I will let you know how it goes.

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For all to remember---there is way more work out there than there is good people to do it---same for any biz. I personally do not get bullied (not saying you did). A lot of time, people just want to see if they'll be able to bully you, should the time come (extra coat of stain, etc) remember, it is no different if she were acting like this, or if she is smiling all sweet, and politely says, "can you pppllleeeasse just sand the deck so it will all look good??!!?" The end result she wants is the same, the method is just different. I'd just as soon work for the loudmouth jerk as the passive-aggressive type. Neither work for me, unless she is really hot or dressed scantily.

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