Could it be that I am a
?
Here I go yet again- finishing my most recent house and the buyer knows my contract better than me and I present the final bills along with overages and why, and my lack of communication skill skewers me.
I built a beautiful home- my clients could not be happier. One little problem- they still owe me like 28000 dollars. They point out what the contract states and my failure to understand it to the letter and I kiss ten grand goodbye. off to the wood shed…
crux of the deal is I built more house than I bid- but in my construction documents I show a final plan that includes all footage- far more than my bid. So be precise ladies and gentlemen…
Replies
You are not alone!!!
I will join you in the land of misfit boys?......with mans toys!
I learned that the written part comes before the physical part.... the hard way.
LOL
Perspective!
Jeff Buck has been teaching me perspective- I got about four pages of notes about what I shoulda done better. I have always been a handshake guy- too much of the world ain't. Time to wise up.
I don't like it - I would rather believe in my fellow man.
so perspective- learn and move on...
two house bids and two remo's to present this weekend- rats learn faster but I bet I got it now.
hope all your nickels turn into dimes
hubcap
What'd I do now?
Dammit!!
U learning from my mistakes and close calls too!
Thanks gonna cost ya a beer or three.
My Dad just told me the other day.....just 'cause ya document it don't mean ya don't trust them. Write it down...everyone get's a copy....then everyone knows what to expect.
Sometimes that old guy makes sense.
He also says....People get funny about money.....
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
And there you go again. What are you- like five hundred years old? It's "to soon old and too late wise". Don't you read classic literature?
send me a pic of that kid- he must be ten feet tall by now
thanks jeff
hub
Spec sheets, like in "You spec dat outta me?"
I'm a handshake an' a smile guy, too, but ya gotta develop the radar, 'til then get the dang spec sheets. EliphIno!
I say"not funny,deadly serious"
hey , hub... wouldn't you have just felt better , and been more effective .. if .. at the start of the job yu had just handed them a check for $10,000... along with my favorite speech...?
" ahem..... thank you so much for the privelege of working on your house... to show our appreciation, we, my family and i, would like to present you with this check for $10,000 as a contribution to your future enjoyment of your new home"
i know from experience that it would have worked out a lot better than the method you and most of us have used in the past...
tighten up.... it's all part of the eddycayshun ... and ain't it grand ?Mike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
you are right as rain amigo.
I am remembering a reply you gave me some time ago to some thing or another - turning point in your business. you got serious about keeping your books and haven't looked back.
this one left a mark- cause this is our adoption money and - well nuff said. time to grow up .
Well I'm not sure what to tell ya. I think we have all been through that in
one way or another somewhere along the line. One thing to be really really
careful about though is that it get's worse really worse when you start to
use
Chief
Architect.
Seriously though now if you could you breakdown the problem you discovered
a little bit more we all might find some more critical advice based on our
own experiences. For instance you said "the buyer
knows my contract better than me" what was it they caught you on with
respect to that?
'lack of communication skill skewers me " Specifically
with respect to what can you give us any examples. Personally I thinks that
where the biggest changes in my own business style has come over the last decade
and a half. I used to be pretty bad in that area. What screws you up? Listening
or Talking (or both)?
Also I not at all sure what you are trying to say in you last paragraph there."in
my construction documents I show a final plan that includes all footage- far
more than my bid "
View Image
"Function is based
on more than utilitarian factors. Ambiance invites use."- Sarah Susanka
Jerrald-
I would always prefer doing business on a friendship basis. I am you and this is what I would do in my own home. That works from a design and execution stand point- it stops at the wallet. So - figure it out douglas- it ain't the first time.
I pointed out that I had built more footage than was specified and turns out the only reference to footage was the plan I drew which does not differentiat between footage drawn and footage bid.
That is it in a nutshell.
My numbers held up great until the last draw. Everybody is paid but me. What about the extra square footage?
Uhm- what are you talking about?
I should have talked to the folks more during the building process- hey these numbers are running way high-
didn't. I lose.
posted as a cautionary tale...
now I gotta figure out how to exercise the chief architect satan...
All I can say is you aren't alone in this one.
I don't know how some of our clients live with themselves.
Hang in there, man.
DRC
I guess I should comment- this is a total breakdown in what I thought I said and what they thought I said. This is the second house I have built for these folks and I don't think for a second they are out to put one over on me. The first house went so very smooth- I think I fell asleep at the wheel and woke up in time to find out my butt was cold cause it wasn't covered.
So - documentation would have certainly averted the issue. Communication can not be overstressed. turns out my wife is right again- i hate that.
first step is admitting she's right....
second step is never letting her know that!
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Dug,
Think of it this way. More than your responsibiliy to yourself, you have a responsibility to your brotherhood of contractors to get it right.
We all make mistakes in order to learn the process, but each underbid, undermanaged project lowers the bar for all of us. Reminds me of the recent ethics post where the guy underbid the project.
I don't bid or write a contract until I am absolutely certain I will make at least one dollar more than I intend to. That is a responsibility I take very seriously in order to protect my own livelihood as well as those of my competitors.
There are many contractors in my area who do more work and more prestigious work who don't make squat because they are lazy in the bid and spec department.
Although your situation is unfortunate, you've inadvertantly had an adverse effect on the rates others can charge in your area for many moons..........Tom
We are not Specialists. We are Generalists. There are very few occupations out there where one person wears as many hats. It's very difficult to juggle so many skills, let alone master them.
The trick is to learn from your mistakes. This does not mean you have to remember more stuff. Instead, put into place mechanisms which force a checks and balance system. One example is to have a stack of blank CO forms on site at all times. When the HO wants 3 extra outlets they have to sign the form and pay for it in the next invoice. After each phase, have a check list to be sure numbers match. Many times if something was agreed to but not filed, if it is caught early the Client will understand and be willing to pay up.
If there is 20' of footage X over what you priced in a particular phase and the Client is holding your feet to the fire because you didn't file a CO form, you immidaitely become aware that this cost must be made up in some other part(s) of the job. Everything costs - someone. Before you take on the next project decide how much of the project you want to pay for and stick to it.
Do you have a Job Log? This will give you an accurate history of how and why things happened. I have two. One reads like a Daily Dear Diary. The other is a weekly Log which is sent to the Arch or kept as a site record for the Client.
Remember - the paper work is the most important part of the job. If you don't like doing it, hire someone or get a partner to do it.
We all have been through this and fight the daily battle between being a hard azz and a nice guy. Unfortunately this is a business, not a hobby. Business is tough. Your money is in their pocket. Don't think they want to give it to you out of the goodness of their heart. You have to invoice in a timely manner AND demand payment. The longer you take to ask for payment the more inflated they think you're prices are.
Client credits are given at the time of final payment. Client debits are to be collected regularly. This way you lessen oppertunity for the royal screwing in the end. Final payment should be less than $20K, regardless.
good synthesis...
i'd estimate that each paragraph cost me about $20K to learn in the last 30 years
When a long-ago carpentry partner and I started to bid jobs his dad said told us "Everytime you learn something it costs you, so look for the cost everytime you learn something".
Not much consolation, but somehow that perspective has helped me at different times when I recognized that I had paid...
Keep workin' It works for me!
My favorite line from the movie - Jerry Mcquire
"This isn't show-friends, It's show-business."
Something to remember when you do business with your "handshake" is that your families livelihood now depends on someone else's integrity. Isn't that a comfortable feeling?
Your construction knowledge and practice is very important. Your business knowledge and practice is even more important. I don't know anyone who can continually take hits and stay in business. The writing is on the wall. The future is yours to do with it what you will.
WAHD
Forgot the spell check
Edited 2/14/2003 9:41:36 AM ET by WAHD
That is excelent! That goes on the wall in front of my desk!
thanks!