I think I just screwed the pooch. What would you do?

[dwt]

What SIZE and QUANTITY and COST did he sign off on?
Thats what you need to deliver. Don't tell him you screwed up
or he might believe you're under-qualified even if it was a simple mistake.
Hey Jill, pass the Mrs. Dash. *crunch,crunch,this sux,crunch,crunch*

 

[JR's]

two 3X8 banners with two color lettering and hemmed, and double sided for only $110 each. Killed myself on those.

Fayt your killing me. ouch.

kraigsnowden I hope it woks out for you.

JR

 

[JR's]

.
Hey Jill, pass the Mrs. Dash. *crunch,crunch,this sux,crunch,crunch*

Man that is funny I dint get it wen Jill said it but now I get it. that was a joke grenade with a long fuse.

JR

 

[Marlene]

I did quote him 2' X 10' materials, NOT 4' X 10'.

if you clearly stated the size on the quote, that is what you priced and not the 4' high. explain that to him and no, don't eat it. if you didn't clearly state the size, then enjoy lunch and eat away!

 

[SameDay Signs]

Your going to have to eat the cost but then again you should hopefully have priced it well enough you shouldn't lose any money and if so it's minimal. Sometimes screw ups mean working for free but it happens so stick with it and make sure you give quote only good for 30 days or so.

 

[Rick]

When life hands you a lemon, turn it into a showroom sample

I'm having that embroidered on a pillow....

 

[TheSnowman]

Ok, I just talked to my supplier. I am just going to use .040 aluminum since it is what this sign is currently made from, instead of the AluPanel that I had planned on. They worked on the price with me, and I am making him a 6 year sign, instead of a 7 year sign, and I can still make a little money. Not enough to cover my time by any means, but I've learned something, and at least I'm not going into the red on materials. Glad to have this one behind me. Shouldn't be hard now, other than figuring out a space to lay out a 4' X 20' sign and put it together. Gonna have to fire up the head out in the shop.

 

[JR's]

Gonna have to fire up the head out in the shop.

do you have a gas powered toilet. ;-}

 

[Pat Whatley]

I think I just screwed the pooch. What would you do?

This post was open on the computer by the register and a customer read the title. His suggestion was that next time you screw the pooch you sneak out before she wakes up the next morning.

 

[TheSnowman]

First off Pat, that is hilarious and wrong all at the same time. Second, I meant to put HEAT not head. I think I was excited to not lose my butt on the job and got typing too fast. Thanks for all the advice. I love having people around that have "been there done that" and seeing how people have delt with it.

 

[bjones]

What's the chance the artwork doesn't touch the middle of the 4x10 sheet and you could just install it in 4 pieces with a 3/4 aluminum channel painted to match the base color? Would be pretty much invisible and you could call it 'easy to install or change part of the sign' and maybe turn an error into a feature... Lemons to lemonade.

 

[TheSnowman]

What's the chance the artwork doesn't touch the middle of the 4x10 sheet and you could just install it in 4 pieces with a 3/4 aluminum channel painted to match the base color? Would be pretty much invisible and you could call it 'easy to install or change part of the sign' and maybe turn an error into a feature... Lemons to lemonade.

Slim to none, but mainly none.

 

[Colin]

Others have provided enough responses on your situation, but this line stood out to me:

He said: "Can't you do a better price on all this stuff?"

When asked this question, reply with: "Better for you, or me?"

 

[TheSnowman]

Normally I would, but man, I just haven't been able to read this guy yet. I think he's just so busy that he doesn't have a lot of time to hang around and chat like most of my customers always want to do, which is fine, but that also hasn't given me time to see how "personal" he is with working with others. He owns about 4 different businesses, and is pretty involved in most of them.

 

[invizzible]

Never assume. If it's a job your NOT gonna make money on, why do it. If he is a long time customer of yours, he should be understanding. I'd call him up asap & let him know.

It's true, if you're not going to make money on it, don't take the job. You can go broke fishing. BUT, if the reason you're not going to make money on the job is because you made a mistake with the materials, you have to eat it.

If my cabinet maker called me to tell me he cut the 4 x 8 plywood for my cabinets wrong and since he just blew his profit he's not going to do the job anymore, I would have a serious problem with that. Or if my oil change guy charged me extra because he forgot to screw the plug back in and he dumped four quarts on the ground before he noticed...you get the idea.

If you blow the profit on your own mistake it shouldn't affect the customer getting what he expects.

 

[Rooster]

Consider it an investment in substrate you can use on other jobs and do this guy's job right. If you're so tight on margin that you're losing all your profit on 2 - 4 x 10 sheets you have more important problems to address. Like finding some customers that will make you some money. You're not going to with this guy.

 

[ProWraps]

your in a tough spot. we and many others on here call it an "education". you wont do that again.

my "education" has probably cost me upwards of 100k. and it still costs me. almost every day.

eat it. do the job right, and be a hero. when your client learns of your trials and tribulations and see you did the job right, he WILL be your best salesman. and a cheap one at that.

sorry brother. it sucks. trust me i know.