Nice Customers But They Are Driving Me Mad.

[Sean Kelly]

What the customer said:

Sean: You do not have enough tiles to complete the job.
Cust: Thank God for that. We thought we would have too many boxes left over. I'll pop out to Homebase later on today.

Later on that day........

Cust: They only had 1 box. I'll try another branch later.

Later........

Cust: 2nd branch don't have any tiles.

Next day........

Cust: My Husband went out and bought some from a branch miles away.

I couldn't be bothered to tell her all that her bathroom now consists of 3 batch numbers


This is the same customer that I bent over backwards for because they were let down by previous tiler. I worked 11 hour days. I worked Sat & Sun, but she still wanted a lie in at the weekend so I could not start until 09:30.

Payment:

I finished the job last week and have not yet been paid. I sent email this morning and I just rang to chase again.

Cust: My Husband has set up payment on his bank account for Friday.

Her Husband is an accountant !!!!!!!!



Before you ask.........I measured up the room the previous week. I gave them the dimensions and told them how many sqm to buy. When I said to her 'Why did you not buy enough tiles' she said that she and her Husband measured the room and bought plenty of tiles for the job.

 

[Qwerty]

I feel your pain @Andy Allen . I had to sacrifice the layout on the last bathroom I did purely to allow enough tiles for the whole room. Finished the job with 2 spare tiles, one of which I was never going to use as it was chipped. I too gave them the required square meterage but they decided to deduct the 10% I added to save money

 

[Andy Allen]

Think you will find it's Sean thread not mine...lol
Nice of you to think of me though...

 

[Qwerty]

Think you will find it's Sean thread not mine...lol
Nice of you to think of me though...

Hahaha!!! Doh!!

 

[Dan]

I'm not sure id leave the job without payment to be fair. I'd just say look, payment required upon completion. Like with anything. I'll drive you the hole in the wall if you want.

 

[J Sid]

Sorry Dan, think you live in a different world to us, or is it just me!
I never expect payment before I leave. I always send a bill with bank details for payment.
Yes some customers offer payment on completion if they are home when I finish but most of the time I send a invoice by email with bank detail.
Asking if not threatening to drive them to the cash point to collect your money sounds like the sort of thing the local cowboys will do. I thought the cash point only pays out £300 a day, hardly enough to pay a days wages let alone materials on top.

 

[Brian the Tile]

I dont think he is living in a different world, you give a price they know how much it is ,you do the job ,they are happy so should pay you, i have it on my letterhead ,payment on completion of work ,no problems

 

[On one]

Penny pinching on the tiles........had to be an accountant.

 

[Andy Allen]

I live in dans world........payment on completion
No excuses. ....don't think I would drive them to the cash point. ...but would wait till they got back...lol

 

[Brian the Tile]

Can't go to tesco and tell them you will pay them next week

 

[Sean Kelly]

I'm not sure id leave the job without payment to be fair. I'd just say look, payment required upon completion. Like with anything. I'll drive you the hole in the wall if you want.

Well if I can't trust an accountant and a lady that does a lot of work for charity then who can I trust!

I'm afraid technology is against us on this one. I, like most, accept bank xfer. I am at the mercy of the customer and gave them 3 days to pay. This customer went over by 1 day and had to be chased by email & phone.

Some customers don't think that I was in their home for 2 weeks and I paid out over £600 on materials. I have not been paid for 3 weeks and am actually £600 down.

What can I do to stop this happening in future?

Deposit, or money up front, or staged payments? We've talked about this before. However, on this occasion I am 100% sure I will be paid on Friday.

 

[widler]

Not many customers pay me straight away, most aint in when im finished anyway, so i just tell them to check everything and when they are happy pay up or a brick goes through your window
I don't mind, i like them checking my work out beforehand to see if owts wrong , makes me feel like im not bodging and scarpering like a gypo

 

[Brian the Tile]

Make it clear at the outset that it is payment on completion whdn you are asked to do the job, ok sometimes they may not be there ehen you finish the job ,phone call to customer ,hello everything ok if so ill be round for payment if that is ok,if they are happy with the job there is no excuse for making you wait

 

[White Room]

Nearly all my customer do bank transfer nowadays and usually give them a week to pay....

 

[J Sid]

Not many customers pay me straight away, most aint in when im finished anyway, so i just tell them to check everything and when they are happy pay up or a brick goes through your window
I don't mind, i like them checking my work out beforehand to see if owts wrong , makes me feel like im not bodging and scarpering like a gypo

At last someone who thinks like me. I treat people/customers as I would like to be treated myself .

That's three of us, anymore?

 

[Mr Tiler]

Sorry Dan, think you live in a different world to us, or is it just me!
I never expect payment before I leave. I always send a bill with bank details for payment.
Yes some customers offer payment on completion if they are home when I finish but most of the time I send a invoice by email with bank detail.
Asking if not threatening to drive them to the cash point to collect your money sounds like the sort of thing the local cowboys will do. I thought the cash point only pays out £300 a day, hardly enough to pay a days wages let alone materials on top.

The customers know how much the job is, and when the job will be finnished. So theres no reason they cant have the money in hand when completed

 

[White Room]

The customers know how much the job is, and when the job will be finnished. So theres no reason they cant have the money in hand when completed

If your talking cash in hand I haven't had any for a long time....

 

[Brian the Tile]

Sorry but i really dont understand you ,is it wrong to be paid when you have finished a job,do you like to take your goods away and pay at a later date ,or have you so much money you let them pay when they feel like paying ,my terms are set out at the beginning is that wrong?

 

[White Room]

Sorry but i really dont understand you ,is it wrong to be paid when you have finished a job,do you like to take your goods away and pay at a later date ,or have you so much money you let them pay when they feel like paying ,my terms are set out at the beginning is that wrong?

Most pay within a few days anyway Brian, if you want the money as your walking from house to your van that's fine but I invoice then a week to pay.

 

[On one]

If your talking cash in hand I haven't had any for a long time....

And I haven't had any at all,ever!

 

[J Sid]

I think it's the civilized thing to do.
It may be the customers I deal with, but I don't think they would appreciate me hassling them when I have finished the job for a payment. It's just not the way I work.

 

[Mr Tiler]

If your talking cash in hand I haven't had any for a long time....

Nah not cash in hand mate plenty of people pay by cash

 

[Brian the Tile]

Thats fine Julian i just dont like waiting for payment ,i dont think it should be a problem and i dont have time to be chasing money that i have worked hard for but if it works for you well thats ok

 

[Mr Tiler]

I live in dans world........payment on completion
No excuses. ....don't think I would drive them to the cash point. ...but would wait till they got back...lol

I once worked for a builder labouring, 3 payments in total from customer when we was building a garage, all 3 times he had to drive the bloke to the bank just so he would get his money.. He told me never to leave a job without being paid because a lot of them will try anything to get away with not paying!

 

[John Benton]

Haha Accountants, fantastic at giving out financial advice but when it comes to spending their own money, tight as owt.

Very rare to get paid by cash these days, m.ost is by transfer which is fine by me

I did a bathroom for a graphic designer a few years ago and he'd already bought the tiles. He even done a plan of each wall for the layout to the mm and worked out how many tiles were required and then bought the exact number of tiles his plan said. Needless to say I sent him out to get some more, just in case!!!

 

[Chalker]

Had one middle of last month. Owed me £5500 with the vat. They emailed me two days after the job was finished to say invoice paid.
3 weeks later ( today) I get my bank statement ( I know I should have checked online bank!) and find the only paid 50%!
Emailed them tonight to say why they were retaining the rest? They said after a bad experience recently they were eating four weeks for any problems to arise.

I was fuming, but I sent nice polite email saying how I keep competitive prices by paying for my materials up front and how I get all work by recommendations. Therefore I always mske sure the customer is completely satisfied and will always come back if there any problems.
Have received an email to say.... Sorry for any offence caused and your point was well put.I have paid the balance right now. ( I have checked, it's in the bank!)

Just goes to show, always stay polite and concise.

 

[J Sid]

Thats fine Julian i just dont like waiting for payment ,i dont think it should be a problem and i dont have time to be chasing money that i have worked hard for but if it works for you well thats ok

I never chase up invoices, except for one bathroom fitter I do the odd job for. I email the invoice in completion and wait for payment, as has been said, normally within a week.

 

[widler]

I very rarly don't get paid, its always a week or so, sometimes though it could be months, even the threat of mutalation goes on deaf ears, some folk are just tossers

 

[gamma38]

I always finish a job, then say to the customer I will send the invoice via email. While they are waiting for the invoice, no more than a couple of days, I tell them to do any snagging. This works well for me, I think it gives the customer a feeling of confidence in me. Most then pay straight away.

 

[Qwerty]

I always abide by the current legislation in place for services supplied in a consumers home. I have to keep abreast of changes in legislation as I am Trading Standards approved contractor under their Buy With Confidence scheme.
How many on here actually know what you can & can't insist from your customers and just how much trouble you can find yourself in by breaching this legislation!?
Driving a customer to the cashpoint is one perfect example!!!.......which can land you a stretch inside even if the consumer agrees to it (if you haven't honoured the cooling off period).

Some reading below if interested....

CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT
From 1 October 2015 The Supply of Goods and Services Act will be replaced by the Consumer Rights Act.

Any service contracts entered into before this date will still be governed by the Supply of Goods and Services Act

Cancelling building or decorating work - Citizens Advice