Customer From Hell

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Customer From Hell

Discuss Customer From Hell in the Canada Tile Advice area at TilersForums.com.

widler

widler

TF
Esteemed
Arms
2,337
1,328
England
Looks a good job phil, some clients are complete nutjobs.

Had one before christmas, a new extension,we krended it and also the back of the house.
Next door neighbour, a complete nutter(its a long story)put a photo onto 'cowboy builders' facebook page saying, " is this the worst extension you have ever seen, cheap materials and cowboy tradesmen ect ect"
So i went on to cowboy builders page and invited dom and melinder to come around and have a look , i gave my name/number and business details and told them id love for both to come around and go over everthing with a fine toothcome , id even take melinder for a drink
She took it off straight away.
All this stemmed from the neighbour asking my customer out for a drink and he turned her down. :) :)
 
CJ

CJ

TF
Arms
450
1,088
Somerset
whitebeam said:
That helps CJ....
Click to expand...


I wasnt being serious, however much we all would like to do that with some customers.

Could you not suggest she gets an independant survey on the job as it stands..........if everything is hunky dory with your work......you shouldn't have a problem with it..........and hopefully it'll shut her up, but with some people nothing stops them being the smart arse.
 
A

afright

TF
12
1,013
Broadstairs,Kent.
I worked for a precision engineer doing a bathroom once,think he had something to do with the invention of the fishing electronic bite alarm you could imagine what that was like.
You could say that it was one of the best bathrooms that I have ever done.
He had drawn every single line on the wall to show were he wanted all the cuts and the pattern tiles.
 
G

Gazzer

I wonder what she would say about these mitres ????
Young tiler on the same job as me , I am doing a floor , he is doing the walls !
20140204_083551.jpg 20140204_083650(1).jpg 20140204_083705.jpg
 
J

jonnyc

well funny thing today.
we are doing 4 bathrooms floor to ceiling in fired earth metro tiles .
raised borders involved as well.
no worries on internal corners but i have just looked at the one external corner and an angled cut tile to angled ceiling .
they are raised centre face metros like phils and and i am not really sure how to finish a straight external let alone angled .
there is obviously the option for trim which does not look great if you have a cut tile leading up to trim.
but then if you try to mitre a tile anything other than end of tile it is a to do and i might have to charge as much as deano for his honing skills!!
very sharp edges on externals that i dont really like .
these metro tiles seem to be coming back in so what is the best way to overcome external angles.
i dont know and interested to hear .
phil , i also have a post xmas nutter who has written to a stone company that has recently started recommending me to say that she cannot believe my company could do such a bad job on colour selection of jura floor.
wont bore you with this story but the i had only received a call from main contractor day before saying that we were the best contractor they had on job and looking forward to giving me more work on this project and in future.
she should have had lino!
 
J

jonnyc

T

The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP

Latest news, she wants me off the job. She text me "I think we should draw a line under it" I think this means I have worked for nothing for three weeks, I paid a friend (a bloody good tiler) £720.00 cash, she owes another friend who helped me out on the job over £900.00 I am expected to pay him, it seems. All because some kitchen fitter took a dump in her bog.

I may not be posting on here for a while, I am meeting her tomorrow, and I may end up being a guest of HRH Queen Elizabeth.
 
S

Stef

Phil Hobson said:
Latest news, she wants me off the job. She text me "I think we should draw a line under it" I think this means I have worked for nothing for three weeks, I paid a friend (a bloody good tiler) £720.00 cash, she owes another friend who helped me out on the job over £900.00 I am expected to pay him, it seems. All because some kitchen fitter took a dump in her bog.

I may not be posting on here for a while, I am meeting her tomorrow, and I may end up being a guest of HRH Queen Elizabeth.
Click to expand...

That's shocking Phil, keep the chin up & don't go "on holiday" for as long as I did!!!

I would be billing her for works already done, no way I would walk without getting paid something.
 
C

charlie1

Phil Hobson said:
Latest news, she wants me off the job. She text me "I think we should draw a line under it" I think this means I have worked for nothing for three weeks, I paid a friend (a bloody good tiler) £720.00 cash, she owes another friend who helped me out on the job over £900.00 I am expected to pay him, it seems. All because some kitchen fitter took a dump in her bog.

I may not be posting on here for a while, I am meeting her tomorrow, and I may end up being a guest of HRH Queen Elizabeth.
Click to expand...

all this because of a no2!!! Phill, same as above, give her the bill and finish up if that's her attitude... You can't win them all mate!
 
J

jonnyc

phil.
take a step back and never assume anything.
you know excatly what you have to do although you may be unaccustomed to having to deal with problems like this.
you have i suspect the same problem as i have as i have got older in that i just dont have the patience any more.
I just want to tell clients what i really feel but i know that it does not always work out the best way if i want to ectricate myself from a job with as close to what i think i am owed.
you know that you have to go and see her and get a list of any grievences she has .
if it was me i would respectfully tell her that i need to go away and work out how i propose to address the her perceived problems .
i would then write to her on business notepaper setting out your views and ask for written response.
you could state without prejudice at top to signify that you are serious.
nothing will achieved by having having a stand up agument when she clearly has made her mind up and you might say what you really feel which could make things worse.
if by leaving site you are without work then that is different and you will need to find a way to talk to her that will not make matters worse.
if it was me i would have no qualms about stating that i am unaccustomed to working in any home or site where there are no toilet facilities and might understand why another trade had need to use the toilet when working in her house all day.it is how you say it that matters
 
C

charlie1

jonnyc said:
well funny thing today.
we are doing 4 bathrooms floor to ceiling in fired earth metro tiles .
raised borders involved as well.
no worries on internal corners but i have just looked at the one external corner and an angled cut tile to angled ceiling .
they are raised centre face metros like phils and and i am not really sure how to finish a straight external let alone angled .
there is obviously the option for trim which does not look great if you have a cut tile leading up to trim.
but then if you try to mitre a tile anything other than end of tile it is a to do and i might have to charge as much as deano for his honing skills!!
very sharp edges on externals that i dont really like .
these metro tiles seem to be coming back in so what is the best way to overcome external angles.
i dont know and interested to hear .
phil , i also have a post xmas nutter who has written to a stone company that has recently started recommending me to say that she cannot believe my company could do such a bad job on colour selection of jura floor.
wont bore you with this story but the i had only received a call from main contractor day before saying that we were the best contractor they had on job and looking forward to giving me more work on this project and in future.
she should have had lino!
Click to expand...

Its probably the only tile where I think plastic quad trim in matching colour to tile is best in this situation. Just like in above pics but a bit neater.
 
B

Brian the Tile

TF
Arms
149
973
north wales
if you or your men didnt do the jobby well what is her problem,that is a ridicoulos exuse in my eyes not to pay you,keep kalm when you meet her its the only way imo ,she has you (she thinks) by the short and curlies and thinks the likes of us are only peasants by the sound of things,i would definately go down the lines of an independant and when you come out smelling of roses tell her you want paying for what you have done and then walk of the job with your head held high as from what i can see there is nothing wrong at all with the job,test the water when you meet her to see if it may be a case as she is not too keen on the tiles or something like that now she has seen them up and is looking for a way out of paying you,just a thought because in my eyes there is nothing to complain about
 
widler

widler

TF
Esteemed
Arms
2,337
1,328
England
She sounds a right pain phil.
What is it with engineers, so far up there own asses they can't see the sun.
I honestly would just call her bluff, don't be horrible just tell her to pay you for what you have done and you will go, if she questions your work, ask her to get someone in to check it all and appraise it, if all else fails put her windows through( gotta be folk u know in oldham who would do it) then when she has fixed them get em put through again
And again
And again
And again
And again
:) :)
 
John Benton

John Benton

TF
Arms
2,211
1,138
Leeds
Phil Hobson said:
Latest news, she wants me off the job. She text me "I think we should draw a line under it" I think this means I have worked for nothing for three weeks, I paid a friend (a bloody good tiler) £720.00 cash, she owes another friend who helped me out on the job over £900.00 I am expected to pay him, it seems. All because some kitchen fitter took a dump in her bog.

I may not be posting on here for a while, I am meeting her tomorrow, and I may end up being a guest of HRH Queen Elizabeth.
Click to expand...

Phil, the line isn't drawn under it from your side until she has paid in full for the work you have carried out. There's no way I would back down if you say you have done 3 weeks so far without payment. Surely, can't she approach the kitchen fitters and ask them who dropped anchor in poo bay, and get to the 'bottom' of this!!!!

As I said previously, if you leave the job now, an invoice should be given, to include labour and materials along with 7 days to pay. If payment is not forthcoming, then you know what needs to be done.

Good luck on this one Phil!!
 
John Benton

John Benton

TF
Arms
2,211
1,138
Leeds
jonnyc said:
well funny thing today.
we are doing 4 bathrooms floor to ceiling in fired earth metro tiles .
raised borders involved as well.
no worries on internal corners but i have just looked at the one external corner and an angled cut tile to angled ceiling .
they are raised centre face metros like phils and and i am not really sure how to finish a straight external let alone angled .
there is obviously the option for trim which does not look great if you have a cut tile leading up to trim.
but then if you try to mitre a tile anything other than end of tile it is a to do and i might have to charge as much as deano for his honing skills!!
very sharp edges on externals that i dont really like .
these metro tiles seem to be coming back in so what is the best way to overcome external angles.
i dont know and interested to hear .
phil , i also have a post xmas nutter who has written to a stone company that has recently started recommending me to say that she cannot believe my company could do such a bad job on colour selection of jura floor.
wont bore you with this story but the i had only received a call from main contractor day before saying that we were the best contractor they had on job and looking forward to giving me more work on this project and in future.
she should have had lino!
Click to expand...

These must be the worst tiles for internal and external corners. I normally scribe an internal corner to the profile of the tile and externals with either a mitre or trim to match tile colour where possible. Not a fan of mitreing this particular type as you say, sharp edges!!!

metrosill.jpg mitre.jpg
 
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