Customer asking for discount - What would you do?

[egg67]

Go to a local carpet shop not the big ones but the high street type, ask if a fitter is about, most carpet fitters are self employed and will refit a small carpet for £20-£30 cash, do it all the time now as some customers think I might be good at what I do but my carpet fitting is not the same as before I took it up,as in a trade matches a job, the price you have changed is not over the top just reminded her that you did not charge her for the time spent on the brockon cable, and for time spent drinking tea and the the smoke brake

 

[rolyberkin]

Before I lift carpets I always tell the client I need to lift the carpet, give them the option of getting someone in to lift it for them and refit or sign an indemnity as it is liable to be damaged. I always take numerous photos prior to doing any work as well and let the customer see I am doing it, that way when they claim that their 10 year old shagged threadbare carpet had just been laid we have photo evidence it wasn't. I do the same when working in bathrooms for showers etc so when they say you have damaged the bath etc........
She is probably just trying it on, I would tell her I have already discounted it by charging a day rate as opposed to hours worked etc etc, as she doesn't get the eicr until she has paid you and she is not really in a position of strength (oh and head scratching in front of client is not a good idea!

 

[David M]

Yeh I could do with some "likes" cos I have low esteem and it is only the occasional "like" keeping my head above water
Your situation must be frustrating especially as you sorted her problems for the house sale but try and move on from it.

Here's a like for you, "I Like this post^^^^^^^"

 

[telectrix]

Here's a like for you, "I Like this post^^^^^^^"

i like your "like" post.

 

[Des 56]

Yeh I could do with some "likes" cos I have low esteem and it is only the occasional "like" keeping my head above water
Your situation must be frustrating especially as you sorted her problems for the house sale but try and move on from it.

Like
There you have it,maybe you can breath at little easier for a while

 

[egg67]

I do like the fact we are liking the likes and everyone is in a like mood, it's like so nice to like and not be a non liking person, would like to give you all a big thanks for all the likes you are giving each other it's like we are all in the same like world it makes me so happy I just want to like you all, but I can't as like to thanks it has gone and now all we can do is report so Ian going to report that I like you all and thank some of you ( sorry beer day with old work colleagues )

 

[westward10]

Like
There you have it,maybe you can breath at little easier for a while

Cheers Des and the rest I am smiling again

 

[D00DY_T00DY]

Cheers Des and the rest I am smiling again

I can't like nooo still a problem with the mobile site? Or did I miss the memo?

 

[davesparks]

£720 doesn't even cover working 11 hours on a Sunday!
If a customer asks you to work on a Sunday when it's outside of normal working hours for the sector you are in then it should be at least double time.

I do a lot of work in theatre where Sundays are just another normal working day and yet it is still standard practice to get double time for it.

 

[NDG Elecs]

Not been on here in a little while.. good to see familiar (and non familiar!) names still hanging about. Hope all are well..

In a word I would say no....hell no...not in a million years!! Had a customer recently who was buying a house and his mortgage provider wanted the electrics up to scratch before they would approve the mortgage. He was constantly emailing asking for a copy of this and that, and I was constantly prompt polite and helpful so he could get this house. He asked for a discount on the board change. As it was an easy one I said yeah you can have 10% off. After giving him his compliance cert a couple of weeks later I asked him if he could leave a review of my work. Sent the tawt a link and it would have took him less than five minutes to do. Still no review (positive or otherwise!) from him.. so basically, remember you are a business and don't be soft with them. Customers can be like children, given half a chance they will take advantage of you as much as they possibly can.

You have the right approach in stating that you have charged day rates rather than hourly ones. In the customers tiny little minds this can help them to comprehend things from your perspective. And I would make note of the fact that you worked longer than normal hrs too. In reference to keeping the I&T separate from remedials; yes it's definitely good practise, but occasionally time counts against us. In the OPs situ I think that saying I will send a quote for remedials wasn't that practical. And often, as we know, fault finding is a case of 'how long is a piece of string'...

 

[SparkyChick]

So, as an update, I did give her a discount (only because if she get's real pi$$y about things it will cost me more to deal with). Basically I took the time off I spent trying to locate the cable I damaged and the time taken to repair it. Nothing more. The discount is conditional on prompt payment. My terms for domestic customers are 14 days, so after that point, the full amount will be due.

I wrote her a letter that went with the quote laying out a few facts about my charging scheme, indicating how much she'd already saved because I made the choice to bill her by the day rather than the hour (I included a day by day time breakdown as part of that). I also made it clear that as an employee of my company, I'm entitled to mandatory breaks in accordance with the law and that whilst we may appear to be manual workers, we are in fact knowledge workers that require in-depth knowledge of both the general rules and the installation being worked on, and in the absence of good documentation about said installation, inspection and testing requires a methodical approach that sometimes requires us to stop, take a step back and think about what it is we're working on.

It also included some useful advice about avoiding this kind of situation arising again, specifically how to investigate the people she employs in terms of scam membership and also a rough outline of notifiable work.

It has been said, we shouldn't be head scratching in front of the customers. Whilst generally I agree, particularly when asked questions, as I've said above, there are times when it is necessary to just stop and think. But to put it into perspective, on this job, I reckon I actually spent less than an hour just thinking. However, from her perspective there were times when it may have appeared I wasn't doing much... because I was sat in front of the board, marking up cables, making notes, and testing. The rest of the time, I was running round her house testing, investigating, fixing and re-testing.

Anyhow, thanks for all the advice. I've learned my lesson and from now on, it's going to be EICR and remedial work as separate items, even if the timing is tight.

 

[SparkyChick]

I meant to say....

I wrote her a letter that went with the invoice laying out a few facts.....

 

[R G]

EICR is a job on its own , then remedials should be quoted for following that and price agreed before work starts , she probably feels she has you by the short and curlys because of the mistake , only way now is to agree a price between yourselves ...

 

[Andy-1960]

I think your customer is being unreasonable, it sounds as though you have done a good thorough job. The one thing she needs though is the cert... that's your bargaining chip... use it to your advantage !

 

[baldelectrician]

I have a tracker in the van (as well as an app on the phone).
The app is really good as I can look at the app whilst in a clients house to check my arrival time- you think it is an hour and it's actually 90 mins
I have also learnt from things like this in the past- I now invoice for time on site and time for the job (if I have to get something for a particular job)
This helps show the actual cost of the works. If the client is nice I then offer a 'prompt payment discount' providing I recieve cleared funds in my bank within a certain time scale (always less than 5 days), I also take debit cards as well as I have a machine (and can take them over the phone)

If you can show a decent discount on an invoice which disappears if payment is not made quickly that galvanises the mind.
I also have an app that records calls (a message informs clients before a call is connected), this also helps prove who said what etc.

 

[Toneyz]

I would remind her that it is the electrician who done the previous work that has partly put her in this predicament that with the fact if she had had a EICR done at regular intervals (probably) like the sticker says on the C.U. and had issues dealt with. I take it the sale went through It may have cost her £720 but if she had done as above it would of cost her less also if the sale had fallen through because of it it would of cost her more. These days you have to protect your backside all the time taking photo's get things signed for and as Judge Rinder say's get it in writing.

 

[stummish]

@SparkyChick home you got your payment. Your price sounds reasonable to me for the hours you put in, but as everyone says, Joe public never see it that way.

There's a lot of good info in this thread about procedure, taking pics, putting things in writing etc. Personally I'd only rectify c1s on the day, and then only when I've informed the customer and got confirmation. If there's loads of remedials but you're rushed for time like you were, it's not your fault, so you shouldn't have to take the raw end of the deal for their lack of organisation.

A lot to learn all round really. Mistakes are to be leant from. I sound like a damn fortune cookie.

 

[SparkyChick]

Yes I did get paid... was beginning to worry but she paid within my payment terms. Best as I can tell the sale went through, her parents live up the road from me and I saw a van there several times shortly after the completion date so the cert must have been satisfactory for the council.

I've just done another EICR today and followed the report/remedials separately approach. As a consequence, the customer has asked me to quote for the remedials, but is happy for the report to be a draft which I'll then update and master once the remedials are done. That way, they get a report I get paid for the work done so far and we avoid the confusion of a layman having to explain to someone how an unsatisfactory report has been rectified by a collection of minor works certificates. Thankfully in this instance it's mostly basic lighting faults... metal fittings with no earth to the casing, missing CPC in a light switch due to someones attempt at replacing a ceiling rose with chocblocks, backbox screw thread stripped so you can't secure a face plate and then a nightmare problem of the fact the built under fridge doesn't appear to have an earth connection when it's installation manual states it should so that's going to be fun trying to get it out to investigate. Fingers crossed it won't be raining when I do the remedial work, then I might be able to safely test the outside lights, been raining all day.

 

[Risteard]

but is happy for the report to be a draft which I'll then update and master once the remedials are done.

Whilst it's less work that way, it isn't actually correct. Remedial works need to be certified so the report should be a factual statement of what was found at the time. Then certification will demonstrate that any relevant issues were satisfactorily addressed. The two documents can then be taken together as evidence of the current state of the installation.

 

[Octopus]

^^ I do similar.... Draft copy, remedial, eicr issued as satisfactory, along with relevant additional certs.

Try telling the average letting agent that an unsatisfactory report and MWC make it satisfactory.