Hi.
I’m a female HO in need of some advice for what to give my solo contractor in appreciation for a job well done—it was a relatively small job (25k) but he really came through for me, on time, on budget, and a total pleasure to work with.
I thought maybe there are some categories of gifts that might be more appreciated than others. My DH is an academic and totally clueless when it comes to gifts, so any advice would be welcome.
Replies
Gift certificate to a good local tool store, or to Amazon?
gift certificate to a good local restraunt (dinner for 2) ...
cash bonus check ... to cover the bar bill ...
and a typed/signed letter of recommendation with the offer to "show" the project to prospective customers with advance notice.
That .. and ask for a big hunk of business cards. Honest/Agressive referals are the best payback.
Jeff
What Buck said.
Shout out to Andy C. Namaste my friend.
http://www.hay98.com/
Just got back from a fishing trip to Destin that one of my customers paid for took 4 of the guys who worked on the job.
ANDYSZ2I MAY DISAGREE WITH WHAT YOUR SAYING BUT I WILL DEFEND TO THE DEATH YOUR RIGHT TO SAY IT.
Remodeler/Punchout
now you in my neck of the woods.
You're letting me down, man. I figured you say "nookie".Hey Mister Sushi, you forgot to cook my fish.
"Am I dead or alive? What's this? Linoleum? I must be in hell." -The Salton Sea
That was the very first thing that came to my mind. But since she's new and all I figured I'd cut her some slack.
Shout out to Andy C. Namaste my friend.
http://www.hay98.com/
Remember the white outs code?
a blow job is always nice Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Is Gunner more happy, now.?
nope.
Shout out to Andy C. Namaste my friend.
http://www.hay98.com/
Damn, I was gonna use the 2/10...as in B=2
But I was being covert so Gunner could be the crude one, now you went and did it.... Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Is Gunner more happy, now.?
Yeah, but I was kinda able to make it sound like Gunner said it....................cause I knew he was thinkin' it.................Hey Mister Sushi, you forgot to cook my fish.
"Am I dead or alive? What's this? Linoleum? I must be in hell." -The Salton Sea
LOL..he still don't quite get it.
Man, we had a good fun day..I am sore in places I didn't know I had. Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Is Gunner more happy, now.?
Best gift I ever got was a quilt. Did a bunch of work for a woman that was a quilt maker and she made me a quilt that has all kinds of tools on it. Really neet. DanT
I once had a happy client offer me a Pantera (almost free) but you likely don't have one sitting around. That, after a considerably smaller job than yours, but they were thrilled.
My vote's with the restaurant for 2. Make sure it's a nice one.
OTOH, I've done very well with a basket containing my fresh bread, nice bottle of wine, and a smelly cheese. Nurse/practitioner who went way out of her way to get us qualified for health insurance was really tickled.
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
How about this best recomendation letter anyone could ever hope for ..
Well, my order of preference was/is: Non-bouncing check; great recommendations to all & sundry (nowadays a nice testimonail for the web site, & permission to use job photos); gift certificates.
That last prompted a quick search, try this:
http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/guygiftslist.asp?SKW=3FDGG1
That lets the boss get stuff that maybe he & crew need but don't have (and can select for themselves).
I've never been offered this, but always thought it would be the best. Offer to take him, his crew, and the wives too, out to dinner. Something that lets everyone know they are on the same level, not just hired help. I had one customer make breakfast the last day of the job. We all sat at the same table, her and her husband, me and the guy I worked with. We talked about all kinds of things. It was one the most enjoyable experiences I've had on a remodel job.
If that's not your cup of tea, cash is always appropriate.
I hate getting cases of beer, or bottles of liquor. Don't get me wrong, I like beer as much as anyone. It just irritates me that people assume all contractors are drunks.
The sentiment itself is rewarding just to hear about. I've gotten checks at Christmas (most welcome), gushing cards of recommendation (really, really, really hits the ego button), but the ones that keep on giving are referrals. I just can't put enough stock in how valuable they really are to me, the business, my reputation. Happy customers and word of mouth can do things that thousands of dollars in advertising can't touch. Every time a new customer says "oh yeah I got your name from Joe Smith" he'll thank you.
I've done a couple of things like this also, and they've gone over well. I had a crew of guys I basically "hired" for a 1 week long job that was going to be brutal on the body and not much fun for anyone, but it paid well. I took them all out to dinner at a nice steak house when it was all over. The guy who supplies roll offs to me (nobody ever remembers the trash guy) is heads above anyone else in customer service. Always does what he says he'll do, always on time, always finds a way to make something work. I swear he'd go weld a roll off together for me if he was out. I threw him a gift certificate once (again, nice steak joint - I like my steaks) and a note telling him how much I appreciated his attitude and service, and it was weird. Hes a big tough burly dude and I think he was almost holding his emotions in, if you know what I mean. Point being, appreciation, in whatever form, works.
"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
What I did in that circumstance is cut him a check for 15% more than the invoice, and recommend him to anyone who needs his specialty.
-- J.S.
HC,
You're a thoughtful person and that's commendable. You were lucky to get a contractor who put a bit of himself into his work. What would you hope to get for going the extra mile? Then that's what you should give.
Best,
Jim
give him the money you owe him , and show him the door.
I'm with John..
Best appreciation I ever got was $500 tip and a few bottles of Alaskan Amber to share with the houseguests in a little house warming party.
Beer was good, but money talks. When you're REALLY satisfied with a job well done, you know it's because you got MORE than you expected for the money. So pay the difference in gratuity. And pass out his business cards to every one you know for the rest of your life.
First, a nice recommendation letter, and an offer to allow him to have future customers call you as a reference, maybe ask him for a few cards to pass out when you hear of someone looking for something he could help them with.
second would be some cash, a nice tip on top of the final invoice, Gift certificates would be a close second, but cash is king imo.
As you can certainly see, different strokes for different folks. You would probably know what your GC would appreciate more than us, but my personal favorite thank you was a painting done for me by a client who was a painter (duh).
It was a personal gesture, where everything else was nice but impersonal. Don't know if you're a painter, or quilter, or whatever, but if there's something that's personal that you can do, that might be what would mean the most.
SHG
For every complex problem, there is a solution that is clear, simple, and wrong.
-H.L. Mencken
If you have a personal skill, make a gift based around that. Just make sure it's something the recipient likes, not just the giver. My wife is an artist, she gave him a print he was admiring. For a mason with good skills (sheesh, those bluestone slabs are heavy) who came around with a stack of 50 jobsite photos, I made a presentations book he could show clients by scanning, printing, and binding the images, and gave him a CD copy of it in case he wanted to print one again (which got me off the hook for making reprints when this one got dirty). I would hesitate at making him a Website because that's a gift that could wind up giving him over and over b/c he might want to tweak it.
On the way into the agreement for small jobs when we're shaking hands over terms, I also offer a bonus for timely completion. Say $500 for a $5,000 job. As a percentage, maybe more for a small job, less for a really big job b/c I don't want a $5,000 payoff hinging on "well, it's really all done except I have to rehang the shutters and my flooring guy has to put in the trim strips." I agree not to make running changes late in the game, he agrees not to blame the weather, and we agree to a realistic completion date. The only danger is that once the contractor tried to rush the finish and we had to agree to extend the finish date by a week on a two month job for the bonus but he had to agree to let the paint dry a bit longer than he would otherwise have done. I realize paying in cash sets up difficulty b/c then there's no paper trail and come tax time the contractor is going to be wracking his brain trying to remember how much it was for so he can report the full and fair amount on his taxes. <g>
I don't think a bottle(s) of wine or six-packs of beer (cases) presume contractors are drunks any more than giving friends wine presumes they're drunks, too. A general rule of thumb for gifts of any kind including corporate gifts to employees is that a physical gift is remembered a long time after a cash gift gets spent.
Edited 5/19/2005 6:45 am ET by Bill
I recieved $1000.00 once but otherwise I`ve recieved hardly anything. But I really don`t expect anything. If he did a really good job he is probably motivated more by being a good craftsman rather than money so a compliment and years of refferals will make him happy.
a cash tip you are both comfortable with..
I have had many a heartfelt Thank You's, and an invite for further relations as far as thier birthday parties, etc.
Good , Friendly, long lasting relationships...most of my customers make themselves best friends.
One can't ask for much more.
Is Gunner more happy, now.?