I was reading the “coming down on the price” thread and another scenario came to mind. Some friends recently had there roof redone, they were given a quote, they went with it and had the roof redone. When all was said and done the roofer told them that they were able to get their plywood at a better cost, therefore they were able to give them a couple hundred off the final bill – and they did! My friends were impressed with the honesty.
I don’t know what the plywood prices were they were looking at and getting but I’m sure they could have been confirmed.
anyhow, for a couple hundred bucks these guys will get there card passed around. And from what I can tell they did a great job.
I’m just curious if any of you guys ever give money back on costs saved?
some of you will probably say, depends again on clients money situation.
Replies
Nope, no money back.
If I define something as part of the scope of work, with a fixed price, I provide the materials and perform the work, and assume whatever risk there is regarding the costs. If something costs less, I keep the extra.... if something costs more I eat it.
If I define something as an 'allowance' item with an amount specified, the owner pays the actual cost of the item based on my costs, which are documented to them in the forms of copies of invoices (and possibly timesheets, although I rarely put labor cost in an allowance form).
That was nice of them. If the plywood cost more would they have asked for additional money ?
I thought so too...also - would they ask for more...I don't know.
Haven't given cash back, yet. But, I have done the N/C thing (no charge) for some of the extras. (In another business, I would pretty routinely reduce my final bill if I believed that it was too high. I had three secretaries at different times tell me that I wasn't charging enough, partly because I was giving "discounts" before clients even asked for them.)
You're hired!
I'm not a contractor, but a supplier. So my perspective may not be what you're looking for.
Sometimes I'm rushed through a quote, and just kinda throw something at a job to come up with a number.
Then if we get the job, and everything goes well, and costs come put a lot lower, I've charged less occasionally. But ONLY on long-term, established customers.
There are plenty of other jobs where I missed a detail or 2, and ended up eating something. So I figure it all works out in the end, for the most part.
A: BINGO.
yeah..I'm looking for any perspectives. Just something I was curious about. I would also like to get some HO perspectives. Although I doubt I'd hear from a HO that would be opposed to a refund, lol.
Anyone thinking this may be "the" way they do their jobs??
Figure in $200.00 or so on top of all else just so you can "refund" it at the end.
Sure makes for good cutomer relations!!
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
what a jaundiced view you -we- have....................of our fellow humans......Whadda mean it's last call? I just got here.
I didn't really mean that they were being deceptive.....................it IS a good maketing tool.
Why not??
EricI Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
[email protected]
An old car salesman trick is to add up the deal and make a glaring "error" in the buyers favor and then ask them to review the deal......................
if they "catch" the mistake the salesman can offer to let it go.............since it was "his' mistake...........trying to make the buyer feel that they got away with something.......
or...........if they didn't really catch it then he can point it out to them later...............makes him "look honest".............
or.................if they did "catch" it but weren't going to say anything because they thought they were pulling something over on him................he's 'caught' them ...........
Might not be exactly the same................but seems like it to me ...............IF.........they were intentionally adding in extra just to 'refund' it later..........could backfire with some customers.
Just my take....................Whadda mean it's last call? I just got here.
We try to do that. On jobs with a firm price, we do not refund anything but will often throw in extras for free. On t & m jobs, we always come below our estimate, even if we have to cut some of our profit and even if it is just a couple of dollars. It is the cheapest advertising we could have for a company that is known to be expensive.
I had thought of that, but concluded it wouldn't be that hard to find out if the prices from the supplier had actually been higher and dropped or it was in fact a ruse.
I'm just curious if any of you guys ever give money back on costs saved?
Absolutely!
Like one of the other guys said, if this is a repeat customer, or one that I know will be, then I'll give them a break. The repeat business is worth the few bucks that I don't pocket.
If, on the other hand, this is a customer who tried to talked me down, or had me bid against more than one other contractor, then absolutely not. I have very little chance of making it back, so I don't give it to them now.
Unless you're the lead dog, the view just never changes.
I'm just curious if any of you guys ever give money back on costs saved?
Yep, more than once, too. Mind you, client attitude & interaction (interference, "helping" etc.) was big factor in "how much," truth be told.
In my situation, it would come down to the business case: Did I make my profit, and was there a real surplus? If the customer bought all the plywood, but shorted himself on his t/o, and I had to go find 20mm ply to match his big box "sale" ply, then there might be less overall profit. That sort of thing.