Job cancelled this morning. Am I right?

[armyash]

Ash,

I don't want to sound harsh, so if it reads that way...appologies.

I think you're trying to be too accommodating to the customer.
You've offerred too much assisatance to this person already.

You should have insisted that you do the whole job from the beginning.

I understand you are trying to keep prices down, but at the end of the day you have done yourself and your mate out of a days work, due to the customer not having the job ready for you.

He probably expected you guys to offer to take the flooring up but would he offer to pay you extra at the end?

Don't be scared to price jobs for what they are worth.

Not harsh at all, I agree with you.

Being a fellow tradesman I wrongly expected him to know how things are and would have had us ready to go. I'm sending him over another price today which will increase the total a fair bit. Or he can have someone there to do the flooring as we do what we need. Sounds like a circus.

Luckily my mate is cool and he was only asked Friday afternoon to do the work so he hasn't been relying on the job for a while or put off other work to do it. Still. A mess around for him and I felt bad. I did offer to buy him breakfast after as a consolation.

I think you're right that he was expecting us to offer to do the flooring or just get on with it anyway. I made it clear to him that I didn't price in the flooring.

Will update. I don't expect to be going back.

 

[Best]

I wouldn’t rely on most customers preparing a job for me (lifting floors etc) tbh, even customers who are in the building trade.
But if boards were supposed to be removed for me, I would have been sending texts last couple days asking what stage had he got to with all the boards removal and wouldn’t have gone to job without confirmation all was ready.
I also suspect the guy being a plasterer is not capable of lifting the boards, and him saying he is going to now buy a circular saw suggests that.

 

[Scott_D]

Do plasterers have tools?

 

[armyash]

I wouldn’t rely on most customers preparing a job for me (lifting floors etc) tbh, even customers who are in the building trade.
But if boards were supposed to be removed for me, I would have been sending texts last couple days asking what stage had he got to with all the boards removal and wouldn’t have gone to job without confirmation all was ready.
I also suspect the guy being a plasterer is not capable of lifting the boards, and him saying he is going to now buy a circular saw suggests that.

He had 3 weeks minimum to make arrangements for the flooring to sorted. Whether it was doing himself or realising he couldn't do it and letting me know. 2 visits before the job started with discussions where he said the floor would be done.

I was booked to go Friday evening, spoke to him that afternoon and he said it's not done yet but will be doing and would have it done or be doing while we work downstairs. After arriving and seeing he hadn't started I had to decide to crack on and hope to be done by end of the weekend. (easy without worrying about the floor) or push the job back and say I'll do it in 3 weeks. I think the realisation that there is a lot more involved sorting the floor scared him. He should have let me know. I said I'm happy to pop back to show where I want the flooring up before this weekend when he was ready to do it.

I've always sorted the flooring on jobs, never been an issue. It's part of the job when doing heating.. He was adamant he was doing it, he even reiterated in text/email saying don't worry flooring will be all done.

He under estimated what needed doing and I was stupid to think all would be OK.

 

[armyash]

If I was to have taken the flooring up, it's then my responsibility to make sure it all goes down OK, that's the main reason I had to walk away yesterday. I had to find time to not only take it up but buy new flooring and replace/refix. Easily another half to full days work.

 

[Old Account]

If I was to have taken the flooring up, it's then my responsibility to make sure it all goes down OK, that's the main reason I had to walk away yesterday. I had to find time to not only take it up but buy new flooring and replace/refix. Easily another half to full days work.

Definitely full days work according to your description as well as more money on materials which needs to be paid too. As @Best has said before, it is important to ask prior the start date if he removed the floor boards and if there everything is going ahead on Sunday morning.

 

[armyash]

Definitely full days work according to your description as well as more money on materials which needs to be paid too. As @Best has said before, it is important to ask prior the start date if he removed the floor boards and if there everything is going ahead on Sunday morning.

I couldn't have made it clearer what needs to be done, I was led to believe he knew what he was doing and as I didn't hear I assumed all was OK then found out it wasn't. I should have said straight off I'm doing the flooring.

A few texts back and forth this evening.

 

[armyash]

Jobs now booked for 4 weeks time, he has a carpenter going to do the flooring.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Jobs now booked for 4 weeks time, he has a carpenter going to do the flooring.

Hopefully

 

[armyash]

I'm not particularly bothered either way now. If i don't do it I'm not losing out on a big payday.