Customer cancels, what to do

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user_removed

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Had a job lined up since mid-feb, living room, kitchen, an bedroom reskim plus some archways pitting in. Sorted this job before I went away and got back Wednesday. Job is about £ 1200.00 due to start on Tuesday and the guy just tx me saying his boiler packed in Friday and postponed for a month, due to not having the money left.

I have turned away a few jobs since getting back because I had this and thought I had the next couple of weeks covered to get some cash in before hunting the site work down

What should I do, should I offer to do the work and wait 6 weeks for the cash.

Do I tell him to find someone else or what.

Iv not bought the gear yet, but I'm in two minds as when I get on sites I usually spend a good few months on them and this is too big a job to tackle at weekends.

Cheers lads, mac
 
Hard one Mac ,but if he not got the money now ,and you say i will wait ,will he have it in 6 weeks ?? with the summer coming your be stacked out anyway mate ...your not a bank your a plasterer !!! tell him to use his overdraft !
 
Gutted to be honest, he just tx me tonight and suppose to start on tues, I tried ringin to discuss but he not answered.

Had jobs cancel before but not this size and not this late, a good 8 to 10 days work, gone
 
I know what it feels like mate ,just let it go and get of the pc and on the phone to let people know you have a gap ..best of luck mate
 
I'd contact him and let him know your situation, make sure that if you book it in again he has the work done. Don't want to be stung twice.
 
I was wondering whether to offer him the work and get something on paper agreeing to pay in full by a certain date, just so I can get the work in the bag and out of the way, it's not that i need the coin but I haven't done sod all for 8weeks and was looking forward to some steady domestic work to get back into the swing of things.

I'll just leave it and put it down to experience I guess, don't take work for granted as you don't know what will happen. Iv tx him and told him I might be able to do it in may and to get in touch, but I'll see how I'm fixed at the time.

onwards and upwards lads, keep your chin up and plod on
 
could you not do your site work ,then contract your private work out to some one, you trust you all would make a wage plus keep your repuation,in good stead ,just a thought but tell him you want deposit for material,s so your coverd,if he cancell,again
 
either he genuinely does not have the money and he does indeed need a new boiler,or he is lying to you and he has got a cheaper price off somebodyelse,the fact that he does not return your calls is not good,if he was genuine he would be on the phone apologising, i would be very suprised if you hear from him again, it is a sickerner when this happens but it does and sometime in the future it will happen again my advice is forget about it ,do not think about or dwell on it it will only make you bitter sad and angry, move on put it behind you, it happens to all of us but it is not nice when you have a job lined up and you turn down other work because you think you are booked up, unfourtanetly it is one of the joys of being self employed, hopefully whoever he gets in does a bad job for him and he will regret cancelling you,all best mac hector.
 
agree with hector.blokes pissing about talking shite an hasnt got guts to tell you found cheaper job!!do not do the work an wait for the money in his mind your money then becomes his.trust me on that one!youve not let him down.
 
Just bite the bullet....... what happens if ya had van piled in and u needed a new engine or gearbox and you needed to stump up alot of cash the customer would probably feel how you do now....... its a pisser but just gotta crack on marra
 
srp - dont really sub private work out i like to do them myself and make sure they are done properly, i know a lot of plasterers but not any i would trust with my reputation.

hector - he has apologised by email and tx but when i called just the once, no answer. not sure if he got someone else but i wouldn't be suprised.

i understand what everyone is saying, like said its frustrating as f***, i have never let any1 down in 8 yrs. if i said id be there i 100% always am. maybe he's skint or maybe he's got someone else. quite lucky as i nearly got all gear on friday, i would have been fuming then.

F*** it, it was artex ceilings anyway, cheers all
 
dnt forget to shag his misses aswell..................everyone always forgets that bit:rolleyes)
 
Had a job lined up since mid-feb, living room, kitchen, an bedroom reskim plus some archways pitting in. Sorted this job before I went away and got back Wednesday. Job is about £ 1200.00 due to start on Tuesday and the guy just tx me saying his boiler packed in Friday and postponed for a month, due to not having the money left.

I have turned away a few jobs since getting back because I had this and thought I had the next couple of weeks covered to get some cash in before hunting the site work down

What should I do, should I offer to do the work and wait 6 weeks for the cash.

Do I tell him to find someone else or what.

Iv not bought the gear yet, but I'm in two minds as when I get on sites I usually spend a good few months on them and this is too big a job to tackle at weekends.

Cheers lads, mac
New boiler is only £600
 
then the installation once youve put the 2 together thats the 1200 for macs job gone down the swanney
 
the blokes got someone cheaper forget bout it and move on or ring him and tell him its promo week and youll do it for £600
 
well if he calls in a months its a bonus, im not sure he has got anyone else because while i was in NZ he was e-mailed me 2-3 times checking i was still doing the job, i arranged to do this job on feb 23rd.

the only thing i can think thats put him off is that he e-mailed me about putting 2 archways in which were not included in the price, so i told him i'd bring some arch-beads up on tues so he could see what they were like and if he wanted them he'd be looking at an extra £120.00 - £150.00 per archway on top of the price. which is fair considering setting them up and roughing round them, not to mention the price of the extra materials.

problem is i'v got f*** all now, all the lads i'v rung are strugglin there is a school in hull thats payin .... wait for it £1.70 p/m2 but im not travelling 65 miles for that.
 
just get working somwhere else. if he calls, ul have to tell him ur busy and hell have to wait. thats his problem not ur yours.
 
could be worse i turned up on a job about 6 years back to paint the kitchen and do a splashback
and their was a fella their tiling it already.
Apparently they had lost my number, from then on i always had terms sign to cover my back.
 
Well, if you've got fkall else on at the moment you may as well go to his house, unannounced, and then have a word face to face. Tell him about how you're going to be busy in a month or so and that you're willing to do the job now (as agreed) and he can pay you in a months time. This way you will find out whether he really does still want you to do it. You may find a 'plasterer' already on the job, in which case he is in breach of contract, a contract which he has confirmed with his emails and text messages.:RpS_thumbup:
 
and if he hassent then you end up doin the work for him without any type of payment for at least a month, and youll be constantly chaseing him up if he doesnt pay on time thus costing you time , time which= money:glare:
 
well if he calls in a months its a bonus, im not sure he has got anyone else because while i was in NZ he was e-mailed me 2-3 times checking i was still doing the job, i arranged to do this job on feb 23rd.

the only thing i can think thats put him off is that he e-mailed me about putting 2 archways in which were not included in the price, so i told him i'd bring some arch-beads up on tues so he could see what they were like and if he wanted them he'd be looking at an extra £120.00 - £150.00 per archway on top of the price. which is fair considering setting them up and roughing round them, not to mention the price of the extra materials.

problem is i'v got f*** all now, all the lads i'v rung are strugglin there is a school in hull thats payin .... wait for it £1.70 p/m2 but im not travelling 65 miles for that.

Same mate iv'e had a job cancel, and got **** all on now just bits and pieces, and evrything i price they don't want doing for a month....
 
Just thought I'd put this up while I'm on here, might make a few of you smile.

I just got this email, this morning.

This is from the customer that cancelled on me.

Hi Chris,

You came go my old house about a year ago to quote for plastering a couple of the rooms.

I've now moved and recently had a family friend plaster the kitchen in my new house but he has left it in a bit of a mess.

He put a coat of plaster on the ceiling but then told me that the water had soaked into the artex and as a result the plaster was falling off.

Apparantly my options are to either remove all the new plaster (he has put a coat on all of the ceiling) and start from scratch or put up plasterboard over the work he has done and skim over them. there are already 2 boards up so i dont really want to put a 3rd one up.

I have started trying to remove the plaster but it is well and truely bonded to the ceiling and is taking a massive effort to remove even a small area.

So i'm in a mess basically and i wondered if you would be willing to come and have a look and advise on the cost to finish the job, whether that includes starting over from scratch or not.

Thanks,

Jodie
 
My reply


Hello Jodie,

Apologies but I won't be able to quote the work you require as I am fairly busy at the moment.

Also with the greatest respect, I did quote you on the work last time, made several alterations to the quote regarding archways/extra work and spent time, while on holiday in NZ, making such alterations.

i also turned work away so I could complete the work you required, only for you to cancel at the very last minute.

So unfortunately, I won't be able to quote the work buddy, there are some decent spreads on the forum, hope you get it sorted,

Many thanks, Chris
 
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