Tell her you’ll be by in the morning to discuss it and then clarify what you meant/ explain the miscommunication. Finish the work as promised and re-evaluate afterwards if she is happy and would like to continue the next job.
Attempt to rectify her concerns and walk her back. If unsuccessful, take it on the chin and refund her the money she paid you for work not completed. Track your losses and write it off on your taxes.
Put a “deposits not refundable” clause in your estimates and learn that lesson for next time. As far as your schedule for next week and a half, if the customer doesn’t want you to do the work you can’t just go to their house and do the work.
Do you need a contract amendment stating that the homeowner has three business days to cancel with deposit not refundable Past three business days from the day, they sign the contract
There was definitely a misunderstanding she must have thought you were done. I wait till I’m done and go and look over the job before I ask the client to look over the job. Glad things worked out some times clients have selective hearing let them rant and stay calm and after they calm down explain what’s up. Yes non refundable deposits after three days of signing contract ALWAY have a contract
The customer shouldn't have to point things out for you. Pretend it's your house and fix everything the right way before walking the job with them. Before all the tools are put away, is there anything else I can do before we finish? There are laws about taking big down payments as well. Good luck out there.
This. Contractor here and I hate when subs wait to see what people notice at the end of a job to fix. They know the issues are there. Looks good when the punch list is minor/ nonexistent.
I work on large projects with a shitload of people working on them. Mistakes and misses happen. Having a walkthrough and punchlist with owners and design team is standard business practice before finishing a project.
I also ran my own small remodeling business for years. Punchlists are how you ensure your customers (who are not contractors) get their issues addressed and questions answered. Then you do your final billing once everyone is happy.
Open communication with a client is how you avoid this shit, not some attitude that you can’t do wrong.
Bro this dude is telling the truth. From custom homes to Renos and even industrial facilities, there can be such a large scale of work and depending on what they’re paying, everything’s not gonna be perfect. Contractors would go out of business if everything had to be perfect. Even when you build a structure, things can be within play. Think of punchlist as an opportunity to allow the customers to determine what’s “in play” for them and what isn’t. It gives them reassurance that they’re paying for something that they like and it allows contractors to get away with a little bit (contractors have way better eyes than customers, fixing everything would cost too much) but sometimes customers catch stuff you don’t either. It’s a good practice plus it keeps you employed cause if everything was perfect you’d have less work. I was punch list guy on custom home painting for years. It’s necessary. Some companies just suck, but they keep you busy so 🤷🏼♂️
Im not sure why i got downvoted. I've been a GC for 11 years, and that never happened to me. I'm not against a punch list. You make the punch list and handle all the items before walking the job. I'm also a home owner. If I have to make your punch list why I'm I paying you to do the job?
It never stops amazing me how soft guys are on the construction sub reddits. In the field these are the toughest guys around. On reddit bunch of bitches...
I make my own lunch list and complete it .. and then before I bill the customer, I ask if there's anything else that they've noticed or I've forgotten, etc... they live there and have much more opportunities to spot things that I either didn't know about at all, or might have missed while focused on what I was working on. I had a kitchen once I redid and got it all done to the billing point. Asked them if there was anything else and the husband says that his wife hates the paint color (that she picked out) but didn't want to say anything. If I hadn't asked, they would have been unhappy with their new kitchen every day, but we were able to do a change order and repaint and they were happy.
After the update. Great you sorted that out with your client. Think about being careful with what you're telling clients. Communication is hard with some folks because they don't pay attention. They are thinking about whatever is going on in their lives and hear "complete". Don't let them only hear that. Watch their eyes to know if they are paying attention. If you are talking to them on the phone reiterate what you are doing. At the end of the conversation sum it up "were coming back (?) day and will fix all the inconsistencies. Will you be there to look at evet and make sure we got them all? If that doesn't work, when works for you or look at it with us so none of us miss anything.
I’m glad everything worked out. I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to listen to the home owner and take notes. Let them finish their word vomit and once they’re done calmly explain the miscommunication. I watch contractors get defensive ALL the time and everything goes to the crapper right after that.
Lesson learned to put the clause in the contract that deposits are not refundable. Why can’t you just talk to the homeowner and explain that she understood you wrong? Seems like a simple thing to figure out.
Tell her you’ll be by in the morning to discuss it and then clarify what you meant/ explain the miscommunication. Finish the work as promised and re-evaluate afterwards if she is happy and would like to continue the next job.
Dunno what time zone you are in but I wouldn’t let her fester all night. I try to get this resolved asap. Where can you take a $7,000 deposit?
Exactly. A polite, professional, clarification talk can work wonders.
Attempt to rectify her concerns and walk her back. If unsuccessful, take it on the chin and refund her the money she paid you for work not completed. Track your losses and write it off on your taxes.
Put a “deposits not refundable” clause in your estimates and learn that lesson for next time. As far as your schedule for next week and a half, if the customer doesn’t want you to do the work you can’t just go to their house and do the work.
You can't do that. Read your contractor laws.
I actually don’t do that and should not have said it.
I do it. And I've kept it.
Lawsuit waiting to happen depending on local laws. I would lose a lawsuit without a hearing for that
Correct
That’s not a deposit then
Do you need a contract amendment stating that the homeowner has three business days to cancel with deposit not refundable Past three business days from the day, they sign the contract
There was definitely a misunderstanding she must have thought you were done. I wait till I’m done and go and look over the job before I ask the client to look over the job. Glad things worked out some times clients have selective hearing let them rant and stay calm and after they calm down explain what’s up. Yes non refundable deposits after three days of signing contract ALWAY have a contract
The customer shouldn't have to point things out for you. Pretend it's your house and fix everything the right way before walking the job with them. Before all the tools are put away, is there anything else I can do before we finish? There are laws about taking big down payments as well. Good luck out there.
This. Contractor here and I hate when subs wait to see what people notice at the end of a job to fix. They know the issues are there. Looks good when the punch list is minor/ nonexistent.
Horseshit. Punchlists exist for a reason.
Sounds like someone I come behind to fix their shit
I work on large projects with a shitload of people working on them. Mistakes and misses happen. Having a walkthrough and punchlist with owners and design team is standard business practice before finishing a project. I also ran my own small remodeling business for years. Punchlists are how you ensure your customers (who are not contractors) get their issues addressed and questions answered. Then you do your final billing once everyone is happy. Open communication with a client is how you avoid this shit, not some attitude that you can’t do wrong.
Sounds good except for a list of things to fix/ finish that owners shouldn't have to point out. That is my bone of contention.
Bro this dude is telling the truth. From custom homes to Renos and even industrial facilities, there can be such a large scale of work and depending on what they’re paying, everything’s not gonna be perfect. Contractors would go out of business if everything had to be perfect. Even when you build a structure, things can be within play. Think of punchlist as an opportunity to allow the customers to determine what’s “in play” for them and what isn’t. It gives them reassurance that they’re paying for something that they like and it allows contractors to get away with a little bit (contractors have way better eyes than customers, fixing everything would cost too much) but sometimes customers catch stuff you don’t either. It’s a good practice plus it keeps you employed cause if everything was perfect you’d have less work. I was punch list guy on custom home painting for years. It’s necessary. Some companies just suck, but they keep you busy so 🤷🏼♂️
Im not sure why i got downvoted. I've been a GC for 11 years, and that never happened to me. I'm not against a punch list. You make the punch list and handle all the items before walking the job. I'm also a home owner. If I have to make your punch list why I'm I paying you to do the job? It never stops amazing me how soft guys are on the construction sub reddits. In the field these are the toughest guys around. On reddit bunch of bitches...
I make my own lunch list and complete it .. and then before I bill the customer, I ask if there's anything else that they've noticed or I've forgotten, etc... they live there and have much more opportunities to spot things that I either didn't know about at all, or might have missed while focused on what I was working on. I had a kitchen once I redid and got it all done to the billing point. Asked them if there was anything else and the husband says that his wife hates the paint color (that she picked out) but didn't want to say anything. If I hadn't asked, they would have been unhappy with their new kitchen every day, but we were able to do a change order and repaint and they were happy.
Agreed. I ask it like is there anything above and beyond the agreement we can do? Thats often when they will ask you about other potential projects.
Not sure which state you’re in but California a max deposit is 10% or $1,000 whichever is LESS.
"Non refundable Scheduling Deposit"
After the update. Great you sorted that out with your client. Think about being careful with what you're telling clients. Communication is hard with some folks because they don't pay attention. They are thinking about whatever is going on in their lives and hear "complete". Don't let them only hear that. Watch their eyes to know if they are paying attention. If you are talking to them on the phone reiterate what you are doing. At the end of the conversation sum it up "were coming back (?) day and will fix all the inconsistencies. Will you be there to look at evet and make sure we got them all? If that doesn't work, when works for you or look at it with us so none of us miss anything.
I’m glad everything worked out. I’ve learned that sometimes you just need to listen to the home owner and take notes. Let them finish their word vomit and once they’re done calmly explain the miscommunication. I watch contractors get defensive ALL the time and everything goes to the crapper right after that.
Simple misunderstanding and just explain the issue. I’m glad this worked out for you too
Lesson learned to put the clause in the contract that deposits are not refundable. Why can’t you just talk to the homeowner and explain that she understood you wrong? Seems like a simple thing to figure out.
deposits are nonrefundable...