hollyscott•12d agoMost Upvoted

Learned the hard way that a client's 'quick estimate' never is

Guy called me last Tuesday, said he needed a fast quote for a small roof patch on his garage in north Austin. I drove 20 minutes to meet him, climbed up, saw the leak around a vent pipe. Told him $450 for the repair, cash, could do it Thursday. He nodded, said sounds good, shook my hand. Thursday morning I show up with my crew and materials. He opens the door in a robe, says "Oh I thought you were just giving me a price so I could shop around." I stood there holding a torch and a roll of modified bitumen. Now I collect a 50% deposit before I even load the truck. Has anyone else had clients treat a handshake like it's just a suggestion?

3 comments

3 Comments

black.oliver12d ago

@the_lucas nailed it with the text confirmation, I had a guy pull that same "shopping around" move on me too.

kevin_williams12d agoMost Upvoted

Did that text confirmation ever actually hold up if they tried to fight it?

the_lucas12d ago

The handshake thing gets me every time too. Had a guy last summer who wanted a deck repair and we agreed on $1,200 right there in his backyard. I turned down two other jobs to fit him in. When I showed up with the lumber he said he found someone cheaper and didn't owe me anything because we never signed a paper. Now I send a text right after with the agreed price and a note that says "reply YES to confirm the work date." That way I have it in writing even if it's just a text chain. A deposit covers your gas and materials so you're not out cash if they flake.