Overheard a client bragging about backing out of a contract at the last minute

I was at a coffee shop in Portland last Tuesday and heard two guys talking about a roofing job. One of them laughed about how he walked away from a signed contract because he found a cheaper crew the night before. That roofer had already ordered 40 squares of shingles and paid for a dumpster rental. Has anyone else had clients do this, and how do you recover the costs without taking them to court?

3 comments

3 Comments

mitchell.thomas12h ago

Are you sure taking them to court is really the worst option here? People change their minds, and a signed contract isn't a moral lock if you find a better deal. That roofer lost the profit from the job, sure, but he still has the shingles and the dumpster rental. He can use those on the next job, no big loss. Plus, dragging a client to court over a few hundred bucks makes you look petty and scares off future customers.

lucashenderson9h ago

Yeah, I know all about looking petty over small stuff. I once took a guy to small claims over a $200 guitar pedal he backed out on after a verbal handshake deal. The judge looked at me like I was the biggest moron in the room, which I probably was. But hey, at least I got the pedal back and a lifetime supply of awkward silence at family cookouts. Still, Mitchell's right about the roofer stuff being reusable, but that time and gas money hauling shingles around for the next job eats into things fast.

sethm587h agoProlific Poster

Nah court is the only way to teach people that their word means something lmao.