Deposits on installation only

Discussion in 'Kitchen Fitters' Talk' started by andyarmando, Sep 20, 2007.

  1. audi-evo

    audi-evo Active Member

    ok back to the instalation only, people are booking your time, so if they cancel late or decide they want to move a job why should you loose wages?
    If you say, it's ok i can fill the day by bringing another job forward that isn't really the point.
    A customer who thinks they can mess you around and waste your time at your cost should be made to pay.
    Would they stand for it if their boss told them they weren't going to get paid tommorrow, of course they wouldn't.
    To me a deposit is a saftey net against these situations, of course i don't go out of my way to penalise customers if i can avoid it but sometimes it is unavoidable.
    I also find when a customer makes some silly reason as to why they need to put their job back a few days (when, truth be known they just couldn't be bothered to prepare for the job) and i say there will be a £30 cancellation fee they suddenly are able to have the job done on the agreed day.
     
  2. clarkster

    clarkster New Member

    i think we get idea lamello-me old mukka! you have your way. we aint lemmings, we aint all gotta follow you in order to give off this air of "professionalism" merely because some of us think it may help safeguard our little empires by asking for a deposot of only £100 and when i say this i refer largely to those guys just getting started in self employment.

    until proven otherwise i view every single customer as someone who is out to bend you over and i always look to ways of reducing the chances of being mugged by a customer.

    you seem to imply that those folk who have been mugged by customers are in some way inadequate at running a business or have little business acumen or savvy- qualities you also seem to imply in the same breathe you have in spades. bully for you.

    a lot has been mentioned already about having trade acounts and this misses the point totally. so you put a grand or so on a trade account and get your 60 days free credit - and the customer gets all those new materials fitted/installed - oh joy! you do the job, customer bends you over because you missed a bit of the carpet when cleaning up with the vacuum cleaner (for example) or you left the bathroom light on all afternoon. if youve never heard of pedantic excuses like this from a any of of your past customers, EVER, then i doubt youre the long term, hardened business whizz you imply you are.

    anyway, your 60 days credit expires and you might be a one or two man band with little contingency funding. where do you go then when the bailiffs come a knocking because youve got sweet FA from the customer yet youve got a trade account to settle up?

    trade accounts aint necessarily an answer for everyone.
    by all means, dont be scared to express your modus operandi on this forum- just dont **** others off on here (and dont tell me i am patronising others on here because i am defending them-i am defending them and thats that) because they want a deposit-for gods sake.

    show a bit of bloody compassion instead of being the big I AM trademan who almost unbelievably has never had a customer not pay up or picked flies in his work or cancelled on them. what never? they dont employ you for your lack of modesty do they? even when you first started out.......come off it, youre pulling our chains pal.

    oh and if you really havent been robbed by a customer yet, 1. youre nickname must be teflon and 2. it'll happen in time. nobodys that good.
     

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