Proper way of telling a customer no half-way through a job?
Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 6:16 pm
So I'm currently running into this issue and not sure if I'm handelling the situation wrong (yay self doubt), or correct, or if anyone has any suggestions of what to do different.
Backstory.
A co-worker asked me if I'm able to weld aluminum because his other job needs some stuff welded and their side welder OD'd and they needed this job done by this coming Saturday AM. This was a week ago on a Wednesday. Told him sure, I can do it so long as I've got everything by this past weekend, of which they said no problem.
It was originally supposed to be one piece of 2"x2" .125 wall box 6061 with some 2"x2" .125" 6061 angle making a 11' x 18" frame, which is no problem for me. He'd have one of his guys bring the materials to my house one day after work.
He called me up saying I'd need to drive 35 miles south of where I am to pick up the materials. The metal company was refusing to deliver to my address. Semi-flat beds are the only thing not allowed in my neighborhood so I was a bit confused.
Get down to the location, get the 3 pieces of metal I need (which turns out to be anodized 6063 and not plain 6061)...and then wait 2 hours for him to show up with the drawing an deposit, which he forgot. What ever, he said he's sorry, he'd have it for me at 7AM the following day and he's fine waiting for me to fab the thing.
In hind sight, here's where I should have said no to the entire thing.
10:30AM rolls around and he finally shows, gives me dimensions, I make the thing which is now 8x the size it originally was, he then realizes he gave me the wrong dimensions, but he's happy with the quality. He then tells me he needs 19 more of them, at the proper dimensions and he'd pay X amount and I'd have the deposit the next day when I pick up the rest of the materials. Hard to turn down good money for a job that he doesn't need done until 6 more days.
I get down to get the rest of the materials, and he texts me saying he'll have the check the next day. Now I know this is a huge red flag, but this is for a construction company with positive customer reviews so I figured all was well. Not happy at this point, but I already drove down there, may as well pick everything up and get to work cutting everything to size. Part of the original plan was the deposit he was going to pay was to cover the cost of the welding and cutting materials. Was looking at 2 days worth of cutting and 4 of welding, plus having to go to the supplier and pick up additional material he was short of on his original order. Told him on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I'm not welding the stuff until I get the partial payment, so at least my time is saved on not having wasted all the time welding.
...And here we are now, on day 5 of forgotten payment. I told him yesterday that at this point, I am no longer able to be in this deal and gave him the amount I need payment for for the work that has already been done, plus the one completed item. No response from him. This morning I get frantic text messages from him saying he's bringing payment, it's important, he needs it done, etc. etc. Was supposed to be here by now, but no surprise, he's not. He wont take me saying no to the job as an answer. Yesterday in my message to him I told him I need to have this stuff out of my garage by Friday or Saturday AM because it's quite literally taking up 90% of my floor space and I have other stuff that I need to have completed for someone else on Sunday that I have not had a chance to get to yet (which thankfully it's small, but I can't get to my Mill with all this aluminum in the way
).
On top of all that, my co-worker at the end of the day told me this guy doesn't have anyone with a truck to actually get the stuff from me, like this guy originally said. He was hoping, without asking me, I'd make 7 round trips on Saturday to drop everything off at the location (490 miles) at no extra cost. End product is 20 total of 144"x24"x18" frames, which there's no way I can physically transport all that with a run down pickup.
I have no idea what to do now. I have $7k worth of aluminum taking up all my space, and a guy who keeps forgetting to pay and still thinks, even if he shows up with the deposit tonight, that I can have all 20 of these things done for him, for now me delivering them, Saturday morning, which is 100% impossible especially with the LWS closed tomorrow.
Never run into a situation like this before so I'm just completely dumbfounded. I want to just go dump everything back off at the site in it's unwelded state but don't really want to eat the cost of 3 days of work, which I'm afraid I'm going to have to do.
Any help?
Backstory.
A co-worker asked me if I'm able to weld aluminum because his other job needs some stuff welded and their side welder OD'd and they needed this job done by this coming Saturday AM. This was a week ago on a Wednesday. Told him sure, I can do it so long as I've got everything by this past weekend, of which they said no problem.
It was originally supposed to be one piece of 2"x2" .125 wall box 6061 with some 2"x2" .125" 6061 angle making a 11' x 18" frame, which is no problem for me. He'd have one of his guys bring the materials to my house one day after work.
He called me up saying I'd need to drive 35 miles south of where I am to pick up the materials. The metal company was refusing to deliver to my address. Semi-flat beds are the only thing not allowed in my neighborhood so I was a bit confused.
Get down to the location, get the 3 pieces of metal I need (which turns out to be anodized 6063 and not plain 6061)...and then wait 2 hours for him to show up with the drawing an deposit, which he forgot. What ever, he said he's sorry, he'd have it for me at 7AM the following day and he's fine waiting for me to fab the thing.
In hind sight, here's where I should have said no to the entire thing.
10:30AM rolls around and he finally shows, gives me dimensions, I make the thing which is now 8x the size it originally was, he then realizes he gave me the wrong dimensions, but he's happy with the quality. He then tells me he needs 19 more of them, at the proper dimensions and he'd pay X amount and I'd have the deposit the next day when I pick up the rest of the materials. Hard to turn down good money for a job that he doesn't need done until 6 more days.
I get down to get the rest of the materials, and he texts me saying he'll have the check the next day. Now I know this is a huge red flag, but this is for a construction company with positive customer reviews so I figured all was well. Not happy at this point, but I already drove down there, may as well pick everything up and get to work cutting everything to size. Part of the original plan was the deposit he was going to pay was to cover the cost of the welding and cutting materials. Was looking at 2 days worth of cutting and 4 of welding, plus having to go to the supplier and pick up additional material he was short of on his original order. Told him on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I'm not welding the stuff until I get the partial payment, so at least my time is saved on not having wasted all the time welding.
...And here we are now, on day 5 of forgotten payment. I told him yesterday that at this point, I am no longer able to be in this deal and gave him the amount I need payment for for the work that has already been done, plus the one completed item. No response from him. This morning I get frantic text messages from him saying he's bringing payment, it's important, he needs it done, etc. etc. Was supposed to be here by now, but no surprise, he's not. He wont take me saying no to the job as an answer. Yesterday in my message to him I told him I need to have this stuff out of my garage by Friday or Saturday AM because it's quite literally taking up 90% of my floor space and I have other stuff that I need to have completed for someone else on Sunday that I have not had a chance to get to yet (which thankfully it's small, but I can't get to my Mill with all this aluminum in the way
).On top of all that, my co-worker at the end of the day told me this guy doesn't have anyone with a truck to actually get the stuff from me, like this guy originally said. He was hoping, without asking me, I'd make 7 round trips on Saturday to drop everything off at the location (490 miles) at no extra cost. End product is 20 total of 144"x24"x18" frames, which there's no way I can physically transport all that with a run down pickup.
I have no idea what to do now. I have $7k worth of aluminum taking up all my space, and a guy who keeps forgetting to pay and still thinks, even if he shows up with the deposit tonight, that I can have all 20 of these things done for him, for now me delivering them, Saturday morning, which is 100% impossible especially with the LWS closed tomorrow.
Never run into a situation like this before so I'm just completely dumbfounded. I want to just go dump everything back off at the site in it's unwelded state but don't really want to eat the cost of 3 days of work, which I'm afraid I'm going to have to do.
Any help?
