The Ethical Lawn Turd???

[PROCUT1]

I totally agree with that. When I crackseal a road for a flat rate I do the same thing.

But when I'm charging the customer per pound of crackfiller used. They get charged exactly what I use.

Many times when quoting a flat rate I figure in extra material as a buffer. And if I save it then I make more money.
the customer is paying for the outcome. Not for the amount of material.

Do you see what people are getting at?

2500 and ill sod your front yard. Customer agrees. Amount of material doesn't matter then.

2500 and ill install 7 pallets of sod. Customer agrees. Then you owe them 7 pallets or a credit.

400 and the mechanic will ensure your car will stop when you hit the brakes. Whatever he does or doesn't do, if the car stops, he did his job.

400 to replace front and rear brakes. He only replaces the fronts. Car stops.

Same outcome. Same job done. One way the customer got what they were told for what they paid. The other way they got screwed.
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[unkownfl]

Simply get two extra pallet cores and take a little off of the 5 pallets to get an even 7 pallets lol...

[Landscape Poet]

Originally Posted by Stillwater

This based on your faulty equipment as outlined in your first post.

Generally not faulty until this time. I am only assuming that the reset button stuck because of the rain. It does take more pressure to reset it now than it did when it was brand new several years ago however I generally get pretty accurate estimates with it.

[greendoctor]

Procut is right. Jobs like this should be priced for the finished product. Not per pallet, hour, sq ft. Want the front lawn sodded? It will cost this. If someone needs a price per pallet, sq ft, hour, it seems like they want to go down to the sod farm themselves, bargain down the price like they are at the Marrakesh Bazaar, and grab Pablo to lay the sod at whatever he costs per hour. I will not be chopped like that ever. Someone going there needs to do as I described. They do not want a pro handling the job. This all goes to some other threads on pricing and high end clients. The good ones do not mind paying as long as they get the sense that everything is under control and they need not lift a finger or worry about anything.

[XLS]

green doctor said it best!... i hate clients who price shop

OP with the extra money or your original profit,your choice you may want to consider investing in a wheel before your known as the guy who gives back money on jobs.....then some word of mouth client will expect it from you on a job you measured right. just a tip

we would have billed the 7 and when they got home...wheb getting paid in full i would have had 7 pallets on the truck for them to view lol j/k
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[Ric]

..


THERE ARE TWO FACTORS HERE.

1St. The OP original question of how you handle a mistaken estimate if you over charged by mistake. That is the Ethical Issue originally posed.
IMHO since he caught it before starting the job he should handle it the same as if he under bid the job with the same Mistake. that is go back to the customer and tell them the correct price and hope for the best.


2nd Factor here is HOW DO YOU LIST YOUR BID PRICES. That IMHO is to stay with Industry Standards. Having been in the Sod Business Industry, standard bidding is done by the Number of Pallets or Sq Ft of the Job. Sure we measure wide to CYA But so does a Floor installer because of the nature of the work calls for selvage or waste.


In Edit

I always had more sod than I intended for the job. The left over sod was brought back, first to my holding area and years later to my Nursery. Black Ground Cover stretched across the ground with over head irrigation can hold spread out Sod viable for a month or more with no problems. Having a ready supply of Sod allowed me to do some very profitable SMALL patch jobs without the expense of chasing down materials.

[GatorinFla]

Originally Posted by XLS

green doctor said it best!... i hate clients who price shop

They price shop for a reason.........the O.P. describes why that is true.

[PROCUT1]

Everybody price shops.

Its stupid not to.
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[greendoctor]

In many cases, it gets the person exactly what they deserve. Nothing offends me more than when I see the following when I get to a client's property and they are price shopping:expensive car, parking pass for the most expensive private golf course in the state, and the parking pass for a private school. In the mean time, they are acting like I am too expensive. Trying to chop a professional gets them Pablo or Ernesto.

[greendoctor]

Say bid in front of me and they had better have Pablo or Ernesto already lined up.