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Never try to do a friend a good deal in business
*Rant Warning*
Been on at a mate to get his Family shop done for over 5 years as it looks tatty. Finally got the ball rolling recently & did him countless designs based on his & his Dad’s requirements.
Finally got an OK for a design & priced it up in decent materials that would lasts another 20 years, powder coated aluminium Tray, built up letters, digital prints etc & submitted my quote which was cost +£250 fitting.
Father saw the quote & nearly choked apparently, said he’d rather buy stock instead & to forget the whole thing – despite giving me a maximum budget beforehand, of which I was under considerably.
I said I could do a cheaper job if he wanted, but it wouldn’t look as good or last as long. Message came back saying as the season is over, they will think again next year.
Just came past the shop & he’s had some other bugger do it! And it looks bloody awful! Cheap 3mm plastic has been used which is already buckling & rippling & light green vinyl on a white background so can hardly be seen – the complete opposite of my design brief!
Gah! You expect it from others, but not a close mate. Feel totally let down TBH. A right kick in the goolies.
Now I will take my business elsewhere, so they’ll lose out on many hundreds in the future – far more than it would have cost them to use me in the first place!
Idiots.
Never try to do a friend a good deal is my lesson learned today!
Cheers,
Gwaredd.
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13 Replies
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I was told once by a friend who had a business, that for a stranger you give your normal price, for family and friends you double it! That way they won’t waste your time. I hate favour jobs, get out there and earn real money! Your friend will reap what he sows!
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That’s some good advice Mike!
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Oh don`t get me fooking started today LOL
We spent £3000 on carpets for a development we were doing, with the carpet shop on the opposite side of the road.
Later she came in and asked for a quote on a banner….. Oh I can get it cheaper on ebay…
On the same developement, having spent £700 per month on hire equipemnt ( at least 4 months solid) the owner also sold workwear, which we sometimes printed for him.
He asked for a quote on 20 items, we were 30p more than someone else… he went with the other person a saving of £6…. So we pulled the plug on the hire stuff and went with the hire place next door to him, we used the other place for another 4 months. ( yes 2 hire shops side by side) we made a point of sending the works van to pick up things, so he could seeit was us and how he lost out…
We did a free A Board for someone, he approved the artwork. Did the job, they he rang up 2 weeks after having it saying hes now selling a few different things and could we redo the A Board…. £20 we asked… He painted over the full colour didgy print and used a marker pen. The fool didn`t have the brains to just strip.
Morel of the story is, everyone is your bezzy mate until they can find someone else to do it £1 cheaper..
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No good deed goes unpunished.
Although I admit that it stings more when it’s a friend or family who’s giving it to you up the difficult brown.Cousin was opening a beauty salon.
I did a fascia sign for her and she was pleased as punch.
Gave her a really good price despite the time spent with her.
(she was very wishy-washy)Then she asked me to quote on the main sign.
Again more hours spent.
She was pretty much clueless as to what it needed to say.
I helped her figure out the copy, gave her a quote (family discount again) and she never got back to me.
Her boyfriend held the purse strings apparently.
But a month later I see a shoddy rendition of what I did for her fascia sign on a new main sign.
I have no clue who did it but it’s ugly as a hatful of arseholes.😉
What goes around comes around is all I can say.
Sounds like your friend got what he settled for.
Love….Jill -
quote Jill Marie Welsh:giving it to you up the difficult brown.Arf. I nearly spat my coffee out….
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quote Jill Marie Welsh:it but it’s ugly as a hatful of arseholes
LMTO
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oh BRILLIANT Jill….
you do have a fantastic way with words!!!LOL :lol1: :lol1: :lol1: 😀 😀 -
Its difficult when its comes to doing jobs for friends
I found a way that seems to work for me and my friends seem to like
I say to them that I’ll put in the estimate what I would normally quote for customers and then give them a reasonable discount say 30% on itNever had anyone go away yet and if they did it would be no loss
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I’m just gutted that he didn’t come back to me saying ‘we can’t afford this, but want it done. You’re a mate, you’ve supported our business over the years & we trust you. Our budget is XXX, see what you can do’
Beforehand, I wouldn’t have gone into his shop to pick out a bike I liked, realised it was out of my price range & then go somewhere else & buy a cheaper, lesser bike.
No. I’d say this ‘this is my budget, what can you do?’
I thought that’s how business worked. Obviously I was wrong :lol1:
I was due to spend £600 on the kids bikes there this Christmas. Looks like his competitor will now be getting it instead!
Cheers all – have a good weekend!
G
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i had a mate once come to me asking for tints, after weeks of him not being free he expected me to do it on the day he was free but i was fully booked up. so he went to another local garage had the tints done for an extra £50 what i quoted him and came to me a fewdays later because they had peeled £ inches down the window and there was creases in them, nearly every window neaded redoing and for that…. my quote went higher
most friends do expect everything for nothing. they dont get it only family do
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quote Gwaredd Steele:I’m just gutted that he didn’t come back to me saying ‘we can’t afford this, but want it done. You’re a mate, you’ve supported our business over the years & we trust you. Our budget is XXX, see what you can do’
Beforehand, I wouldn’t have gone into his shop to pick out a bike I liked, realised it was out of my price range & then go somewhere else & buy a cheaper, lesser bike.
No. I’d say this ‘this is my budget, what can you do?’
I thought that’s how business worked. Obviously I was wrong :lol1:
I was due to spend £600 on the kids bikes there this Christmas. Looks like his competitor will now be getting it instead!
Cheers all – have a good weekend!
G
I`d drop it in the conversation that all the kids had bikes at xmas next time you speak LOL its the only way to make the penny drop
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quote Jamie Wood:quote Jill Marie Welsh:giving it to you up the difficult brown.
Arf. I nearly spat my coffee out….
I missed that one LMAO
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Learnt this lesson very early on in business. Good lesson to learn. Did a van for a family friend. Discounted cheap as chips. Year later he gets a new van gave him the same price told me we were ripping him off. Really? Then he proceeded to tell me:
"You wouldn’t be successful if it wasn’t for me".
To which I replied:
"You represent 0.1% of my revenue. Hopefully loosing your business doesn’t put me under."
Good riddance.
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