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  • Pricing Verification Required – In Dispute

    Posted by David Hammond on November 22, 2016 at 9:49 am

    We quoted on an installation only of a job in a shopping centre, with a half hearted description of what was required.

    The general jist was ‘Some window vinyl applying to the outside of the windows outside of their opening hours’

    We obliged and quoted based it taking 4 hours.

    Then we get told that the vinyl cannot be installed to the external windows, and must be installed internally. With it being coloured holographic vinyl, they suggest applying clear double sided tape to the perimeter of the 27 individual bits of vinyl.

    Then we get to see the actual job, and the induction from the shopping centre, and it’s a 4m high window, no step ladders without 3points of contact and an reason why stepladders are used over other methods.

    So then the scaffold tower needs to be taken, carted through the service yard & lift, through the shop, erected, the shop windows haven’t been cleared of their displays so we end up doing that, and there’s a step behind the two windows, meaning dismantle and erecting the tower 3 times to complete the job.

    All in all we ended up being there from 21:30 – 04:00, 2 men, PASMA qualified with tower + 1 1/2 hours to tape up their vinyl.

    What would you charge for something like that??

    Chris Windebank replied 7 years, 4 months ago 7 Members · 13 Replies
  • 13 Replies
  • Phill Fenton

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 10:13 am

    Sounds like you were misled a bit with this one. I hope you phoned the person that hired you at 2am just to clarify one or two issues – then called him back again at 3 for more advice – then at 4 to confirm that the job had been completed.

  • David Hammond

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 10:15 am

    Nope their sales lady informed us ‘it costs what it costs’ it was a case of getting it done.

    This is a national reprographics company btw… who first sent another fitter in during the day to install with the public still there :yikes:

  • Hugh Potter

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 10:42 am

    I don’t generally do much out of hours work, certainly not in shopping centres or places that dictate to me how it’s best for me to work!

    However, if specified out of hours I always do my hourly rate +50%, or if I’ve quoted, then any additional hours due to things out of my control or remit- like having to move shop displays etc. are charged at hourly +50%.

    What more can you do? I’m quite sure they wouldn’t work that late without time and a half at least!

  • David Hammond

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 10:45 am

    Either way more than the £35 p/h per man they’re expecting to pay, we’re looking for at least £50 per person, per hour. :yikes:

  • John Singh

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 11:01 am

    You are a professional
    So charge the professional rate

    I’m a professional but I wouldn’t undertake the work you have done
    Why? Because I leave that to the professionals!!!

    Does that make sense?

  • Steff Davison

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 11:01 am

    I dont know what your labour cost is but based on £30/hr I would be looking at £750 ish plus the cost of whatever graphics etc that were installed.

    Ive factored in waiting for 3 months before I see any money as well.

    "It costs what it costs" …I would imagine a larger concern would be charging £1000++

  • David Hammond

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 11:09 am

    Currently getting 3 quotes from other companies, to see what they’ll charge for similar, then go back to the customer and they’ll see we were quite reasonable.

    We pulled them out of the sh!t, they messed up from start to finish, and we made good their mistakes… but hey that doesn’t matter.

  • Chris Windebank

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 11:50 am

    Hi David, we have just finished at a large shopping Centre this morning.

    These places are more agro than they are worth sometimes. We arrived at 8pm, had to sign in at 2 service gates then drive to our designated area. By the time we started work last night it was 10.30! Always allow extra time for these places to get in and out. We charged out of hour at 70.00 per hour. I think this is a fair price which allows for induction and all the risk assessment and associated paperwork needed.

    I think 840.00 would be about right

  • David Hammond

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 6:12 pm

    Letter sent to the CEO & Branch Director, highlighting how these changes were enforced on us them & the shopping centre, and how really it is their fault, had they known this first they could quote accordingly to their client.

    Lesson learnt, any variation in job, document everything, nothing done on a handshake and a nod.

  • David McCarroll David McCarroll

    Member
    November 22, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    Hi David, we would have probably been in the market of £900-950 + vat but with all the other factors and headache I know that would come with a job like this plus as steff mentioned the payment terms, I’d have probably pushed onto £1100 to make it a job that we wanted to finish opposed to they jobs we’ve all been caught out with and you don’t have the heart in it.

    Don’t beat yourself up about it mate, we’ve all done it and we’ll all do it again but it’s a good lesson learned.

  • David Hammond

    Member
    November 23, 2016 at 12:08 pm

    Success, the 3 page and letter and accompanying photographs arrived on the CEO’s and branch directors desk today, highlighting how the costs escalated and how it was out of our control and something we needed to comply with at the shopping centre.

    The branch director admitted that it was a different story he was given, and had accepted to pay our invoice in full. :thumbsup:

  • John Singh

    Member
    November 23, 2016 at 2:43 pm

    Fantastic Result :claps: :claps: :claps: :claps:

  • Chris Windebank

    Member
    November 23, 2016 at 5:10 pm

    excellent result

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