# Dear John



## davitk (Oct 3, 2008)

Anybody else firing customers lately? I've been working for these folks for the past five years. Second customer in a month I've had to fire.

Somebody out there must be teaching homeowners that contractors are desperate and need to be trodden upon.


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## davitk (Oct 3, 2008)

-COMPLETE HOME REMODELING-


11/02/09










Dear John,

Enclosed is your check for the amount of 90.00 for the service call on 10/15/09. Please void this check as I 
will not be depositing it.

I have dozens of satisfied customers who do not have a problem with a minimum charge for a service call, which in 
the Madison area is 150.00, and Cambridge is 90.00. 

I regret that it has come to this, but in order to maintain our friendship I feel it would be best if you found a different 
home repair professional.



Sincerely,

davitk


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## CookeCarpentry (Feb 26, 2009)

What's the backstory on this?


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## Meetre (Nov 2, 2007)

Yeah, gotta know what lead up to this letter. (and I hope you sent it to Tom and Suzanne :blink


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

yeah, I'll bet you'll continue to be _great_ friends from this point forward :laughing:


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

Of course, that's all consumers are hearing is how remodeling work will be 30/40/50% CHEAPER, because all contractors are DESPERATE....and don't forget the fact how every single one of has has been screwin' the h/o's for years with our OUTRAGEOUS prices....time for payback!!!


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

I dare ya to send_ them_ a check for $90, for the privilege of serving them. :whistling


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## davitk (Oct 3, 2008)

Ah, yes, I am sure I will regret starting this thread...

I have done tens of thousands of dollars worth of work for these folks and they have always been pleased with both the service and the product. However the issue of price has been coming to a head lately.

No need to bore any of you voyeuristic :whistlingcontractors with the gory details leading up to the firing, just suffice it to say that 90.00 refund will be money well spent.


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

you're just a tease


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## dakzaag (Jan 6, 2009)

Anybody that does "tens of thousands of dollars of business" with me would get multiple "service calls" 

*For Free* 

as an acknowledgment that I appreciated their previous business. 

If I thought they were trying to take advantage, I would state 
*in person*
that I have to start charging a minimum as I am in business for profit, not pleasure. I would also take time to thank them for their past patronage and check to see if all is well with the previous projects. 

Sell the benefits of lower cost materials and faster job completion in this downturn, not cheaper labor. Thats the best response for anyone trying to leverage you. 

This is not the kind of economy where we can be firing good customers.


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## spdtrx (Sep 10, 2009)

I bet your going to be put on Flakycontractor.com.
Now that you pissed off the HO.:whistling


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

:laughing:


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

Just one point. I hope you didn't send that exact letter shown in the pdf file. The part where you are talking about being a professional.... "feel" is not usually spelled like that. 

Kinda takes the effective punch out of your professional delivery.


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

ya lost me willie....unless something has been changed in the previous posts


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

_"I feel it would be best if you found a different home repair professional."


_


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## reveivl (May 29, 2005)

I don't get it, why would you fire them over $90?

For me the service fee is to weed out the tire-kickers not to pay the bills. The tens of thousands is to pay the bills.:thumbsup:


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

The pdf version says: "fell"






> 11/02/09​
> 
> 
> Som or Tuzanne
> ...


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

that's the "tease"...$90 vs. _"tens of thousands"_ :shifty:


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## reveivl (May 29, 2005)

I just did a free service call to an old customer, wound up getting a bathroom reno out of it. You think I'm gonna send him an invoice for the call?:no:


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## J F (Dec 3, 2005)

Now, normally I'll charge for "estimates", which in reality are the opposite of estimates...they're firm quotes for the work to be done, with drawings to illustrate said work.

For this project the drawings were "free"...only because I had done over 60k worth of work for these clients....so it some cases, for me it does make sense to do a "free" estimate.























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