How far would you go for a good client?

aom

aom

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Messages
14,614
Reaction score
0
Location
Argyll
I can already hear the answer for that one from a few but seriously. I got a call from a good one who asked me to build another small scaffold for him as we have done a few on his job but they have also been doing a bit on their own. I loaded the truck with around 20 ton of gear and drove the 70 odd miles to the site. When I got there it was pandemonium, half stripped jobs all over the place but at least the ones that we did were ok but they did remove the edge protection from the roof. The last thing this man needed was more scaffold, I told him we would dismantle some of his and erect it for him and try and tidy the site up a bit.

I had to haul the gear back to my yard which I wasn't too happy about but as I said we do get a bit of work from him. What do you reckon, just dump the gear, do as he asks and cash in or try and educate them?
 
Sounds like you done him a good favour Aom. Couldnt you meet halfway on carrying costs?
 
your definatly olde school aom most would say do one!!!! but its nice to know some of us put there selfs out hope you get a lot more work from it sounds like the sight safety needs sorting first
 
Yes Dico,lol cant have all them cows an chickens wondering around the site.
 
Personally, I would try and make sure you covered your costs on this one but hopefully today's favour won't be forgotten and it will turn into tomorrow's profit
 
do the right thing as you would expect for yourself ....it will always pay in the end ....
your business is not just reliant on this one firm
 
I do a lot for my good customers , including dropping everything to help them , but i have been dropped but good customers over price in the past and all the favours and good will go straight out the widow.
Its hard to know sometimes you always hope they remember the favours you do for them.
 
I have always felt that one of the great things about being a scaff is we are really reliant on no one single outfit as we are spread pretty thinly and work for numerous clients. The world can be a strange place though as one particular job we have been called back to as it suffered a fair bit off storm damage and the agent was talking to the boy's remarked that as soon as he saw me walking into a pre start meeting with the dirty overalls and head running in sweat he knew he would prefer us to be on his job. A couple of months later, I did the same on a very big contract and they thought I was some kind of pikey out on the make. I nearly lost the job because of it but it didn't take me long to win them over.

A long way to say, things may be done a bit different in the sticks but it doesn't mean we can't do them.:noworry:

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:08 PM ----------
philliosmaximus said:
I do a lot for my good customers , including dropping everything to help them , but i have been dropped but good customers over price in the past and all the favours and good will go straight out the widow.
Its hard to know sometimes you always hope they remember the favours you do for them.
Click to expand...

I have to admit Phil we have been dropped many times but they are like rubber balls, they keep bouncing back. I suppose that is what being in the service industry is all about.
 
Good clients are hard to come by and if he remembers this favour hopefully it will be repaid in the future

With a site in this mess there may be other underlying problems, but you'll be the best to gauge the risks

Topman aom for providing a service above & beyond
 
I used to think you can't do enough for a good client. But in the present climate it does not matter, what you have done for them, if the company with the **** service and done them no favours at all and done no freebies on their bothers, sisters, fathers, own home,is cheaper all the favours are forgotten. Ps if it was only another small scaffold why did you take 20 ton of gear lol
 
In your scenario Aom I would sit him down and explain that you dont like what he is doing with your scaffold, tell him how you like your scaffold erected an maintained in a safe , tidy condition and explain and show him why you like it that way NASC, HSE etc etc . then tell him how much you gonna charge and explain how you get to that figure, show him what some companies would have charged him compared to your fee. Then try and educate him a bit in best way to organise and order scaffolding for future projects for example the less number of visits to site the cheaper his transport and labour costs, by organising scaffold and other trades effectively hire charges are reduced etc etc regardless of experience he might just not quite have a good grip of organising scaffold requirements.

I dont do a great deal of favours for clients , I dont mind popping onto a job if we going near by anyway and maybe doing a quick adaption or summit, but I have done less an less favours as years gone by because A) sooner or later they crap on you or back charge you an B) they will always use certain big companies an pay their over top charges but wont want to pay your small charges because they just think they can get away with it.
 
aom said:
I have always felt that one of the great things about being a scaff is we are really reliant on no one single outfit as we are spread pretty thinly and work for numerous clients. The world can be a strange place though as one particular job we have been called back to as it suffered a fair bit off storm damage and the agent was talking to the boy's remarked that as soon as he saw me walking into a pre start meeting with the dirty overalls and head running in sweat he knew he would prefer us to be on his job. A couple of months later, I did the same on a very big contract and they thought I was some kind of pikey out on the make. I nearly lost the job because of it but it didn't take me long to win them over.

A long way to say, things may be done a bit different in the sticks but it doesn't mean we can't do them.:noworry:

---------- Post added at 08:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:08 PM ----------



I have to admit Phil we have been dropped many times but they are like rubber balls, they keep bouncing back. I suppose that is what being in the service industry is all about.
Click to expand...
heyy aom,whats wrong in being a pikey scaffolder,some of us are good ones :bigsmile:
 
It was only a small job but needed 20 ton to be done right. It's only single story semi detached houses for roofing works with both levels boarded as they are also re rendering as well but as always there are loading bays, walkways out to the garden fence to access skips and external ladder towers and edge protection to very small gable ends.

I think you make a good point Super but as always cash is king and to be fair I think there is a lot of pressure on this job due to tenants being decanted and the penalty clause is seemingly pretty steep. They have a job to do but ripping the scaffold to bits is never the answer but each trade is obviously doing their own adaptions. I could smell trouble right from the off with the foreman trying to direct us the way he wanted it but we already had a plan and would not be diverted from it and he didn't like being given the brush off and he was back every hour to pass comment on what we were doing and how it would mess up his plans but again we were taking our instructions from higher up the food chain. He tried to stop us installing the edge protection on the gables but we fitted it anyway and I'm sure he ripped it out as soon as we left.

The guy we are doing the work for is actually a very clever guy but it never ceases to amaze me the amount of people that will pay good money for scaffold and then rip it to bits. I will try the education thing again.

---------- Post added at 10:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------
THE PIKEY said:
heyy aom,whats wrong in being a pikey scaffolder,some of us are good ones :bigsmile:
Click to expand...

True but it's the last thing you want to see walking through the door of your fancy office when you are about to start a 6 million hotel refurb.;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom