Quote:
Originally Posted by ccracin
I hope I don't upset folks here, but this very issue has been a subject of conversation in my group of friends lately. I somewhat disagree with the previous posters. It seems to me that there are two things that don't usually go together in this business, talented craftsmen and businessmen. This car has only been in your shop too long if it has! I know that sounds stupid. Stick with me. What did you 2 agree on originally? If it was 12 months lets say, it has been there too long. It seems written estimates and quotes are very scarce when it comes to building cars. You imply that the car was not as it was suppose to be when you dug into it. IMO you should have stopped and amended the "written" agreement at that point. If the customer felt it was too much than he has the option to stop. If you have a contract it is up to both parties to live up to it. If the customer stops paying than again you update the contract with the new ETD. After all, if this is your business than you should handle it as such. In most cases when I have read and heard about cars being in prison in a shop, there were no contracts. If there is no target then how are you going to get there? Oh, and I can't stand when I hear how many cars guys have to work on and they use that as an excuse for not meeting deadlines. How many can you do with the staff you have? If you have more than you can handle in a reasonable agreed on amount of time, then that is your fault. That is not an acceptable answer to me. I have to determine the work load for my group every time we bid a new job. I give delivery estimates based on hours available. We don't take jobs we can't deliver on. Simple. It just goes back to WHAT DID YOU GUYS AGREE ON? If the answer is it was a verbal discussion, then I would say you have a problem. I don't see a good ending for either side. I would do what you can to stay professional and get to the end. Oh and I speak from personal experience. We had a "verbal" deal to have a specific amount of work done on our truck for "X" dollars and "X" weeks. In the end it was "2X" dollars an "12X" weeks. No exaggeration. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box. It looks like you do good work, I wish you the best of luck.
Respectfully,
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I agree, too often in this business things are done verbally and without proper scopes of work. Everyone needs to be better in this regard because it is important to remember that the people that can afford to just pay someone to build the car like this can also afford to hire attorneys when they feel slighted and believe me they will. I actually know a guy in that position and I talked to the guy who was suing to see if he was open to a settlement. His response: "I don't want money, I have money - I want to see that SOB broke and out on the street. I don't care what it costs."
Obviously, not everyone is like that, but having a paper trail in place can only help you in these situations.
It also does another thing - it helps manage the customers expectations. As they are constantly having to sign paperwork, it makes them stop and think about things and decide if its really important to them. Most issues like this arise out of a lack of communication. Customer wants car done by X, then decides he also needs a full cage and a 4-link rear suspension. If your answer is "no problem" or something like that, then in the customer's mind, you can still get it done on time. So making them sign something saying they understand that this is a significant change and that it will cause the project to take x days longer is going to benefit you.
Lastly, if a shop takes on too much work and a customer who is paying and current on their bills has every right to be frustrated when they stop by and see that no work has been done on their car. That situation is not their fault.