Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Pub Talk). This thread is read-only.
Alright Like I said in an earlier post the day started out great then it turn to crap fast. Let me give you a little background. About 3 years ago, I build a deck for my sister so to make it stand out I built a curved staircase. After it was done I told her if anyone ask who built it tell them they guy died.
All pictures are from the book I used to build the stairs
Fast-forward 3 years. I get a call from this young hipster couple that work from their home. They tell me that they got my name from sister and they want a deck built. So I go to this monstrous thing they call a house. As I walk in to the kitchen, they have a stack of deck and rail samples and I think to myself that this is great they know what they want. Then I see it a stack of 30 to 40 magazines. Oh F^%# me I should have known hipsters. So I listen to what they want then I go take some measurements. I come in and draw up something rough to see if I was on the right track and to see what materials they wanted to use. This is when things got crazy
I show them the drawing the husband goes It has 2 levels nice and big but, (here it comes) It does not have curved stairs. Another F@#$ me. Therefore, I try to explain how labor intense they are and time wise it is a straight week or more just working on the steps.
The woman stated to cry she really wanted them. Another F@#$ me. So I thought for a moment and said before we get to far in to this lets get some prices to see how you much you want to spend.
She gets herself together and shows me what decking and rail system she would like to have. She picks the top of the line Trex Transcend decking and rail system. I go by the price that is on the samples $12,580 plus 6% tax $754.80 = $13,334.80 just for the decking and rails
Then I hit them for the labor just for the curved stairs 1 man 1 helper $5o per hour x 65 = $3250.00
So now you have $16,584.00 so I still have to figure the framing for the deck and since you want the decking run on a 45 your joist have to be 12in on center labor and the materials for the steps. So for a really rough guess you are going to be well over 20 grand.
The guy has this dumb look on his face and said first you make my wife cry then you are trying to rip us off and you are out of your f@#$ing mind. Now I am the one standing there with a dumb look on my face, I stay claim and asked how many other people have you had here and given you a price. He tells me 4 but they all said they could not give us what we want. I feel that you are ripping us off because you know you can do it and no one else can.
I look at him and say Listen to me you cock gobbler because I am only going to say this one time. There are plenty of people, that can do it but they do not want to deal with sniveling bitches like you and your wife. Have a nice day and left.
Wow, why do Clark Griswold’s neighbors pop in my head?
People generally have no idea what it takes to make shit happen. You did the right thing.
That’s rough. They should know if they want something so custom they will have to pay. Great work with the curved stairs!! I wouldn’t want that outside.
Everyone is the same these days and want everything for nothing
Wow, They had to have know that a monster and complicated deck like that was going to be expensive as hell. 16k just on Trex decking and rails I think the husband just wanted to find a way of scrapping the project or scaling it down, and making you the bad guy for the wife was the easy way out than being a man and saying I can’t see us spending that much on this deck honey. Just sucks they wasted your time.
Apparantly they didn’t want that deck too bad.
Some folks need to stop watching the diy channel. It gives them unrealistic expectations. Champagne taste on a beer budget.
Wow, great job on the stairs. Your right people need to stop watching that crap on TV and having unrealistic expectations. Griswold neighbors completely. What a bunch of knob gobblers and a waste of time. I like how you handled it. I really hate people like those a-holes
People have no clue what things cost. My main problem with customers is unrealistic time expectations. I mostly do flooring and it’s so annoying when people think it takes x amount of time to get it done even though I gave them a realistic timeframe.
I got a call from my sister today asking what happen because they are asking her to see she can smooth thing over and have me come back. I gave her the run down now she is pissed. I told her I rather slam a car door on my head all day then go back to deal with them. She had already told them they where wasting their time.
I understand but maybe they will be nice to you and come to your price or not do the curved stairs. You don’t want to miss an opportunity to make some $$$. Just friendly $0.02
I hear what you are saying Harold but I know when to walk away. This job will be nothing but one big pain. After talking with my sister this couple has trouble with anybody that does work for them.
When I was in the kitchen I though I recognized the work so after I talked to my sister I gave the cabinet maker that I have known for a long time a call. I ask if he has every do work for So and So. He took a long pause and told me that I should lean to like hamburger helper till the next job comes along. This spoke volumes to me.
One phone call can go a long way.
There’s always another opportunity. Some people are just too much to deal with and the money just isn’t worth it to deal with stress and the hassle. Like this one customer I had last year I did some work that took me a week and a half to do but the guy was just a pain in the butt to deal with. Every conversation I had with this guy turned sour. He liked to joke around a lot but his jokes were more irritating, weren’t funny and was insulting a lot. I had to bite my tongue the whole time and I would come home each day pissed off and hated going to work the next day to deal with this guy and that just ain’t me. He called me again this year to do some tiling for him and I agreed but while working I remembered how much I hated working for him so I quit. I even told him he didn’t have to pay me for the few hours I worked for him. Some people just get under your skin.
Really good points guys. Not worth working for assholes.
It sucks missing out on the work, but if they are all ready like this this, what would it be like if you started working for them, a nightmare. You think it would be better slamming your head in a car door now, just wait.
After it is all said and done, I did the best thing. I hate talking to people that way but, when someone accuses me of ripping them off and talking down to me because they have this better then you attitude it does not sit well with me.
I stopped by my friend’s cabinet shop Monday and he gave me the low down on these two. Both are 32, the wife’s parents are doctors, and he is a trust fund baby. His parents passed away and left him millions. They are personal trainers and really do not work that much. Ike told me it got so bad that he walked off the job a couple of times and he would be driving home talking to himself. I could tell he was getting upset just talking about it. I have known Ike since we were 8 years old and as long as I can remember he has never said and unkind or bad word about anybody, it’s just not in him. So when he said walk away it really made me think.
Sounds like the people have no perception of reality. I have run into a couple trust fund people by me and it always seems like the same story.
Wow thats crazy.. I feel like people living outside reality is becoming more and more common these days. You probably made the right decision walking away from the opportunity if you can even call it that. Some things just arent worth the gray hairs
Sometimes it strikes me that I might have continued working a few years longer.
Then I hear a story like this and I’m reminded of how glad I am I didn’t.
Way to give it to give them it was the right thing to do. I blame all the TV shows, they never show the prices of any of the work, the actual time spent, how hard it is to do certain things, all they show is “you like this OK boom” 10 minutes, 6 commercials later its done .
Amazing… People who didn’t have to work for anything they have insulting those who do honest, quality work…