Have you ever walked away from a job because of the client?

climbingmonkey24

climbingmonkey24

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
United States
Arrived to a job but ended up walking away either before finishing or before even starting and recommending they find someone else because of a difficult client or someone harassing you, being unreasonable, etc?
 
I had one a couple years ago, I had met with the wife during the estimate and she was pleasant, friendly, and I had good vibes.

The morning of we arrived at the job at 7 as discussed, had all our equipment setup in driveway which was previously discussed with customer (they didn’t want us on grass).

And from the minute we started doing our pre-work walk around the gentlemen who was home because the wife was going to be gone at work came out and started questioning everything. Also said he had started some of the work hoping maybe it would knock some off the price.

Then it was he was worried about chips blowing into the grass even after I assured it wouldn’t be an issue. Ended up moving our equipment across the street, tried to start working again, but then he came out because he was worried chips might blow into the neighbors yard so he didn’t want us there. We then had to wait for him to move their cars, and turn all our equipment around and park right next to the edge of his lawn in the street which was even worse then being in the driveway in respect to chips blowing.

I explained how I quoted under the presumption we would be able to park in driveway (it was a long haul from the backyard man handling all the brush because they didn’t want equipment on the lawn) and he said how it shouldn’t make a difference dragging it the extra distance.

Maybe for 1-2 trips, but this was gonna be a job with many back and forth trips from way far back in the backyard.

We wasted nearly an hour on a job that was 45-60 min away from home on a day that was going to be in the mid 90s. We never even got to start the job.

I have a lot of patience and will bend over backwards to accommodate my clients, but this time I decided to call it off and reschedule because we had wasted so much time and I was really upset at that point, it wasn’t like the job was within town it was a lot of travel time.

Where do you draw the line between being accommodating but also not being taken advantage of or disrespected?

Ultimately a couple days later I decided it would be best if they found someone else because I thought it might become more headache than it’s worth.

I’ve never encountered that previously.

Had we started the job I wouldn’t have done that, but we never even got the chance to begin working.

Thoughts? Was it the right call?
 
Last edited:
climbingmonkey24 said:
Even if you already showed up to do the job but then had doubts or ran into issues that you think could become problematic later on?
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Yes for sure we try our hardest to have the customers onsite and confirm each project through out the day!
No confusion, no double setups, cleanups, or even worse to have to go back another day with no extra pay.
Also get paid before leaving
Works great for us
Job closed and happy customers
 
Yes absolutely right call! It would only go from bad to worse. Way to stick up for you and crew. There have been a handful of times I would have walked away, but I was an employee and it wasn’t my call. It’s pretty easy to ferret out terrible clients in an estimate but occasionally you have a situation like that where one of the property owners is great and the other is a tool.
 
I think I struggle with drawing that line in the sand because I worry about someone then bashing my business or writing a negative review, and having it ruin everything I’ve worked hard for. I value my reputation very much.


On the other hand though, I do want to take a minute to acknowledge the many wonderful, friendly clients that I have worked for. So grateful.
 
I just walked from a quote. The homeowner ground a buttress root from the neighbors cottonwood tree. The same root that I pruned about 6 years ago for the previous owner.
So somehow some way the stump grinder company that they hired from over on the mainland just took it upon themselves to grind the root without any prior knowledge.
Later they asked about regrading the whole area and if they would be harming other roots on the tree. I told them yes without a doubt. And they became very hostile. It was at that point I let them know I will not be stepping foot on their property again.
For context lots of surface roots, 30” black cottonwood and the grading was to be done 10-12’ from the base of the tree. “What, there’s no way the roots go that far out!” “You’re full of shit and don’t know what your talking about”.
I was about to explain that the 50’ root I removed, but I didn’t want to bend over the schedule for a emergency root prune anyway so I kept my moth shut.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
I had one a couple years ago, I had met with the wife during the estimate and she was pleasant, friendly, and I had good vibes.

The morning of we arrived at the job at 7 as discussed, had all our equipment setup in driveway which was previously discussed with customer (they didn’t want us on grass).

And from the minute we started doing our pre-work walk around the gentlemen who was home because the wife was going to be gone at work came out and started questioning everything. Also said he had started some of the work hoping maybe it would knock some off the price.

Then it was he was worried about chips blowing into the grass even after I assured it wouldn’t be an issue. Ended up moving our equipment across the street, tried to start working again, but then he came out because he was worried chips might blow into the neighbors yard so he didn’t want us there. We then had to wait for him to move their cars, and turn all our equipment around and park right next to the edge of his lawn in the street which was even worse then being in the driveway in respect to chips blowing.

I explained how I quoted under the presumption we would be able to park in driveway (it was a long haul from the backyard man handling all the brush because they didn’t want equipment on the lawn) and he said how it shouldn’t make a difference dragging it the extra distance.

Maybe for 1-2 trips, but this was gonna be a job with many back and forth trips from way far back in the backyard.

We wasted nearly an hour on a job that was 45-60 min away from home on a day that was going to be in the mid 90s. We never even got to start the job.

I have a lot of patience and will bend over backwards to accommodate my clients, but this time I decided to call it off and reschedule because we had wasted so much time and I was really upset at that point, it wasn’t like the job was within town it was a lot of travel time.

Where do you draw the line between being accommodating but also not being taken advantage of or disrespected?

Ultimately a couple days later I decided it would be best if they found someone else because I thought it might become more headache than it’s worth.

I’ve never encountered that previously.

Had we started the job I wouldn’t have done that, but we never even got the chance to begin working.

Thoughts? Was it the right call?
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Had a few husband/wife switch ups. One is great and all discussed and agreed at during quote portion. Then show up day of job and the other is unreal. And one mother in law that was extremely difficult. Almost walked off that one.

Walking away is much better than proceeding with stress at the jobsite.
 
BooRad said:
Had a few husband/wife switch ups. One is great and all discussed and agreed at during quote portion. Then show up day of job and the other is unreal. And one mother in law that was extremely difficult. Almost walked off that one.

Walking away is much better than proceeding with stress at the jobsite.
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Agree and either way they will badmouth you
I’d rather them badmouth me than my work
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
I had one a couple years ago, I had met with the wife during the estimate and she was pleasant, friendly, and I had good vibes.

The morning of we arrived at the job at 7 as discussed, had all our equipment setup in driveway which was previously discussed with customer (they didn’t want us on grass).

And from the minute we started doing our pre-work walk around the gentlemen who was home because the wife was going to be gone at work came out and started questioning everything. Also said he had started some of the work hoping maybe it would knock some off the price.

Then it was he was worried about chips blowing into the grass even after I assured it wouldn’t be an issue. Ended up moving our equipment across the street, tried to start working again, but then he came out because he was worried chips might blow into the neighbors yard so he didn’t want us there. We then had to wait for him to move their cars, and turn all our equipment around and park right next to the edge of his lawn in the street which was even worse then being in the driveway in respect to chips blowing.

I explained how I quoted under the presumption we would be able to park in driveway (it was a long haul from the backyard man handling all the brush because they didn’t want equipment on the lawn) and he said how it shouldn’t make a difference dragging it the extra distance.

Maybe for 1-2 trips, but this was gonna be a job with many back and forth trips from way far back in the backyard.

We wasted nearly an hour on a job that was 45-60 min away from home on a day that was going to be in the mid 90s. We never even got to start the job.

I have a lot of patience and will bend over backwards to accommodate my clients, but this time I decided to call it off and reschedule because we had wasted so much time and I was really upset at that point, it wasn’t like the job was within town it was a lot of travel time.

Where do you draw the line between being accommodating but also not being taken advantage of or disrespected?

Ultimately a couple days later I decided it would be best if they found someone else because I thought it might become more headache than it’s worth.

I’ve never encountered that previously.

Had we started the job I wouldn’t have done that, but we never even got the chance to begin working.

Thoughts? Was it the right call?
Click to expand...
Oh no... Even if they aren't trying to get a price cut when the customer starts the work...ah hem hazard pay please lol
 
If I get bad vibes from a client when I go to look at a job, I'll either tell them it's not really the type of work I do or give a high estimate. Being a solo operation, I have more flexibility with that sort of thing compared to a regular tree service.

Definitely won't do any more work for the client I finished with today. Woman lives in a very nice 5000+ sq ft brick house on an acre lot, with a large pool and pool house and she wants to negotiate the price lower after the work was completed in accordance with the detailed estimate.

I like the clients that include a generous tip with the payment.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
I think I struggle with drawing that line in the sand because I worry about someone then bashing my business or writing a negative review, and having it ruin everything I’ve worked hard for. I value my reputation very much.


On the other hand though, I do want to take a minute to acknowledge the many wonderful, friendly clients that I have worked for. So grateful.
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That is a toss up- if you rely a lot on online reviews that adds a lot of stress. Unless you’re treestuff, apparently. Maybe we should figure out their secret.

I’m 100% word of mouth- only clients that were a bad fit were the ones who somehow found me on the internet. Staying small does have its benefits.
Dan Cobb said:
Definitely won't do any more work for the client I finished with today. Woman lives in a very nice 5000+ sq ft brick house on an acre lot, with a large pool and pool house and she wants to negotiate the price lower after the work was completed in accordance with the detailed estimate.
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Absolutely. The rich are cheap. Low income folks will give you a tip, hem your chainsaw chaps, and send you home with canned tomatoes from the garden and a warm loaf of banana bread.
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
Marketing is essential to build a successful business
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It sure is. Marketing is the difference between success and failure, quality work is only a small contributor. For example, look at Comcast. They’re consistently ranked as having some of the worst customer service in the country, yet they’re one of the biggest companies in their field.

Doing good work is important, but marketing is more important to growth.
 
Reach said:
It sure is. Marketing is the difference between success and failure, quality work is only a small contributor. For example, look at Comcast. They’re consistently ranked as having some of the worst customer service in the country, yet they’re one of the biggest companies in their field.

Doing good work is important, but marketing is more important to growth.
Click to expand...
I have to say I kinda disagree. I've never done marketing, beyond yellowpage ad and sponsored a golf hole for a nonprofit. In fact, around 8 years ago we stopped the yellowpage ad...never went crazy big on the ad either. Almost all my work comes from word of mouth or organic results. I don't even have that many reviews online, but I've developed a business name of doing things properly and professionally. That gets around. Most of my customers I've been on their property multiple times through out the years. I personally think quality work is more important than marketing, but some of that depends on what you are in the business for. I never wanted to be a big company. I wanted to provide high quality work, professionalism, repeat customers, etc for a fair price. To meet the customer's needs, but also promote healthy trees.

Customer service is key also. The amount of work we get because of our customer service (both on jobsite and office) is staggering...because no one else gets back to them or offers solutions.

Ps - currently booked till October. Yes it took some time to build this up, but I never completely ran out of work in the early days. It also helped I had a good customer list to start, since I bought out my former boss's small tree business.
 
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