I admit I’m guilty of not thinking the details through when trying to plan certain things. Usually my wife will look at me and say “what about this... and this... and this”. Then I’m like “oh yeah, didn’t think about that”. So I’m sure that customers do the same thing. They have no idea how long things take, and like us, they are trying to make stuff fit their schedule. But usually if I explain the reasons that their request won’t work, they say “oh yeah, that makes sense” and accommodate what works.

Explain that the job WILL entail multiple trips, and WILL incur multiple trip charges, both coming and going, in addition to the installation cost.

Also explain that the system will not be operational until the final day, and maybe other things that are tied to the system will also not be operational (this is fun when it involves HVAC, lighting, and security control).


I actually had a doctor ask me to leave one evening, after he had stressed that the job be finished that day. He was a total AZZ, so my return was two weeks later.

At the end did he say “I’m a f***ing doctor and I don’t charge this much an hour!”?

This is why I love working in Condo's.
Most clients will have the Concierge let me into the suite to do what ever they need.
So I can work within my schedule.
I also have keys or codes for a few other clients homes.
And then there are the homes with staff.
I have a few clients that I know the staff schedule and can typically set my visits based on them being there.
If they expect great service from you, they should also trust you in their homes.

I guess it would depend on the client, for me. Although, after being on my own for 10 years now, that would be Feeeewwwww and far between. I don't have a problem doing a site survey on a night or weekend, if I can fit it in. But most of the time, I cant anyway. Just kids, sports and therapy issues would make it a no-go most of the time for me.

(make up and/or) Tell them any of the following...
Gotta let the dogs out
Gotta pick up the kids
Gotta drop off the kids
(I'm pretty sure you don't have kids, but not all clients know that!)
Gotta water the flowers/garden
Gotta drinking problem
My wife will kick my ass
Sports
Concert tickets
Drug problem
Night School

I would say you have a plethora or excuses! Bottom line, be really honest or tell really tall tales. Or charge them extra for OT or trip charges.

Just because they want you there at 2 doesn't mean you're not going to sleep til noon that day an head on over. Adulting is hard, right?

Be up front and state your normal business hours are from x to x. Starting this late in the day you would not be able to finish by x and you move to overtime pricing on labor. Also state the fact you would prefer to have dinner with your family, not theirs.

Since I moved to the Rockies we primarily work on 2nd homes so I have client's I've never even met. For tight timeline projects this is handy as we've pulled many an all nighter to get a project done.

I have a question and it fits the installation time question in the thread. Why is it wrong, if not illegal to leave an animal or child in a hot car. But it’s ok for a boss to schedule attic wiring at 3pm in 90plus degree weather?

We all gotta do what we gotta do sometimes but an attic in 90 degree weather is a reason i would quit my job. At a project a few years ago in Florida the architect originally had our control room in the 3' high attic above a garage. We ended up with a 2 story space on the other side of the house. 15 AV racks, a couple of security racks and dozens of in-wall cans for shades and lighting and security. The attic would have been packed with stuff and every bit of it would have been installed by some guy sweating and laying on his side.

Another AV firm would (and was about to) have just accepted it. My boss put the brakes on it within an 5 seconds of the first meeting. Big NOPE.

+1.

We just did a little commercial job. Today was the last day. We had to work between 9:30PM and 5:00AM. We had 2 electricians there. OT labor rates all around.

OT........
Someone at the hotel stole my favorite cheapo shop vac. I will miss you, Stinger!

[Link: homedepot.com]

Sometimes, they're just reacting to some kind of event that makes them skittish.

The client who gave me the keys and code for their alarm had a break-in not long before I was introduced and as soon as I made it clear that their peace of mind was important to me, he was all in. Asked if a $5000 deposit would be OK within a half hour of my arrival and all we had done is the initial Q&A. He wasn't even sure he wanted to replace the equipment because, in his mind, houses in that area shouldn't have break-ins and he felt very violated, as should anyone.

On hearing that the homeowner doesn't want me to be there alone, I usually tell them that I have keys and codes for other homes and that often breaks the ice. I just don't say anything like "I have keys for larger/nicer homes".

The Frame will take 3x longer than you think.

This is one thing I really enjoy about commercial, EARLY starts, EARLY departures! Since we are union in Chicago I'll tell a client that the meter starts running at 8AM the latest regardless of start time for these types of things and OT kicks in at 3:30. If they want work after hours we typically schedule it for a 4PM start on OT so the tech gets their full 8 hours of straight time and then enjoys the 3 hour min of OT.

The doctor who got under my skin, no pun intended, was the guy who did not want to pay for the ridiculous amount of time it took to complete a setup with the new-fangled thing called HDMI (about ten years ago).

The TV had been changed, and somehow the old setup did not work. I don't remember what the HELL I finally did that made it work.

When he refused to pay for part of the labor, I really really really wanted to ask him, "Doctor, when you have a patient who exhibits a certain set of symptoms that you're familiar with, and you try one thing after another, unsuccessfully, to cure him, and all the standard things don't work, do you charge only for the thing that finally works, or do you charge for every step along the way?"

I held my tongue because he was a high-end cancer doctor, and when I was on chemo the year before he had told me if I had any questions I should call him and he'd consult for free. It still rankled, though.

That was one of the tings he didn't say. But, when he started going off on me, and I said "I don't need this shit.", and he came back with the "What did you say?", things rapidly went south. His last statement, screaming at the top of his lungs, was "You'll never work in this town again!".

A few weeks later he called asking for service on the central vacuum system. It seems his wife had removed the filter and threw it away.

I told him that sounded like a personal problem and hung up.

Some of my myriad other doctor clients new him, and most told me he had the God complex something serious. In his opinion, he was "the" doctor.

I have one ongoing problem child that always wants something added, removed or moved around on his simple "system". It is never stuff he bought from me, only "I got the new Appletv, can you put the new one in for me and put the old one in my bedroom and add it to the remote" type jobs.

He is ONLY available after 3pm on Fridays and he is 1.5 hours away with traffic, close to 2 hours to get back home.

I try to roll him in with other clients that live in the area but I have had to make the journey down there just for him a time or two.

With the distance/drivetime that I have, doing service work is a real drain on my profit margin.

If I have nothing else scheduled, I have to get all my crap together, get in my truck, drive an hour, spend 30-60 mins on site and drive an hour and a half home. So basically a half day shot for when you break it down per hour (and factoring gas/milage in) burger flipping wages.

Yes, I factor it into the overall project but it still sucks.