Gave a customer a quote for $1,200 and he turned it into a massive headache

I had a guy bring in an old Ford F-150 with a busted rear quarter panel last month. I quoted him 12 hours labor and $400 in parts, which came to about $1,200 total. He told me I was ripping him off and said he'd do it himself. Two weeks later he drags the truck back in, but now he's bondo'd over the dent without sanding it right, and the whole panel is a wavy mess. I had to grind all that off and start from scratch, plus fix some rust he uncovered. Now the repair is taking me closer to 20 hours and he's mad the price went up. Has anyone else dealt with customers who try to DIY first and then expect you to fix it for the original quote?

3 comments

3 Comments

mia_singh2414d ago

That whole "youre ripping me off" thing always gets me. Had a guy last year try to patch his own roof after I quoted him $800 for some shingle repair. He watched a YouTube video and used roofing cement like it was spackle. Three weeks later hes calling me because water is pouring into his living room during a storm. Had to tear off half the damn roof deck cause it rotted underneath. I told him my price was now $2,500 and he lost his mind. People dont get that DIY stuff is fine for small projects but when they mess it up bad theyre paying for my time AND their mistake.

kevin_schmidt9714d ago

@mia_singh24 roofing cement like spackle? That is wild. I've seen some bad DIY attempts but that one takes the cake. The water pouring into the living room part made me wince, I can just picture that guy standing there with a bucket while his ceiling is dripping. And then he has the nerve to get mad at you for tripling the price after he turned a small fix into a total disaster. The cheapness tax strikes again.

cameron_owens4914d ago

Pay the cheap price twice, that's how it always works.