Hmm you can't imagine?
You have a weak imagination.... 🙂
Nate The Surveyor, post: 417715, member: 291 wrote: Hmm you can't imagine?
You have a weak imagination.... 🙂
Well I am a surveyor. Not much use for imagination when determining the boundaries. Lol
In my small town, I have tried everything. One thing I know for sure is that my name, known locally, will suffer if people start passing the word that "Don't call Warren Ward! He didn't even bother with me, unless I signed my life away for far more than I was asking".
I have made the decision to respond to every caller a few years ago, even when I know after their first sentence that they are thinking two bits when I know its going to be more like 2 thousand. My goal is to steer these people away from me - by convincing them that they should get another local surveyor to provide a fully documented, thorough and complete survey. That keeps my name out of it, and usually gets them the true objective of a good survey. If they truly only want minimal amount of my time, I usually make a new friend, teach something. I do not have any good procedure for this, but sometimes I make a little, sometimes I lose a little with this approach. In five years, I got burned once, but did not put a lot of time into it so it doesn't matter. I've been burned worse with solid contracts.
In California most of the time there won't be anything to dig up. There'll be monuments in the area but they mostly won't be at the caller's property corners.
warren ward PLS CO OK, post: 417726, member: 12536 wrote: In my small town, I have tried everything. One thing I know for sure is that my name, known locally, will suffer if people start passing the word that "Don't call Warren Ward! He didn't even bother with me, unless I signed my life away for far more than I was asking".
I have made the decision to respond to every caller a few years ago, even when I know after their first sentence that they are thinking two bits when I know its going to be more like 2 thousand. My goal is to steer these people away from me - by convincing them that they should get another local surveyor to provide a fully documented, thorough and complete survey. That keeps my name out of it, and usually gets them the true objective of a good survey. If they truly only want minimal amount of my time, I usually make a new friend, teach something. I do not have any good procedure for this, but sometimes I make a little, sometimes I lose a little with this approach. In five years, I got burned once, but did not put a lot of time into it so it doesn't matter. I've been burned worse with solid contracts.
I think your approach is spot on. Our interactions with each individual builds our reputation one brick at a time. I've never lost a client from taking the time to educate them on what is involved and those that didn't care (often realtors), were not interested in the work being done correctly to begin with. I tell people that if we cannot agree to budget the time to do the work correctly I simply cannot afford to be responsible for the mess to follow. Generally people at least respect that.
Nate The Surveyor, post: 417713, member: 291 wrote: We are on the same page... this far. The PROBLEM is all they WANT is swing the shonstedt, flag that marker. No survey analysis.
No instrument. No confidence that it has not been moved. No double checks, to see if it is THEIR marker, but maybe it is the ad-joiner's marker..... so on and so forth....
Nate, now you're talking about what they want with a full survey:)
Dave Karoly, post: 417730, member: 94 wrote: In California most of the time there won't be anything to dig up. There'll be monuments in the area but they mostly won't be at the caller's property corners.
Same here and everywhere I've worked.
Duane Frymire, post: 417798, member: 110 wrote: Nate, now you're talking about what they want with a full survey
The point of my OP was to find a way to explain to a property owner, in a way that they can accept and understand, what we surveyors all know - that they don't really want me to just "dig up corners".
To tie this in with the other thread happening, these callers don't deserve respect because they are approaching you from a position of disrespect. You can't talk someone into respecting you. Hang up the phone and move on.
Mark Mayer, post: 417804, member: 424 wrote: The point of my OP was to find a way to explain to a property owner, in a way that they can accept and understand, what we surveyors all know - that they don't really want me to just "dig up corners".
They are all different. You need to feel them out I think.
"did someone tell you that there were some markers there?"
or something like that... find what they know or think and go from there.
I can recall a couple great projects (big and profitable) that started with a silly question like that... They were feeling me out.
Peter Ehlert, post: 417808, member: 60 wrote: They are all different. You need to feel them out I think.
"did someone tell you that there were some markers there?"
or something like that... find what they know or think and go from there.
I can recall a couple great projects (big and profitable) that started with a silly question like that... They were feeling me out.
That's true sometimes they ARE asking for a boundary survey and just framing the question that way, you can usually figure this out pretty quickly.
Reading this thread, I got a mental picture of knocking on the client's door, a bunch of pipes and rebars clasped in hand, holding them out and saying, "Dug 'em all up. That'll be $200 as agreed."
Peter Lothian - MA ME, post: 417826, member: 4512 wrote: Reading this thread, I got a mental picture of knocking on the client's door, a bunch of pipes and rebars clasped in hand, holding them out and saying, "Dug 'em all up. That'll be $200 as agreed."
That happened with a client who was told to save my baseline points because they are important. We came back after the weekend and he handed them to me....
Ken
Mark Mayer, post: 417804, member: 424 wrote: Same here and everywhere I've worked.
The point of my OP was to find a way to explain to a property owner, in a way that they can accept and understand, what we surveyors all know - that they don't really want me to just "dig up corners".
Yeah, I get it. What I'm trying to say is I find it more convincing to "show" them somehow. But got to get paid for the time whether they retain me for a full professional opinion on the boundary or just some professional counseling. Sometimes nothing works. Had a meeting at a site Friday in a problematic area that was canceled. Told them I wanted to see it before giving a proposal, boundary and topo (not charging to meet with them). Apparently they found someone who would throw out a cheap firm price over the phone. Guy didn't want to give me the name of who he was purchasing from or 911 address. Initially didn't even want to name the lake it was situated on, would only say 1/4 acre lot on some lake in this general area. You tell me how to deal with people like that. I guess you just throw something in the wind and if they take it you do it for better or worse? This business gets weirder every day. Following Kent's idea that it's all in the name; I think I'll incorporate as "not a surveyor land boundaries, pllc".
Ring ring
"How much to come dig up my corners?"
"Well, my friend, youd like to hire me to metal detect for you?"
"Well, yes"
"What if we find some of your corners, and some of your neighbor's corners? How do we tell them apart"
Well, you are the surveyor, aren't you supposed to know?
Yes, so I'm bringing all my equipment, so i can know!
How much that cost?
O, I dunno. Depends on how many corners are yours, and are in the right place.
Well, what do you think?
O, not too much. One or two, or three thousand dollars... Hey, how much are the wrong corners worth?
They are not worth anything!
So, why don't you go set some, where youd like em to be? Save money, ya know!
Well, that's what i think my neighbor did!
Well, what kind of marks are on the wrong corners... Do they have tags...?
I dunno... You're the surveyor!
I know... It's gonna cost you one, two, or three thousand dollars...
Ok.. Bye.
(he was looking for a surveyor to sacrifice)
Next!
Did a job this week where we found eight bars and set one. I approached the job on the assumption we would find zero bars. The foolish clients thought they were being smart by insisting on a fixed fee. I gave them one for the worst case scenario plus about forty percent. They went for it. Dancing all the way to the bank. That should make the passersby wonder what kind of trip I'm on.
The normal bill would have been about one-third of the fixed fee. But, had it turned out to be the worst case scenario, it would have been fairly close to the fixed fee. The other 18 clients on the list have no idea how much their schedules were moved up by finding those eight bars.
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or
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for the Consumer the fixed fee is like Insurance. no overruns, no surprises.
some people have no risk tolerance and would rather Just Pay More.
Holy Cow, post: 417963, member: 50 wrote: They went for it. Dancing all the way to the bank. That should make the passersby wonder what kind of trip I'm on.
Crossing my fingers you picked the right lot.
I have been pressed several times in the last 18 months to produce an invoice, unexpectedly to say the least, in the middle of my work and at least 10 days before I had intended and agreed to produce a completed project.
As explained to me by the money people, there is a deadline to meet in the loan agreement for delivering the total of costs in writing to somebody.
I expect it is something to do with the latest HUD requirements.
That called for some surprise on my end to say the least and on their end for having to pay the most.
Yeah, pay the most, because it is impossible to expect any less while I am researching and gathering information and before I have had an opportunity to hit the ground.
Most of them took my suggestions to include any and all terms of their deal that would include me the next time they needed my services and everything would be a much more pleasurable experience for all.
Why is it always the money people that make everything so difficult?
They call the terms and are guaranteed to never leave the table without making money.
The error is contained in the title of this thread. "Dig up MY corners".
I can dig.
I can dig up metal.
I can dig up metal corners.
But, to say they are YOUR corners, or match any deed, now calls for my professional opinion. Now we are surveying. That association, of deed, and corners, is where the money is at.
My first response to that particular question: When did I put them there?
