Client not happy with bill

Fix this with a fixed price with a fixed scope of work. The additional 4 lots would have been extra (and also a fixed price before you did any work on them).

You tell them "estimate", or "ball park price", but they hear "$XXXX cast in stone, never to be exceeded."

Every client who has asked for a "ball park price - I won't hold you to it" has, of course, tried to hold me to it. So I won't give them a price verbally at all anymore - only a fixed price in a written contract.

Estimates are only for long established clients who I have known for decades!

Oh - and for those corners, I say something like "monuments will be set at the corners unless obstructions or previously set monuments exist."

Tell them that you will go take NOTHING, except the extra land... 🙂

I was told by the ex-husband (who I consider to be the real client) that his ex-wife (who is the one who called for the survey in the first place) is not at all happy with the final bill. She, of course, remembered only the low end of the range stated 18 MONTHS AGO for a project that went through several changes from the original plan as explained to me 18 MONTHS AGO. A huge part of the delay came about because she now lives in England and could not be present to clarify what it was she really thought we were to do. You know how it is. Nothing looks the same on the ground as it does in someone's memory.

Should be receiving a nasty e-mail from her any time now. I've never had to sue a "foreigner" before to receive payment for services rendered. Hope I don't need to learn how, either.

I gave them a per acre estimate on the big piece but did not give them a price on the lots.

I usually would have but it was a 'go ahead and survey these lots for me' while I was in the middle of surveying the big piece. I only added a little bit per lot. I normally would have charged way more but I gave them a break since all the lots were right there and I found all the corners. I don't want to say how cheaply I did it but I have never charged that little for a lot survey until today. Lets just say it's about 7 times less than I usually charge because I already had to look them up surveying the big piece. Alright don't tell anyone but it was about the price of a suunto compass per lot. That included a new plat of the lots.

At the PLSO Convention in Redmond back in 2004 Walt Robillard was one of the speakers.

He would tell a story and conclude it with the question "Why would the surveyor do this?", which he would then answer with "Because surveyors want to be loved!". Walt is also a lawyer as well as a surveyor, and his point was that lawyers had no qualms about asking for, and getting, every dollar they can. But surveyors seemed to have some sort of mental block about getting paid for the work they do.

Your client paid, so they can't be all that upset. Perhaps you could have managed the situation better. Perhaps not. Live and learn. You did a good job for them and got paid almost what it was worth.

I prefer messages like this one that came in today:

Thank you, Jim. These look good. It's a pleasure working with you.

I chalk it up to our predominately rural upbringing. Most surveyors are, or are closely descended from, people of the land and are from communities with a real social fabric. These roots grow individuals who behave awkwardly about money, don't want to be seen as a cheat, and who love to help out a neighbor. Bad businessmen in other words. It's taken me half a lifetime to unlearn these good character traits so that I can make some money. Still makes me a little sad, to be honest.

[QUOTE="I get unhappy clients here and there and it still bugs me even after all of these years of surveying. I like them to be happy but I guess you can't make everybody happy.

Get over it. Only way you'll make some people happy is if you give away the farm, and then they won't be pleased with you, but with themselves.

John Giles, post: 336732, member: 57 wrote: I hate having unhappy clients.

I get unhappy clients here and there and it still bugs me even after all of these years of surveying. I like them to be happy but I guess you can't make everybody happy.

Get over it. Only way some people are pleased is when you give away the farm, and they aren't please with you but themselves.

I quoted a property owner the other day, something like $700 - 900 for a survey showing her property lines and the forms of a foundation that she was having built. Here response was "That is just to expensive." I just gave her a few seconds.... "When will you have it done?" I know what you all would have wanted to say, I wanted to also, but I just said "Should be done next week".

What I don't like is when you give someone a discount, and they still think it is to expensive. Then I am not happy, and they are not happy. It is a lose lose situation. The thread a week or so ago was about just that.

I went against my own best judgement on this one. Usually I don't give much of a discount but on this one, a little old sweet lady, I did. Now I'm going to be paying for it. She wants to meet again to go over the survey again. Of course at my expense, yet again. When I should be charging her my hourly rate since we go over the same thing over and over again.

"But the surveyor in 1970 put a corner in my neighbors driveway. My brother, who was 12 at the time, saw him do it. That's where my corner goes. I then reply with, "Based on the original survey from 1914, which is your grandfathers survey, it goes with the meander of the drain not in your neighbors driveway." to which she replies, "I don't know I guess if that is where it goes." But within days she is back at it with the exact same question. To beat all she doesn't even own the lots where she is questioning the location and had me survey. They have long gone to other people. I even found the 1970 iron pipe called for and told her, "see it's right here. I had to dig about a foot into the ground but there it is, not in your neighbors driveway." "Well my grand dad wasn't crazy and he said we owned half that driveway and part of the old garage apartment that used to set there. But it burned down years ago."

She basically believes the lots extend beyond what the original boundary called for, the drain. The surveyor in 1970 did cross the drain at one point, but just by a few feet. He didn't follow the meanders like the deed called for. But even at that it still doesn't come close to the drive or the foundation of the burned down garage apartment. and the iron pipe is about 14 feet from the drain so I even extended the lot to match the drain since the bounds called for the adjoiners line which goes to the drain. Everything calls for the drain but her brother saw the surveyor set a corner beyond the drain. I even had her brother out there and showed him the corner from 1970. He said well why did the surveyor go over to the driveway and set a corner? I told him I don't know. I checked if there was a corner way over there I wouldn't have used it anyway but there is no corner there. All the lots and all the corners match the 1970 survey. I only adjusted the line to match the 1914 survey which calls for the meanders of the drain. The main thing that doesn't match the 1970 survey is their memories of what took place.

I thought it was over but she called me a 9:22 pm asking me again. so this is the point of this post.

Welcome to my world. One nice older lady is about to drive me to drink. Phones are just too darned handy. Out of the blue she will have some thought relating to the survey I did in June 2014, so she calls me to discuss that thought. Ten minutes later or ten days later or two months later she calls again.

Ahhh! What's it hurt to listen to some old ladies? Now if it were their lawyer son in law, that's a different story! :-O

John, I'd say you're probably at that point where you've done all you can do.

Have a good day :plumbbob:

I absolutely do not like doing business with old people, whether it's clients or my employers.

Tommy Young, post: 336790, member: 703 wrote: I absolutely do not like doing business with old people, whether it's clients or my employers.

I used to say that too. But then I got old.

John,
That is a client who will never be happy. I'm not in private business, but it seems like you should charge a person like that every penny it's worth. They'll be just as angry as if you gave them a big break.

You're a nice guy. By the way, would you mind coming and surveying my property?

Everyone needs to memorize this phrase. We need to say it the minute any work whatsoever is requested outside the original scope.

"You know that's extra, right?"

My pet peeve are the clients that want to participate in the field work, somehow thinking it is going to affect the price positively.

The only exception to that was one time I did a boundary on a 40 acre parcel where the buyer was a retired surveyor from Michigan. Really nice guy, and the time he actually saved was later spent in a BS session at the truck with cold bottled water. There was one tricky spot going through a swamp, where he had already found the back corners and cut a traverse line in, saving me about 300 feet of line cutting.