message left on the machine

As tempting as it is to just keep moving forward and almost ignore such calls, over the years I've had some success with the seeming ignoramus who has no clue about what it takes. Just keep asking them questions so they feel involved in the process and realize you are an expert. Once you sell yourself, and what you can do to help them, then the product falls into place.

Sometimes.

But I'd rather waste 15 or 20 minutes talking to somebody like that, than waste 5 minutes with somebody who may be semi-informed and tells me how easy it is. But that's just me... good luck

it all depends on how busy i am. some days i see it as a personal challenge to 'sell' those type of calls. some days it just looks like a pita that i decide not to deal with. either way it is good to at least have the phone ringing again even if everyone is bargain shopping.

I had a guy stop in and basically chew me out today. My "problem" was that I had
S89degrees32feet09inchesE along the north line of a lot line he was looking at buying.

Why did I say it was south when it is clearly east? And when I explained to him why it looks like this he said "so you surveyors do it that way".

Then he pointed out that I forgot to give a direction on these angles on my curve table (you know the delta).

He didn't want to learn anything; he just wanted to complain.

Tell him $400 and then enter into a contract just ripe for CCOs so as to make your profit. Maybe something like "I located the corners. What's that, you want me to show them to you? And a map?

I read that's how some guys do it in a recent post on the construction side of surveying :>)

Actually, my preferred approach would be to ask the guy if he bid shops his doctor visits. Or if he likes his odds going to court with the cheapest attorney he can find. Let him know you provide a professional service, and why he should want a professional service.

I broke down and gave her a call back. Told her what I thought that it would take to find the corners if they were still there and what it would take to reset the corners if I could not find them. She asked if I had that machine that would find those corners if you get within 50 feet. I educated her on the process and hopefully she gained some knowledge about surveying and what it takes to do a job right the first time. I hope she doesn't call back, but if she does, I'll send my licensed retired part timer out there to do the job.

Nothing quite like that nasty comment right off the bat about searching for 'el cheapo' to motivate someone to respond. Offer to paint her car for her for $7.50. See if she'll agree to that idea.

The best response.

I like to make fun of these guys along with most other surveyor. But it sure seems like the most misunderstood profession to me. EVERYONE thinks they understand surveying, and thinks it's simple. Engineers think it's basic arithmetic, realtor's think it's simple instincts, GISers and lawyers just can't comprehend the seniority of calls.....etc. And the product is a few rods driven in the ground. Don't even ask a carpenter how easy that is.

It's just flat-out hard to explain how much work a survey is and why it costs what it does.

at least she's being honest.

Add one more to the list... A farmer telling you that his GPS is probably just as accurate as yours. They are using rtk so it would be in this case.

So I respond, were do we put the corners, I'll drive'em for ya..
He responds, That's what you get paid for.
Yes sir, That will be 2,000$. We had a good laugh about that. This farmer is a close friend of mine and was joking around...

I dont ever respond to these "potential" clients. Wrong type of client IMHO. I got a call yesterday. First the guy wants his property staked and told me that it was simple, explained how it should be done etc. I gave him a price which he promptly said was 2 times what he had already been quoted.Then he told me he wanted 4 extra pins set on two different lines for free and finally he wanted me to draw a site plan for his addition and set the corners of the new construction. When he was through telling me how simple it all was, I raised my price to $2000 and he couldnt get off the phone fast enough. Let some other surveyor deal with people like that. I am sure someone will do it for $400.

I have a returning client that keeps telling me to use the “original rod” for a land division. The original rod doesn’t match anything by 15 feet. He can’t believe me and won’t look at the maps I send supporting this. They only show 6 out of 8 or 9 points found within tenths of where they are called to be after being set 35 years ago. And they call the rod a 1” pipe, which was all the company set back then. Now he says that the points that I’ve reset are wrong and things seem to change every time I come out and do more work for him. And, most importantly to me, he sucks as a payer.
I’m chuckling to myself now as its taken him a month to return my last email. I guess he couldn’t find anybody to do it any cheaper since I already had 80% done. Hate to lose a client, but I’m thinking I’m gonna send this one down the road.

Degrees - Feet - Inches

I once saw a deed written by an attorney that had Degrees - Feet - Inches written throughout the entire deed for the angles and bearings.

Degrees - Feet - Inches

New hire at the bank across the street was given a deed document using °,' and ". Told to expand the document by not using symbols, the result mimiced yours. She was sent over here to learn a bit about symbols and descriptions. She had no need to know until then but she should have asked if only because what she was writing made no sense, an Attorney is different they should know right out of Law School. It was taught in grade school when I was a kid.
jud

Degrees - Feet - Inches

I don’t mind teaching at all. But, when people are ornery during the process it makes it a pain.

I also just had an attorney give me a hard time for setting witness corners instead of some actual lot corners. I’m a huge advocate of only setting THE corner. I will do everything within reason to avoid witness corners. I told him why in general I set witness corners and he said “well, I guess that’s just the way you surveyors are”. I suppose I could have set them in the river.....maybe I can do better next time

Help me, I did not realize that an original rod set 35yrs ago had to be within a few tenths to be the official corner today.

Reading again, maybe you are saying found a rod where it called for a pipe. That could be a goat stake you found and be understandable.

About 3yrs ago a guy called me every week and came to my office a few times for months until my schedule broke and I could get on his job.

When I was at the point of staking monuments and talking with the client about what he preferred me to set, rod or pipe. He only wanted to know the acres he had. I say, 3.2.

He was having a problem why it is that when he bought 4 1/2 acres 45yrs ago and I have told him there is only 3.2 acres there.

I explained for a solid hour taking him around his property and showing evidence about where back in the 1920's the location of the boundaries were and since the government built a lake and took land and the wagon road expanded and the highway took property and that is all that was left.

Guy could not understand why there were not 4 1/2 acres. He actually said he was not going to pay until I surveyed 4 1/2 acres. I left immediately, never went back.

2yrs later I saw him in the deed records with another surveyor from 75mi away. Other surveyor was not smiling.

😉