> oh how do you figure that, either the unethical part, or the "15 minutes?"
>
> I'd be happy to bill out $1,250 for a quarter hour of work...
He was asked for the height of the roof. To me that would be the height from the adjacent ground not the elevation of the roof. How could this take more than 15 minutes on site?
Most of the work I do is by quotes or bids and not hourly. I understand that we can bid whatever we want in a free market, but personally it would go against my personal ethics to charge 10 or 20 times my hourly rate.
I bid that much because my sixth sense was kicking in and I didn't really want to mess with it. That's it. If you've ever had 'those' clients that hound and hound and then call you three times on Sunday to tell you how wrong your survey is (true story) and then run out of time on all three voice messages. That is what my spidey sense was telling me. $1250 for the headache, not time.
:good: yeah, Dave
I've done that too, give a big price on something just based on the PIA factor and who you are dealing with...and sometimes you get the job and it all goes good...sometimes not.
Hey, I wouldn't spend one second justifying my fees. If he wants the information you provide, he can pay for it. End of story. good luck.
Yes, I have had 'those' clients and I understand charging for the extra headaches they are going to cause. The point I am trying to make is why not just tell the client you are "not interested" if you are not interested and they will call someone else. Scaring them away with overly inflated quotes will not help us look professional.
Scott McLain ? Do You have a copy of the ordinance in hand ?
$50 to $150 out the door plus your time to go get it.
So then you spend 15 minutes to give him what you think the height it. The zoning officer points out what he expects. So you go back out and try to bill the client for the 2 hours it really takes. The client says you are unknowing and unprofessional and files a complaint with your state board.
Tell me Scott, is your license only worth 1/4 of your hourly rate?
Paul in PA
Scott McLain ? Do You have a copy of the ordinance in hand ?
Believe it or not, in one county I work in, the height of the roof is considered to be the height of a point half way between the highest peak of the roof, and the end of the overhang ... seems illogical that that would be considered the roof height, but it is in this county. So that's good advice, Paul, I'd definitely ask the inspector before proceeding.
Scott McLain ? Do You have a copy of the ordinance in hand ?
One town I work in has the following:
"Height: The height of the building shall be measured as the vertical distance from the mean ground level on each side of the building to either the highest point of the exterior in the case of a flat roof or to the mean average finished grade between the plate and the ridge in the case of a pitched roof."
The "plate" is the top of the wall supporting the lower ends of the rafters, and is hidden by the roof construction.
In addition, you need to calculate the mean ground level all the way around the buildlng.
It can get complicated to get the height correctly!
-Jeff
Scott McLain ? Do You have a copy of the ordinance in hand ?
I do a lot of site plan work and here in Michigan most townships have their own zoning. I spend a lot of time reading ordinances before I quote a job and additional revisions and reviews are extras that the client knows will be billed hourly. You should know the ordinance before you give a price and you better know it before you leave the office.
No my license is not worth 1/4 of my hourly rate, but in the past twenty years I have had very few unhappy clients and many that like and recommend my services. None of them have ever threatened me with filing a complaint, so I will keep being the nice guy. Contrary to popular belief, not all us nice guys get taken advantage of or finish last. 🙂
Scott McLain ? Do You have a copy of the ordinance in hand ?
That's also how it's defined in some portions of the Minneapolis zoning code, such as the height limit for a detached garage.
I recall dealing with an unbalanced fellow who wanted survey data to stir up a pointless quarrel, probably just to add some excitement to his life. I told him politely that I didn't agree with what he wanted to do, and wouldn't help him for that reason. He took it OK. Of course there are some individuals who would get upset by that. When in doubt, I ask a lot of questions and try to figure out where the person's head is at before deciding how to respond.
Surveying education really ought to include some training on how to handle neighborhood quarrels and borderline nut cases. There are sure a lot of them.