I got a call last week from a guy who wanted his grandfather in-laws property surveyed. I gave him a price and he said he would get back to me. He called later that afternoon and gave me the go ahead. My locator died and had to be sent off, postponing all my field work until I got it back. I called the client and explained the situation and that I would get there as soon as possible. He said that was fine. My locator came back this past Thursday and I was headed out Friday. After doing the research, I arrive at the site to see fresh stakes at all of the corners. The grandfather told me another local surveyor had done the work and he had already recorded the plat. I called the man who called me and said he didn't know anything about it. Should I bill the son in law for my time? Has this ever happened to anyone else?
I was finishing a survey one time and another crew showed up, as we were staking the last corner. They put the job off for a month (no contract), client got fed up on waiting. Another time I was sent out to recon a job, and found a crew setting the corners. We had just got a call for the bid the previous afternoon. I guess people don't like waiting, and with the economy there are enough starving surveyors out there.
Too Late
I would bill the client for the time I had in the project. Did you have a written contract? If not, that may make it difficult to demand payment. I would still send him a bill though.
That has happened to me several times in the last 40yrs.
Some clients are just not adept in social graces or really just do not care enough about you to give a call back and let you know that your services are not needed.
Before any works begins, the facts are explained on first contact that once they make an actual work order there are billable services that begin before actual arriving at the property for research and possible acquiring of supplies that you must find to do this particular project.
So, yes I send an invoice detailing my time and expenses for every occasion there was an appointment that I kept whether anyone shows or not and i arrive to find another survey in progress, finished or not.
They may not like it or may not pay. They are unwanted clients anyway. At least they get the message that you do what you say and show up and that they should not waste your time with false causes.
Good business relations will not leave anyone hanging like that.
They also take it on the chin, ask what is owed, pay and go on without batting an eye because they got what they wanted.
I guess you can but I wouldn't.
You can rent a locator from your local Survey supply place.
Yes, I have had this happen before. No, I did bill them for my time. I look at the time similar to all the time we put in on bids that we do not get. You may not want him as a client, but you do not want him giving bad lip service about you either.
Too Late
I got a call from a grandfather to stake out his corners. There were bounds at all of them, so it was short money. We had a contract. When completed, the grandson called and explained the mental condition of his grandfather and the fact that they all knew where the four monuments were. We cut them a substantial break.
We need to explain to the world they can have two of three items: Quality, Speed and Price. There is a minimum quality we must meet and we can certainly increase the quality of a product, for example we can locate all of the trees on a given site. If you want something faster, it will cost more.
Unfortunately, the lowballers are destroying the future of our profession.
Yes, a few times. The last on was 20 acres & I told the guy $1,800 or something and would be there on Mon. This was the prior Thu and he said ok, go ahead.
I did all my research, cogo'ed in what I could, and had about 15 pages of documents in my file so I'd be ready to go on Mon.
He calls me on Sat and says to hold off. I asked why and he said "he had things sorted with the county and didn't need a survey". I knew he was lying.
Mon I call P & Z and asked how he is getting away with this. They said he's not, and he still needs the survey.
I call the guy back, he found a guy for $600. I told him I was all set to go and would be sending him a bill for my time ($180). He said he wouldn't pay it, so I wrote nice letter, and included our email coorespondence and a completed Small Claims lawsuit form for the $180, plus interest, plus court costs.
I got a check a week later, with a nastygram inside.
I wont even create the file on a project or schedule work until I have a signed contract (with retainer) on my desk. Until I see that, the job doesnt exist. That way if they back out, we're still covered.
-V
Once I showed up to find I was #2.
Recently, we did a job and later found out we happened to be #1 and #2 had not been contacted.
BTW, it is a 5-hour trip to run to the nearest survey supply store and back.
That is why it is imperative to have either a backup or a plan to quickly obtain a backup. Like having the store overnight a rental to you, even if it is 75-100 dollars.
>...Should I bill the son in law for my time? Has this ever happened to anyone else?
You can bill but it's just a waste of time and paper. It's happened to all of us, chalk it up to experience and move on.
> You can bill but it's just a waste of time and paper.
Not necessarily. If you use accrual rather than cash accounting there is the possibility you can write off an unpaid invoice as bad business debt.
Talk to your accountant (or read Section 10 of IRS Publication 535 if you're the "do it yourself" type).
[msg=110051]somewhat similar story...[/msg]
Just go out and pull all the traverse nails, and stakes, and wait!!!
🙂
(Jsut kidding!)
> I got a call last week from a guy who wanted his grandfather in-laws property surveyed. .... I arrive at the site to see fresh stakes at all of the corners. The grandfather told me another local surveyor had done the work and he had already recorded the plat.
That's why I try to speak to the owner, particularly if someone wants their grandparent's property surveyed.
