Thread: i have lost it???

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i have a small machine shop and am having a very hard time dealing with customers some are great and some i like to hang. some want me to DO WHAT EVERY YOU THINK IT NEEDs then i tell them how much that is then they do not want it done ? well they do i think they just want it for less. or find a better parts for less money .when it just can not be done but i am 20.00 hour less then any one in town? my work is just as good if not better . i would love to help them but my over head went up with more machine and the hot tank and jet wash soap and fuel to get to the shop. i just can not do it cheap any more.i take pride in my work that i do but after dealing with some of them and trying to do a job right and not put any time in it so they do not have a bill???? just to save them a buck. i just hate every thing i loved to do

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

i have a small machine shop and am having a very hard time dealing with customers some are geat and some i like to hang. some want me to DO WHAT EVERY YOU THINK IT NEED then i tell them how much that is then they do not want it done ? well they do i think they just want it for less. or find a better parts for less money .when it just can not be done but i am 20.00 hour less then any one in town? my work is just as good if not better . i would love to help them but my over head went up with more machine and the hot tank and jet wash soap and fuel to get to the shop. i just can not do it cheap any more.i take pride in my work that i do but after dealing with some of them and trying to do a job right and not put any time in it so they do not have a bill???? just to save them a buck. i just hate every thing i loved to do

Pat,I hear you.
Just wait to you have to do work for friends or family.

Originally Posted by erik erikson

Pat,I hear you.
Just wait to you have to do work for friends or family.

i have been there many times evey one s your friend when you can build good running engines they just do not want to help pay the bills

There is no easy answer Pat.... Been on my own for dang near 30 years now and there is no correct answer that fits every occasion.... What I do know is you have to make money doing what your doing. I've had a big shop with 5 guys full time, 3 part time all the way to what I'm doing now, just me in a 3 car garage. Both have their good and bad points. The best part is now when I make my house payment and pay the utility bill my overhead is covered...... However all my "friends" think that now that I'm working in my garage I should be able to do their stuff for free..... They also like to hang out, "borrow" hardware and parts, suck up all the coffee and tease my dog!!!! When you give sponsorship to one guy (either $$$ or labor), then everyone things you should give them the same thing..... If you don't give nothing to anyone, then your and ***hole, so no matter what you do you're wrong!!!!

With a few exceptions, I've quit doing work for customers. I build what I like, the way I like it, and put it up for sale at my price..... Worst part of this scenario is having to fork out a bunch of $$$$$ to build the car, then waiting for a buyer to come along that actually has the bucks to buy it.... Both good and bad there.....

I guess you have to do enough work to pay the bills, then determine how much more you want to do after that.... Advertising is tough in a one man shop, it's very expensive then if it works really well you end up turning people away....

Like you, I still believe that quality work at a fair price will eventually bring you the rewards you deserve.... It's just tough trying to keep everything paid til you get there.... There are some inexpensive ways to attract new customers... take that Goat to all the local car shows and when the boys or eyeballing the monster engine give them a business card....you never know who is going to be at these events and what their business needs are.... Make a visit of parts stores in your area, talk with the manager and maybe offer him a "spiff" for any customers he can send your way needing machine work... offer an engine for sale, like a plain jane 350, for sale in the local ad papers and Craig's list.... If it's not what the guy wants he might still call or stop by to talk about his needs....

As for the "hangers" who like to eat up your time figuring prices and building "pretend engines" for them that they could never afford anyway, give them a broom or a dirty filthy block to scrape guck off of and tell them you can sit and talk about their stuff at break time but right now you have work to get done..... They usually leave, but if not you get a bit of free house cleaning done!!!! Whatever it takes you have to educate them that friendship is friendship and business is business.....

thanks dave. i just need to vent i have the work just can not get it out fast enough to keep ahead of the bills .today was a bad day getting in two offshore blown big blocks that the guy just piss me right off i have fix so much of his stuff over the years that was screw up but good a long list of the best of the best shops.then it comes back to me to fix it ,i never hit him hard .i told him my rate per hour and started the crying crap told him to go back to the boat yard and let them fix them would like the jobs but the money will not be right and will have to deal with his BS life is just to short for all the crap

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

thanks dave. i just need to vent i have the work just can not get it out fast enough to keep ahead of the bills .today was a bad day getting in two offshore blown big blocks that the guy just piss me right off i have fix so much of his stuff over the years that was screw up but good a long list of the best of the best shops.then it comes back to me to fix it ,i never hit him hard .i told him my rate per hour and started the crying crap told him to go back to the boat yard and let them fix them would like the jobs but the money will not be right and will have to deal with his BS life is just to short for all the crap

Hey Pat, not a problem... I've thrown people's stuff right out the door of the shop for less reason.... If you decide you want to do all the work for free, let me know I can keep you real busy!!!!!!! Nothing worse then offering a guy a decent rate, and have him whine about it!!!! My experience with people like that is that if you did it for free and donated the parts they'd still complain.... Doesn't sound like you lost anything there.......

i find may theshold for crap is alot less as i get older.and i do not have any problems telling them the way it is going to work when it in my shop, i thinking at the end of the day there will be less in my shop this week oh well

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

i find may theshold for crap is alot less as i get older.and i do not have any problems telling them the way it is going to work when it in my shop, i thinking at the end of the day there will be less in my shop this week oh well

Oh well..... Sounds like you got rid of a tire kicker anyway... I've never seen any reason to have someone around the shop or to do any of his work if all he does is ruin my day every time he shows up.... Heck, at least you have room and time for a real customer now!!!!!

and besides that, it's still snowing.................

Pat, post this sign above the door.......

PICK ANY TWO
1.Good
2.Fast
3.Cheap

One time when I was working for one company we needed to sue someone in California and we were in Pennsylvania. Someone recommended this one Attorney to us so we called him and discussed the suit. He billed us $ 500 for the conversation we had on the phone! The President of our company thought that was outrageous so he called the Lawyer to complain. The Lawyer had a very simple comeback, he said " Gene, I know a lot of very inexpensive Attorneys I can put you in touch with, would you like some phone numbers?"

He made his point, he felt he was worth it (he ended up being pretty effective in our suit) and he wasn't going to lower his price. Good sometimes costs more but is usually worth it in the end.

Don

The thing that griped me second most (before I sent all my customers a "to hell with it I quit" letter) happened to me three times. That was having somebody call me to his shop (or hangar) to evaluate a job and bid on it if I decided I wanted to tackle it.

So, after I bid on the work and the price is agreed on, he says "Fine. Go ahead and do it".

After the work is finished and has passed inspection, THEN the turkey tries to dicker me down on the price.

I have been known to become very unpleasant in that situation and use language that properly raised young(?) men like me don't ordinarily resort to.

Of course, first on my list of things that made me go and check to see if my hand guns were in proper working order is the dead-beat who didn't pay me at all. Fortunately, those instances were rare. In a posting on this subject several months back I was crying because an outfit owed me nearly $1,800 dollars and wouldn't pay, or return my calls or answer my second notices. Don (Itoldyouso) told me I should get a collection agency on it.

Don, I hope I thanked you for that advice because I found a guy that even I didn't like, and he delivered! His fee was 30%, but twelve hundred is sure a lot better than nothing. Thanks again, Don.

Hang in there, Pat. Since I retired several of my customers have told me that I could have and should have charged more for my services, and I wouldn't have lost any business at all for doing so.

Now is a heck of a time to find that out!


Jim

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

thanks dave. i just need to vent i have the work just can not get it out fast enough to keep ahead of the bills .today was a bad day getting in two offshore blown big blocks that the guy just piss me right off i have fix so much of his stuff over the years that was screw up but good a long list of the best of the best shops.then it comes back to me to fix it ,i never hit him hard .i told him my rate per hour and started the crying crap told him to go back to the boat yard and let them fix them would like the jobs but the money will not be right and will have to deal with his BS life is just to short for all the crap

Pat

I have been involved in the offshore industry for years and I can tell you that the guys involved in that arena can be difficult at best

The old saying applied well here " how do you make a few freinds (and dollars) in the offshore industry? Start out with a Whole lot of friends (and dollars)"

If I were building Sears quality rebuilt engines,I'd worry about charging sears prices. You build an engine that makes good power and holds up to it with reasonable care, then my friend you are in a small circle and should feel free to charge for it. Don't even think twice about it. Hank

I always charged a fair price for good work. If you work too cheap your reputation suffers.

The one question I always asked the "whiners" was, how come there's never enough time or money to do it right, but always enough to do it over?

Many times the customers I lost to a lower price were back six months later to have the low cost alternative made right.

Stick to your guns, if your work is good you'll come out ahead in the long run.