Yesterday was a beautiful day, and in fact, it felt kind of hot, especially as the day went on. My last appointment of the day was at 6:30 with a very sweet customer. She and her husband are first time home buyers, and on a limited budget. They want to sand and refinish the floors in on the 3rd floor attic.
They don't live there yet, so temperature/AC is not set correctly and I could not believe how hot it was in the attic. The sun had been beating in and the fan wasn't working right. It was pretty miserable there, and the two of us were just sweating and unbelievably so. I was tired, a bit distracted and was trying to measure quickly so I could get out of there. The area was an odd shaped, and in my haste, I forgot to measure a whole section (maybe about 100 sf). When I went downstairs to do the estimate, the square footage seemed lower than I thought it would have, and I kept double checking the #'s and readding, but always getting the same #.
The customer was thrilled with the number since it was within her budget, and way less than the original alternative of adding hardwood there (which they can't afford until a few years from now. She asked me lots of questions about the process, the floors, the stain colors and how to maintain the wood on the lower floors. Then, her husband came home and we explained everything and she raved about me. It felt nice.
In the process, I had a "flashback" and realized I forgot to measure a whole section. Sure enough, my numbers were off by about 20%, so I erased most of my profit. I could have just left it that way and "cheated" my guys telling them it was a lower square footage, and maybe they never would have realized, but that didn't feel right. My guys have been working hard and have done several favors for me in helping me close a few jobs, so I wouldn't do that. I had undercharged the customer about $300...not the end of the world. A stupid mistake for sure. And, completely avoidable. And, had I not been so hot (and tired), it wouldn't have happened. The customer offered to pay more, and I said, no that wouldn't be right, it's my mistake and I don't like to go back on my word. I told her she can make it up to me, if she decides to do a runner on the steps later, she should call me. She then said, well I'm definitely recommending you to my friends and realtor. ....REALTOR. Cool.
She had told me at that beginning how wonderful her real estate agent is, and how tapped in she is, and she seems really busy. I said, yes, that's it. That would be WONDERFUL. So, then I realized that my stupid error was actually a marketing investment, and then I wasn't so mad at myself. It has now provided an opportunity for me to meet another real estate agent.
Comments (60)Subscribe to CommentsComment