Richard J Kinch wrote:
All well said.

But the real test of a top-notch businessman is someone who will correct
his foul-ups even at his own expense. Are you professional enough to take
a financial loss on a job, in order to keep your end of the bargain? Most
contractors seem to have an inflexible idea that they must make money on
every single job. When things go wrong, they just default while they're
still ahead.

What about something that the customer won't know was a problem, a hidden
defect you can cover up, like too much water or too much time in the
concrete mix? Do you do it over at your expense?

Those are the kinds of things that are inherent in developing
a good reputation. I have not lost money on any large jobs,
but I have broken even in order to provide the quality that I
am in business to insure.

I have lost money on smaller jobs ($1,000.00 and less) but
only twice due to a mistake on my part that could have
resulted in less than my ideal of quality. The other times
that I have lost money is usually due to something that was
damaged during the project and I had to replace.

The concrete problems that you posed as examples would be
things that I have caught the concrete supplier doing. In the
event that too much water has been added (never at my
direction, but because the driver felt it was necessary) or it
has sat too long, I would send the truck back to the plant and
have it replaced at the expense of the concrete supplier. I
would not lose money in that manner. Believe me, I have sent
back my share of concrete trucks.

On the other hand, while in the course of a project, I have
been asked to do things that I consider to be wrong. Usually
I refuse, but in a couple of cases I have had the client sign
a form which states that I consider the action to be
incompatible with standard construction methods and was only
done at the request of the client. Usually when I bring out
this form, the client will back off and allow me to do it
correctly. Even with the form, I do not like to do things
like that, because somewhere down the line, someone will
notice it and of course, I will be the one that did it. THAT
person will not be shown the form that I made the client sign.

It is tough to keep your reputation intact.

I work hard to do just that. Not just for the client, but so
I can sleep at night.

--
Robert Allison
Rimshot, Inc.
Georgetown, TX