FG job - would you take it or pass?

Ok... Commercial job. Let's say it's 1,000 sq/ft. The company that wants the tinting has budgeted HALF what your normal prices are.... And they will not budge.... they just don't have the money.

But... even at that, you're making some money.... it's not like you would do it at a loss.


You explain the films you carry.... give them a couple options... and while they see the value in your service, they just don't have it in their budget to pay any more.

So basically the end result is whomever is willing to do it for that price will get the job.


Do you meet their dollar figure and get the job, making some money?


Or do you pass on the job, and make no money?


Again, this is commercial. On resi jobs - I'd pass in a minute.


And don't factor into this how busy you are in general anyway.... ie. if you're slamming busy you'd pass but if it's winter and you're hungry, you'd take it. Let's just assume you're at normal levels of work, and it's only going to take 1 day so it's not like you don't have the time to spend on this project.


What say you.

What type of business is it? Could you barter some service or product out of them in addition their " all they can manage " price?. I know of a shop that tinted a winery for half cash half in cases of wine. Was a good deal for all.

Hmm... no, I don't think they would have anything to barter with.

have them meet you half way, try and get them to budge a little and give them a cheaper film. i would take the job but with another film i can get cheap with a lesser warranty

Yeah, I would take it...with a 3 year warranty...lesser film...and explain that to the customer.

Since they refuse to use your offering the best product and service you can provide, then you change something to lower your standards. Offer them a white box film from overseas without a warranty.

After all, you explain the price, not apologize for the quality of your services.

This is like what I deal with when painting cars. Everyone wants the 4K paint job but most peoples budgets will not allow for more than 1500 and people often want the 500 one like Peach, Maaco, Fact-o-bake offer. Will I paint a car for that yes but I do have my limit. First I have several different levels of paint I can use but all meet my standard of what I would consider a decent job for the price range and I know what the min amount of prep is to get a decent job. basicly I have a min of what I find acceptable and if they can not meet me there then I do not do the job. I am not going to put myself on the line and do a half arse job just to meet what they want the budget to be but if they can budget enough to meet my min then I will work with them.

Do the job but no warranty what so ever. Make them sacrifice a bit like you are. You know what your work is worth. Is the money you will be making, worth YOUR time?

But when the film goes bad, wouldnt the customer bad mouth him? Even if it were explained, the customer will always point the finger at the one who installed it.

I say do the job, and do it well. Everytime someone walks in off the street or one of the workers there coment on how nice the job is and how much it saves the company money or whatever, your name is on it. And thats what matters! In this business its hard to turn down a job when you can think of all the jobs you can make from it. I did a kids car in a different town that is 35 miles away. I did a cheaper job than most but when that phone starts ringing and the kids come in from that town you just made back what you lost on the first job.

i'll pass thank you.

It's worth it in that the job will still have more profit then what you'd make working at the local deli.... but the price is still way under what is considered 'normal' for FG rates.



Thanks... I'm actually surprised you're the first one to state that...


The problem I have is that by accepting a lower price, it's de-valuing the service we perform.

But.... they couldn't care any less about that, and the guy who gives them the job for what the client is willing to pay is going to get the job.


It's like the jobs that are like 30k sq/ft and they wanna sub hanging out and pay under a ---- a sq/ft for installing. Yeah.... panes are big... easy to make good money.... but it's still, IMO, below the going rate. So do you accept the work, make a good amount of coin, or do you pass because you feel the skills you have been working on for years and years are worth more then what they are paying??!?!

heres some options. you'll do it, on your terms. do the job in dec. or jan. when your slow and they have no choice in what brand film you use.
you can get film(com/res) for less then you think, while keeping your profits the the same.

never lose the work.

So... they agree to use less expensive film.... but that still puts your sq/ft price WAY below what you normally charge.


Does the fact that it's in the middle of your slow season mean your skills aren't worth as much?

Nope.... it means you live to fight another day

depend if you not doing anything. your margins the same and you keep busy.

I am in the "pass on the job" category.

I turn away a lot of work because of my prices, but that's ok, not everybody can afford me.

I agree with the fact that when the cheap film starts to fail in a couple of years (or less), all that will be remembered is the company that installed it...not the fact that they had a budget and you used lower quality film to accommodate them.

You don't see a Mercedes dealership cutting the price of their cars in half because a customer "doesn't have the budget" for that car in the showroom. They send them down the road to the Mazda dealer who can better fit their budget. People always argue that "well, in that case all you are paying for is a name!", but that name didn't come by accident. It is the same with my reputation and the quality that has been built into my company name. It has taken over 20 years to build it, and I am not going to sacrifice it for someone who can't afford me.

Who says you have to install cheaper film? I think he was willing to take the cut from his profit margin not from the supply end.

That's the bottom line. Are you willing to take a pay cut just to make something, or hold true to your values and pass on the job.


I know everyone's situation is different.... overhead involved.. family to feed.. etc. So there isn't going to be an answer that fits everyone's situation....

My comment about the cheaper film was directed toward these comments.

Lets see .... sit around Your shop all day doing nothing....or go and do some work and make a few bones....and put some food on Your familys table....seems like a no brainer to Me.

If you are charging enough, the few days in your shop doing nothing won't be a big deal. Seems like a no brainer to me.

Im torn. One one hand the saying would be a percentage of something is better than a percentage of nothing. On the other hand, referrals from that job say this guy is cheap and does good work, so you are always in a price fight from those referrals. Id like to think I would pass on it, but Im also quite slow right now, but comfortable from our "savings for the winter" acct. We all know you wouldnt do it if you werent making a profit, but what are the consequences from doing it x dollars instead of y dollars? Maybe try to get some referrals before you do the job? I dunno...it would be a tough decision for me anyway.

I haven't really gotten any commercial referrals, but I don't do a lot of commercial work to begin with. Your point, however, is the reason I would never do it with resi customers....

I don't have a problem trying to work with someone on price... but when it's significantly less then what the going rate is... I dunno...

If no one agreed to meet their budget requirements, then they would either have to increase their budget or forget tint all together.

Take what they offered as a down payment and finance them on the rest

That's classic negotiation technique. They are expecting you to counter offer somewhere toward the middle. Don't accept their offer at this point, make a counter offer and they are likely to do the same, eventually you will meet somewhere in the middle.

i would do it in the cheapest good R20 from a major manu. well see what the film will cost and see what you will make on top of that. factor in how long it will take and see how much you will be making per hour. if the job is easy and you still make a decent amount, at least a G, i might take it

So you are telling me 50% off ? I would pass, these kinds of deals always come back and bite you in the azz .

I totaly agree with Mr.P and TintDude. But every time I give someone a good deal it turns into a BIG headache. If you bend once everyone is going to expect the same.

Good quality ,cheep, fast...... Pick two

^^^^^^^^ This is what I was thinking also. If the windows are easy, it may be quick cash. Is it 1,000 square of wood frame windows with paint and varnish all over them? Or metal framed new glass? If they takes 4 times as long your not really ahead making a couple $$ a square on it. You can tell them whatever you want on the price break. Say the film you are gonna use overstock film and that would put a stop to having to match the price per sq. later.

Yes...

Which even at that, profit would still be there.... just not nearly what it really should be.

It's possible it will turn out to be easy peasy... but I have a gut feeling it won't. I agree with you - making deals always end up going bad.

"When good deals go bad!" Next time on FOX!

I'm with Mr. P, You give someone a deal and it bites you in the butt. I will pass thank you very much

I am in the PASS crowd......it would be different if we were starving, but I don't see that.

How about I throw in the fact that there are desks in front of the windows.....


This, I actually don't know for sure... but given the fact they are offices....................



Like I said... bad feeling in my gut.......

C'mon, Roach, stop manby pambying. Call them and tell them that your price is what it is. Had the same thing happen two weeks ago with a large investment firm. The second I walked in, the receptionist (the one I had to deal with) says"there are others bidding for this job, so, you better sharpen your pencil". Well, sh!t, thats the tag line of the lowball scumbag in our area. As I stood at the counter, I noticed the sticky note of the local Vista dealer there. I measured and quoted the job at 20% less than my normal, knowing what she already had for a quote. When I handed her my quote, she didnt try to hide her surprise with a stupid 'shocked look'. As she put it in her file, she basically dismissed me then and there. As I walked out, I called the Vista dealer whom I know, to ask if he had been there yet. He hadnt, but said he would call to feel them out. Come to find out, the lowball price she got was 40% below mine and 50% below his price. knew right then that the install would be nothing but a pain in the a$$ and when she called to see if we would beat his price, I told her that I do not lowball for my quality of goods and services, and knowing the company she received the price from, best of luck with the install and call me when it fails in a year or so. (know he uses whatever crap is cheapest this year)

Remember, the ones who want the low ball price, will not give up on quality. They will find any and every little thing to knitpick on to get more out of you. Call them tomorrow, tell them it is what it is, and move on. If they want a good job, they will call back, or they will drive someone else crazy!!!!!

Well said custom tint. If I cant walk in and start tinting, I won't even think of going down on price. Moving desks and furniture?

I'd do this, and if they are nice and serious I'd give them 10-15% off just to show that I'm a nice guy who likes to help people.
Moving furniture goes at an hourly rate and I'm not cheap but therefore I move it very slow

Sometimes deciding on taking a job like this determines how your capitol in the bank is! If i have a good amount of capitol saved up then i more than likely will say no to doing it, but if things start getting tight for me than more then likely i will say yes to doing it!

Well said. I find it funny....I am betting that if anyone was bidding against any one of us, and offered the job at 50% of what we would normally charge...we would call them a hack or lowballer. Same is true with automotive. If the competition does work for half the price we charge...they are a hack. Why is it different if we do it?

I think I agree also. Thats a big chance for not the big price, but times are tough and I would prolly do it. But I would inspect all of the glass first to see if there are any failed IG units and make sure they are aware of those before you agree to do it. I can just see them sayin to tint over the failed glass and then 3months later getting a phone call saying the film caused the seal to fail

Negotiation is fine but I never go into one without having established BEFORE hand what my cut off point is. If that point is reached I walk. If you need/want the work decide what you will do it for and give them a nice professional proposal. If that's still not acceptable to them give them a bag of sand and tell them to pound it.

I havent read all the post, just wanted to tell you what I would do.

Use the absolute cheapest film you can purchase to do the job. Tell them up front there is no warranty other than workmanship give them 3 months to have complaints...

I find it really really really hard to turn down dollars, if you can make the time to do it then DO IT if you don't the few dollars it is paying will go into someone else's pocket and not yours.

I'm a cheap skate and again I find it really had to turn down money. Having said all this my price for window tint compared to my competition is much higher and I stay plenty busy.

If you have time to do it DOIT... see if they can throw in some staples or something.

If it were me and I was going to have to hurt my customer service in any way (such as leaving good paying customers to handle these people) then I would not do it.

Thanks everyone for yuor thoughts...

Given the scope of the work and the low, low budget, I'd go with those who said they would pass. While money is money.... I've worked hard building my business and mastering my skills to give them away for candy money.


-R

Did you at least make a counter offer?

They would not budge at all on the price. And they had about 25 or so panes that needed R&R of old film.

Hey Roach - you probably already made your decision but I wanted to add an option to the thread. IMHO, everyone on the board should have custom-printed coasters for low-margin commercial jobs. You can get nice-looking paper coasters for about 25 cents and tell your commercial prospects that you want to put one on each desk in the building. Make something that says "you have been protected from harmful UV by XYZ Tinting" ... or "please call 555-1234 and mention this coaster for $100 off residential tinting".

that's a pretty good idea tintbuyer.

I second that. It is a neat Idea.

Neat idea!