Reduce the service. That is probably the best answer. Any time someone wants to pay less they really should get less.
This particular job requires 250 Supervisor/Owner hours at $40 p hour, 425 general labor hours at $33 p hour, and 45 hours ZTR + operator at $45 p hour.
(Thanks to Dale I know what those numbers are now)
So, we should reduce the job by the 17% or 18% that the revenue was reduced by. Went from 31K to 26K. Last year we settled on 27K so we are taking a year to year hit of 1K (now, at first it was more)
Last year he handed us a 50K, no bid contract at a very high end visible location. So, we gave him a discount. We can all agree that if ever there are reasons for discounts, that is one of them.
The other reason he feels so entiutled is that he has added a 4 acre property to our maintenance work. (The one he is renovating for his new home) So he feels he needs to get a volume discount. That is pretty common as well.
So, ultimately, I am pretty sure that you would all take your lumps and pony up with the discounts as well.
HOWEVER, the part that really is pissing Tricky and I off, is that for 2007 we have to make up this idfferrence. We have no idea what this work is that we doing in 2008, so we are handing him a discount based on a guess for 2008.
Agla, Dale, I am pretty good talking to rich demanding folk as I have been doing it pretty consistantly and well for 7 years with our customer base. This particular guy would melt my
brain. He is older and far far more confident in his having the upper hand. He also is respectful of our crew. He knows each one by name and introduces himself to the new ones, after he sees em for a few weeks. He has a manner that earns his respect and really shows a great deal of loyalty to us. He made it very clear to his builder and LA that he had a landscaper and needed to have them discuss plans with us before they were finalized. 95% of the time he is simple to deal with.
Basically, he is a pretty demanding client who we have an easy time dealing with (usually) because we are very good at producing results for demanding clients.
The issue is, underneath all of this, that we are simply not a large enough company to look at an oncoming entire 4 acre renovation and risk losing it because we wanted to squabble over 18% on a much smaller job. Especially considering the guarantee of the oncoming workl.
The future main concern is.... what are we going to need to negotiate for the property renovation???? Sigh...
I wonder if McDonalds is hiring.