Did we charge too much?

Question

I think, for the amount of work and time that the team was there, it was fair, but here's the story.

We took over a large home a couple of months ago. They had a cleaner come a couple times, but the couple lived, well, with things all over the place. The home, six units, was rented fully furnished, but the cleaners were lacking. There was old food left in the fridge and freezer in both the kitchen and basement units. Every cabinet, dresser and closet was messy with garbage and trash which needed to be either organized and moved to a specific room in the basement or thrown out. We charge $60.00 an hour and we had three guys there for five hours. In addition, we had to take about 24 bags of garbage to the city dump to either recycle or garbage. We charge $900.00 for the whole job, plus the actual dump fees.

Please keep in mind, this was every room, every bathroom, going through their stuff, putting it into boxes, then bringing boxes, furniture, DVDs, hundreds of books down two or three flights of stairs for five hours. It was actually more, but I didn't include the time to drive to the dump, separate and drop things off.
The owner is upset, but the place was not rentable where every closet and all the furniture had their stuff in there. There was actually a room with just boxes and boxes of books we had to take down and organize, then put away. If I sent one or two guys, it would had taken even longer. This is in Westchester, NY area. The home is renting for 6500 a month. So, you can imagine the renter is expecting something usable and not having to clean and organize when they are paying 78k a year in rent.

TLDL: We had to have three of our Prop. managers go to a large home 4000+ ft, organize each room, move things, heavy things, personal things, furniture all around the home, and dispose of a lot of garbage and recycling. Took over five hours for the job to be completed with three guys.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

If you're going to have a NTE, then it is only fair to have a NLT also (Not less than). This protects the Contractor from getting screwed on those easier jobs, where he still has to haul all his equipment and his whole crew all the way to the job....

Matthew Paul · Answer

In my area the $60 an hour would be on the low side . For the work you described , the price was a bargain . BUT you shorted yourself , you should have charged for the time to go to the landfill and drop things off . The reaction from the owner is common in my experience . Customers cant do math , All they hear is the hourly price , they dont understand the term " Man hour" and they cant multiply . @Mike Adams When someone says they could have had it done cheaper after the fact , that tells me this is a one and done customer . A man for the day after taxes , insurance and pay cost me about $225 . I agree with @Bruce Woodruff that was closer to 2 grand . Jobs like you described can only be done hourly to make a fair profit .

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

$900 is way too low, shoulda been closer to $2k. But as @Henry Clark said, what really matters is - did you provide a clear written estimate first? If you did and they signed off on it, then they have zero reason to complain . (Unless your work was shoddy or incomplete, which I doubt)

Mike Adams · Answer

Yes, everything is quote ahead of time and then confirmed via text. While doing the work, we confirmed everything with him approving along the way. We also sent a bunch of pictures and a video showing all the work.

Matt Devincenzo · Answer

Did your quote include an estimated total, or a not to exceed (NTE) amount? My work is never fixed fee, and is always a bit of an estimated cost. But we provide a task one is up to $XXX, task two up to $XXX etc. with a NTE total of $XXX plus reimbursibles like mileage and fees. I also clarify that I am able to shuffle savings on a task to another if I go over, so the total NTE is what matters.If you didn't have a NTE then I think that is the lesson learned here. And if he chose to have his cleaners do it for $180, then let him and when it doesn't meet a rentable standard you can circle back with the original proposal or you won't be working on the property.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Then you are fine. I would ask him if you could charge him an overage fee for the nasty work. (Just for fun :-)

Mike Adams · Answer

No, it doesn't happen frequently at all. He is fine with the work, just not happy with the cost. Yes, the cost, which is hourly and per person, was disclosed prior to any work being done. We also offered to have a hauler come in and dump everything. He wanted us to organize, throw out anything that was personal or not able to be saved, then move everything to a room in the basement; which we did. I'd upload the pictures, but then it may give the house away. I just do not think he understands what everything entailed. In addition, we were there watching over doors and windows being upgraded. Thus, as you see, we were quite busy a few days ago. He claims he could of had his cleaners organize or move everything for $180.00 flat fee. I honestly do not see how that would be possible. The cleaners left moldy food in both refrigerators, and garbage in the garbage cans. We actually manage the property for them, so I assume he will calm down in a few days.

Henry Clark · Answer

@Mike AdamsObviously you are correct. But for discussion I pursue from the owners view since they can’t reply.Did you give them a quote estimate or a lists of costs and services? . Did you do a walk thru before or after? To talk thru what was needed or performed? Did they have expectations beyond what was performed? Were they unhappy with the $900 or some aspect of the service? Were they unhappy with the timing or amount of time? Parking, were they upset with the parking needed during the clean? If this is a one off then don’t worry about it. If this happens frequently or not. You might review your bid checklist and your cleanup checklist and see if it needs updated. Just glad you’re out there. Your services are needed.