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Old 20-03-2010, 20:48   #1
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Penurious Sailors...Gotta Love 'em!

In the past couple of weeks, I have gone to a couple peoples boats to troubleshoot problems or give estimates.........

When you follow up, after a written estimate,
they decide to do the job themselves......

I should say that I was warned about one of them by another craftsman....who said...XXXX will mine you for knowledge......
and then PFFFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh well....goes with the territory

But being the kind of guy I am....I'll be there to correct their
uh.....efforts.
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Old 20-03-2010, 20:57   #2
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The trick is don't be specific about which parts etc need replacement.
Give 'em a truthful estimate, but no more details than absolutely necessary.
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Old 20-03-2010, 21:31   #3
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You ought to have a minimum charge that you make to visit their boat for an evaluation. Then if you do the actual work, you deduct the cost of the initial visit from their final bill for the work that you perform on their yacht.

In that way, you get paid for the initial visit if they decide to do the work themselves. Just have them pay up front before you do the evaluation.
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Old 20-03-2010, 22:06   #4
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Just part of being self employed..Happens to all of us.

A wise man once told me " Tell a man all you know and he will know more then you do"
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Old 20-03-2010, 23:02   #5
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Now let's not give Chief too many ideas about how to charge more...

Thanks


I will need him again.
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Old 20-03-2010, 23:57   #6
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I agree except I usually do my own work,but will go with least/best bid.marc
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Old 21-03-2010, 05:29   #7
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Hee-Hee-Hee

Not to worry Frank.........

Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankZ View Post
Now let's not give Chief too many ideas about how to charge more...

Thanks


I will need him again.
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Old 21-03-2010, 05:32   #8
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Just part of being self employed..Happens to all of us.

A wise man once told me " Tell a man all you know and he will know more then you do"
Couldn't have said it better myself...
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Old 21-03-2010, 05:52   #9
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As "penurious" means desperately poor, poverty-stricken (descriptive of many sailors, perhaps, but hardly a reason to criticize ), I assume the OP actually meant "parsimonious," which means unwilling to spend money or use resources, stingy, overly frugal, absurdly thrifty. If someone is indeed "penurious," he had best be "parsimonious" as well, or he will probably lose his vessel.

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Old 21-03-2010, 06:31   #10
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You ought to have a minimum charge that you make to visit their boat for an evaluation. Then if you do the actual work, you deduct the cost of the initial visit from their final bill for the work that you perform on their yacht.

In that way, you get paid for the initial visit if they decide to do the work themselves. Just have them pay up front before you do the evaluation.

Agree

Most repair shops have a minimum 1/2 or 1 hour charge for diagnosis that is rolled into the fee if the work is done.

This could turn into consulting. I have hired people to consult with me on how to proceed with repairs. I was happy to pay them for their time and knowledge but did the work myself.

You come by and do some checks. Determine the alternator is shot. You charge me $80 for the diagnosis. I pull the alternator, take it to the repair shop and reinstall it. I'm sure you would prefer to get the fee for all the work but you might make plenty of money just on consulting alone. I may bring you back to re-install the repaired alternator to make sure all is good in the end.

To me this feels like a happy medium. I save a few bucks you make a few bucks.
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Old 21-03-2010, 06:38   #11
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Quote:
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But being the kind of guy I am....I'll be there to correct their uh.....efforts.
I need a few jobs doing, could you pop over and give some written estimates, I'll be on board so could you talk me through what is involved

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Old 21-03-2010, 07:11   #12
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I get these type of customers every now and then. Like Stillraining and Cheif said, "It comes with the territory". Personally, I don't mind them because many of them still get into trouble anyways and call back with hat in hand. A little of Jobs patience goes a long way because repeat business is what will keep you in business. Just a little industry secret. When sailors call, a lot of industry people cringe a bit. Depending on what the professionals do for a living they know for the most part that the real pay check is in power boats. Cruising sailors are a different breed. Most are fairly good with their hands and are willing to take the time to learn as much as they can about their boats so that they can do most of the work themselves. Something I advocate for anyone who wants to go offshore for any length of time. This forum is proof of that. But many times a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Also try to remember that as the sailing community is small, so is the community of people that work their on boats. We talk to each other and get to know the customers fairly well in our community too.
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Old 21-03-2010, 07:18   #13
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hummm...

The on-line version of Webster's definitions (which are ordered by common usage):

Quote:
pe·nu·ri·ous [puh-noor-ee-uhs]
–adjective

1. extremely stingy; parsimonious; miserly.

2. extremely poor; destitute; indigent.

3. poorly or inadequately supplied; lacking in means or resources.
So, it seems Chief was likely correct to beging with, eh?
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Old 21-03-2010, 07:27   #14
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FWIW, the OED lists the meanings in the opposite order:
1 extremely poor. 2 parsimonious.
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Old 21-03-2010, 07:48   #15
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Never believe Webster. The buggers just write down common mistakes and then their obiter dicta are taken as holy writ. They've been known to suggest that infer and imply mean the same thing.

Oxford at least makes an effort to tell us what the words mean, not how people misuse them.

FWIW, penurious means broke, parsimonious means careful with money. And you can believe me, because I never lie and I'm always right.

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