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Stay in business long enough and you’ll run across a particularly frustrating breed of client known as the ‘Changeling’. Changelings come in all shapes and sizes and often begin their sentences with, “Well last night I was thinking…couldn’t we move this over there and…” No doubt you have heard something similar before. For many clients, building a new home is the culmination of years of planning, dreaming and saving. They want it perfect and they want every new toy they’ve ever seen on Bob Villa. These clients do not understand that what appears to be a minor modification to them can lead to re-engineering and significant added expense. Fortunately for your clients, they have you, the contractor, to help alleviate their urge to move walls seventeen feet in the opposite direction and flip the house 180 degrees on the lot. The best way to deal with clients is to let them know from the beginning, “make as many changes as you want…before construction starts”. That way you can accurately cost out the modifications and include them in the original contract price. Your written contract should include a specific section on ‘change orders’. This section should be thoroughly explained to the client before signing. If, during the construction period the client wants anything modified, write these changes up as a separate change order, complete with added costs for materials and labor, and have them sign it. That way there are no unexpected surprises when the final bill is tallied. Most people simply can’t afford everything they wish they could have in a new home. Have your client make a list of must-haves: items which they absolutely can't do without. As the project leader, you can help guide them into easier, less expensive alternatives and help prevent headaches for you and your crew down the road. Again, do as much of this as possible, on paper, beforehand. Communication is the key. For example, your client may reconsider their request to move a wall if you explain to them that by doing so, an entirely new truss package must be manufactured (and paid for) on top of the need for a new engineering report. Encourage your client to call you before they purchase that “good deal” at Home Depot. A client may have found an excellent bargain on a new gas cook top, but may not realize there is no gas line that runs to the kitchen because an electric stove was specified in the plans. Remember, clients are looking to you not only for a quality product, but advice and direction as well. It may be tempting to simply agree to the extra work, (and if the customer insists, by all means go ahead) but make sure they grasp the full implication of what they’re asking for. Nick Hurd is the developer of LiteningFast Estimating Construction estimating software for contractors ----------
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