The $100 paint job: Deal or steal?
Years ago I heard the following anecdote from a painter/contractor I had befriended:
After completing an exterior paint job, George (the painter) got a request from the homeowners for a quote on an interior room. He went upstairs and looked around. It was a brand new addition -- no furniture, no rugs and the walls were primed and ready to go. He already had his truck, paints and tools on hand, so he could do the job right away.
George returned to the homeowners with good news: He could paint the room immediately for $100. Sold.
George went upstairs with a tarp and a sprayer and within 10 minutes he had completely painted the room. When he went back downstairs, the homeowners were stunned. He was finished already? He assured them he was. They saw the finished room, then gave him a $100 check.
Days later, George started getting phone calls. Something "wasn't right" about the room. The paint wasn't peeling and the color was correct, but still, something "wasn't right." After a number of such calls, George went out and, though the room was perfectly fine, repainted the room. Now the clients seemed satisfied.
What had happened? It was all about the perception of value. Instead of seeing the paint job as a great deal -- an entire room painted for just $100 -- they saw it as a steal: $100 for just ten minutes of work. Because they measured value by time, they insisted that George apply more time to the project. Even though it was completely unnecessary. Even though it added no real value to the project.
Moral of the story: When you negotiate a deal, do everything possible to predicate price on the value of the finished work, not on the time it takes to accomplish it. When possible (it wasn't for George in these circumstances), treat your "time spent" as a matter of discretion and re-focus attention on the ultimate worth of the completed project.
Truth is, freelance writers who price by the hour lose money, respect and customer satisfaction. Those who bill by the project stand a better chance of getting paid what they're genuinely worth and, by setting project value as the prevailing standard, of generating increased respect for their accomplishmeents with a concomitant increase in customer satisfaction.
After completing an exterior paint job, George (the painter) got a request from the homeowners for a quote on an interior room. He went upstairs and looked around. It was a brand new addition -- no furniture, no rugs and the walls were primed and ready to go. He already had his truck, paints and tools on hand, so he could do the job right away.
George returned to the homeowners with good news: He could paint the room immediately for $100. Sold.
George went upstairs with a tarp and a sprayer and within 10 minutes he had completely painted the room. When he went back downstairs, the homeowners were stunned. He was finished already? He assured them he was. They saw the finished room, then gave him a $100 check.
Days later, George started getting phone calls. Something "wasn't right" about the room. The paint wasn't peeling and the color was correct, but still, something "wasn't right." After a number of such calls, George went out and, though the room was perfectly fine, repainted the room. Now the clients seemed satisfied.
What had happened? It was all about the perception of value. Instead of seeing the paint job as a great deal -- an entire room painted for just $100 -- they saw it as a steal: $100 for just ten minutes of work. Because they measured value by time, they insisted that George apply more time to the project. Even though it was completely unnecessary. Even though it added no real value to the project.
Moral of the story: When you negotiate a deal, do everything possible to predicate price on the value of the finished work, not on the time it takes to accomplish it. When possible (it wasn't for George in these circumstances), treat your "time spent" as a matter of discretion and re-focus attention on the ultimate worth of the completed project.
Truth is, freelance writers who price by the hour lose money, respect and customer satisfaction. Those who bill by the project stand a better chance of getting paid what they're genuinely worth and, by setting project value as the prevailing standard, of generating increased respect for their accomplishmeents with a concomitant increase in customer satisfaction.
1 Comments:
Great idea! So often, the equation between time and quality is not directly correlated, yet many continue to feel it is. Well said!
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