Tom reliably showed up to give an estimate for gutter work on the roof of my house. He gave a price…read moreof $5,000 to replace all gutters and guards, as well as to clean the downspouts. That seemed like a lot of money for a day's work, but I said 'So be it' to myself.
He added that the price might be higher if he had to buy new wood and metal to do the job well. He then said that he would be 'hands-on' but, as soon as he dropped off his workers, he left the job and didn't come back.
When he returned days later, he told me that I owed him another $2,200. When I balked at this, he got testy and, so, lowered the additional charge to $1,700 ('because I want to work for you again,' he said).
I challenged him to itemize the extra costs. He said that the additional wood was $300 and the additional metal was $500. I asked what accounted for the other $900 that he was demanding. 'Additional labor costs,' was his answer. I pointed out that his initial price had to have included the laborers' pay for the day - and they finished the job before 5 pm.
Tom started sulking; then he became irate: 'Just give me the $5,000 - forget the rest.'
It was a good ploy. I felt sorry for him, so I wrote a check for $6,000 - not the $7,200 that he wanted nor the $6,700 that he then proffered as a compromise.
A qualified professional, who knows my house, said that $5,000 for new gutters and general maintenance of the system was a very high but not completely unreasonable charge for the work.
But Tom's demand for an additional $2,200, then $1,700, was, this professional said, outrageous: 'He saw that you willingly paid the $5,000, so he figured that he could extract another couple of thousand from you.'
I liked Tom personally but regret paying him what I did.
I urge, then, whomever might hire him to be strong in negotiating about the job - and not to give in to his emotional ploys to price gouge.
