December 20, 2017
Time lords and value pricing
Longtime reader Jason Kneen wrote in with this hilarious (and relevant) pricing story. Enjoy! (shared with permission)
Hey Jonathan,
Slightly unusual example of where this worked for me recently (as a customer)
So, I have this Tardis in my garden — it’s my office restroom — it’s WiFi enabled, fitted out and tweets at http://twitter.com/tardisloo :)
When it was initial built a few years ago, it was made by a guy who makes them for decoration in Gardens for fans — people use them as sheds, or for fun etc. Mine was intended to be used as a fully functional toilet. So, I had him build it, then it was fitted out by some local builders.
Unfortunately they messed up, and within weeks it was leaking, had damp and was damaged and wet inside. They were paid by the hour to work on it and refused to come back leading to a short legal case that was eventually dropped as it was wasting more money.
The next contractors came in, stripped it, and refitted everything again, sealed it all up and left. Again they were paid by the hour and again it leaked a few weeks later. No where near as bad — it was on solid foundation now, but still the job wasn’t done.
I tweaked and worked on it myself but ultimately it still had issues.
Finally, a local builder answered a message I posted on a neighbourhood forum. He came over and said he could deal with it and “how much was I willing to spend on it?”
By this time, it’s cost me probably £5k all together to get this thing where it was — it wasn’t in a terrible state but the problem needed solving — water was getting in somehow
So, I figured if I do nothing it’s going to rot away, and I’ll have to have the parts taken out, have it removed, and possibly rebuild either as a feature OR a proper outdoor restroom, and that’s going to cost me a lot.
In reality I reckon it was a days work but that wasn’t the point — what was the value to me. We agreed on a fee of £1000 and the crucial thing was he guaranteed it — he said if there’s any way water is still getting in he’d come back and fix it for free.
He spent probably two days on it — sealed it and repainted the bits that needed it.
Several weeks later I went to check it one evening and some water had got in — I called him, and he said he’d come straight over (he was there within 30 minutes). He spotted the issue (some felt on the roof) and came back and fixed it permanently.
No more leaks except from visitors ;)
-- jason
😆 😆 😆 😆 😆
Thanks so much for sharing, Jason!
Yours,
—J