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Wall Treats, Master Painters
How a lunch hour meeting can turn to $481 worth of frustration.
You have a spare hour in your busy day. You have come home to meet with a painter for quoting purposes. You have emphasised to the painter that he must be on time – you have an important meeting at work after seeing him.
It is now 10 minutes past the agreed meeting time and the painter has not yet arrived. You call him on his cellphone and it clicks to voicemail.
It is now 15 minutes past the agreed meeting time. You are getting anxious but you might still get back to the office in time if he turns up now.
No such luck.
You continue waiting and are getting increasingly frustrated.
It is now 30 minutes past the agreed meeting time. You need to head back to the office.
As you are pulling out of your driveway, the painter turns up. He makes some excuse about being late … which, you don’t really wish to know about.
Do you let him into the house? You may risk getting back into the office late. However, you simply cannot bear to have to take another hour off during the work day to meet with him.
You let him in. He whizzes through the house in five minutes, without asking you any questions. You end up being caught in traffic and need to reschedule your meeting. You have another late evening in the office.
| Opportunity cost to you | ||
Derivation |
Assumptions |
|
| One hour to meet with the painter |
|
|
| 30 minutes stuck in traffic |
|
|
| One and a half hours working late |
|
|
| Stress and frustration (impacted the rest of your day, seven hours) |
|
|
TOTAL |
|
|
If this painter were to provide a lower or the lowest quote, would you still want to engage him? If this is what he is like when he is trying to win your business, what will he be like on the job?
Other examples for you to read include:
- How your renovation project can escalate into 'hide and seek'.
Why knowing a tradesperson will stand by their work is just as important as what they do on the job. More ...
- How misplaced trust can lead to headaches and heartaches.
Reputation and the desire to retain it is worth its weight in gold. More ...
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