A meeting of the minds

BY RICHARD P. DiTOMA,
contributing writer

A contract is a meeting of the minds between two or more parties. PHC contractors enter into binding agreements everyday with the consumers for whom they perform tasks. That’s why they are known as contractors. These agreements can be verbal or written. But, verbal contracts can present problems. There is no written document evidencing the prices, terms and conditions of the contract and a meeting of the minds.

Without a written contract, either party may consciously or mistakenly make claims to which the other party never agreed. If a litigious problem arose a judge or arbitrator might determine that there was no meeting of the minds in the first place. He/she would possibly solve the dilemma with a decision neither party likes.

Smart consumers should always get prices, terms and conditions in writing before entering into an agreement with a contractor. It protects both parties as to the agreement. Wise contractors should develop protocols and documents that can lead to a meeting of the minds while proving that the minds did indeed meet.

The first protocol to develop is a short precise verbal explanation of your business policies. It’s not in writing, but it allows the process to begin. Your call takers should be well versed in your policies so they can honestly and intelligently explain those policies to your new and existing clientele before dispatching personnel to a service call.

All new potential clients should be informed of those policies. Your tried and true clientele usually are aware of the policies. But, if the call taker feels an existing client may not know the policies they should ask the caller if they are aware of the policies. Some existing clients will want them repeated. Others may not because they may have used your company enough times to explain those policies to your personnel. In that case, you would have trained your personnel and clientele well.

Service call ticket

Since the call for service is initiated by the consumer, it would be wise to design an in-office service call ticket to document the call and assist your call takers in the performance of their duties. The service call ticket should address certain topics that are germane to the call. The following is a list of 16 issues you should consider for your service call ticket:

1) The name, address and pertinent phone numbers of the client;

2) The address of the location needing service if different from the caller’s address;

3) The type of building needing service;

4) The relationship of the caller to the property (owner, tenant, etc.);

5) The date and time you received the call;

6) The name of your call taker;

7) How the caller learned of your company and where they found your phone number

8) The service for which the caller has contacted your company; and

9) The time of day and date the caller first realized the need for service. Then, once your call taker has this information he/she should inform all new clients, and ask existing clients if they know, of your company policies, such as:

10) Your regular business hours;

11) Your policies after regular business hours; and

12) Your pricing method should be Contract Pricing, which gives the consumer a description of and price for the task before they authorize the service to be performed so the consumer can make their own make wise cost effective decisions. However, you should never quote prices without seeing the circumstances surrounding the request. (NOTE: If you use the Time & Material Pricing method that gives the consumer a surprise bill after the job is done, you will be giving yourself bundles of aggravation explaining the final bill. That aggravation usually comes when the consumer questions the time you took to do the job, or they find another contractor after the job was done who told them that they could have done the job faster, at a lower rate per hour and at lower material costs.)

13) Your payment policy explaining when payment is to be made and the methods of payment you accept such as cash; credit cards; debit cards; charge accounts if you have them; checks if you accept them, etc.;

14) Minimum service call charges to cover the cost of sending a qualified person to address the consumer’s request if no work is performed at the service call visit;

15) Any conditions you may deem to be necessary (such as: seeing the circumstances of each situation before quoting prices etc.); and

16) The day, date and time of the appointment.

This protocol can be kept short and precise while showing the consumer that they are dealing with an intelligent, professional, thorough and honest business enterprise they can trust.

Properly formatted invoice

Your technicians also must be trained in your company policies so that once they arrive at the consumer’s location and see the conditions surrounding the requested service, they can begin the process of entering your firm into a contract with the consumer to fulfill the consumer’s request; recover the costs you incur; and earn for your company the reward it deserves for the value your company delivers.

Having a properly formatted price guide will help your technicians choose the right price for the pertinent task. But, having the right price is not enough. You should also have a properly designed invoice/work order/contract form which becomes the document that proves that there was a meeting of the minds between your company and the consumer.

Your invoice/work order/contract should include:

1) Your company information (name, address, phone, license numbers etc.);

2) The consumer’s information (name, address, phone, job location if a different address etc);

3) The prices, terms & conditions of the contract;

4) The signature of the consumer approving and authorizing the up-front Contract Prices, Terms & Conditions of the contract before commencement of the task;

5) The signature of the consumer showing their satisfaction with your company’s fulfillment of the contract;

6) A summation of the charges; and

7) The status of payment.

By fulfilling your obligations under the contract, utilizing a Contract Pricing method, delivering excellence in performance and standing behind your workmanship, consumers will have no legitimate reason to complain about their experience with your company. As a matter of fact, they would have probably enjoyed your professional, thorough and honest approach to business. If a consumer should find another contractor who would have done the job for less after you performed the service, you will have written documentation proving that there was a meeting of the minds between your company and the consumer before the consumer authorized you to do job. And, you’ll have evidence that you did it to their satisfaction.

If you need my assistance with forms, price guides, business game plans or want to speak with me regarding this matter or any other contracting business issues, give me a call at 845-639-5050. I look forward to helping you. I’m as close as your phone. I wish you good health and a prosperous new year.;

Richard P. DiToma is a contracting business consultant and active PHC contractor with over
40 years of experience in the PHC industry.