You're Only as Good as Your Word!

You are only as good as your word. Its an old saying but it still holds true. There are others off course -

You are only as good as your word; and

A man's word is his bond.

Why has this topic come up? Well - I recently had some work done on my house ... nothing major, but as I'd just purchased a property any extra money going out was sorely missed, so I was not too keen on it.

However, my wife persuaded me that it was necessary and that paying a professional would ensure a better quality of work than I could produce ... unfortunately this is sad but true - I am sometimes very similar to the Great Goofs that are printed in Family Handyman.

So, with this being said ... I ... reluctantly met with the painter to get a quote. First impressions being what they were I was not that impressed to tell the truth. However he had come highly recommended so I let him in. He did his visual inspection and gave us a quote of £500 (£100/day) to remove the wallpaper, paint the doors and walls in the Lounge and Conservatory.

Quite a bit of money I thought as I know professionals who do not make that much money - I know I do not! In addition to this, I would be supplying all the materials. However I was persuaded to go with him regardless of my misgivings and he started the following Monday.

Now I know, nothing I've said is that positive yet ... and you've all heard the same horror stories that I have about home renovations and builders ... however it actually does get better ... keep on reading - you'll see!

OK I've already mentioned his initial quote was for 5 days work ... it actually took him 3 days to get the wallpaper off the wall, another week to paint all the doors - they are the type with the little panes of glass, and a couple of days more to apply the undercoat and topcoat. All told he was at work for almost 3 weeks (including weekends) ... I was expecting some sort of an increase from him ... however ... and here's the good part ... there was none!!! He had committed to doing the job for £500 and that is all he would take for the work.

Now it could be that he was just doing this job at a reduced price knowing that we'd come back to him ... that's probably just the cynic in me ... but I know that I will be using him again. He did an excellent job at the price he committed to and I would trust him in the future to do the same.

I guess this is the perfect example of good customer service and a positive outcome.