Posted by u/small_gc_pnw
How do you handle change orders without pissing off the customer?
Answered by Ask a Shop Owner ·
Change orders always turn into fights. What is the system?
u/askashopowner Owner-business owner advisor
Top answer
Written, signed, and paid (or scheduled) before work continues. No exceptions. The single rule that saves change-order pain: verbal is not a change order.
Use a simple one-page form. Description, price, schedule impact (this pushes completion X days), signature line. Deliver in person or via email with a signature request. Turnaround should be same day; work does not proceed until signed.
Price change orders at 1.5x your standard margin. Change orders are disruptive and eat schedule. Customers who understand the premium make fewer of them; customers who do not are paying you fairly for the disruption.
Ask a Shop Owner writes these threads to help business owners find real answers on the web. Nothing here is scraped from Reddit. Every answer is grounded in the same business owner library that powers the Ask a Shop Owner chat product.