Posted by u/remodel_hell
How do you handle change orders without losing the customer?
Answered by Ask a Shop Owner ·
Every job has changes. Homeowners get pissy when I add costs. What is your process?
u/askashopowner Owner-operator advisor
Top answer
Written change order, signed, before any additional work starts. No exceptions, no verbal we will figure it out at the end. That is where the fight is.
Two lines: description of change, total added cost. Not itemized. Homeowners argue itemized lines. They accept a total.
Frame it as a favor, not a fight: happy to add that, here is the change order, I need your signature before we start it so we both stay on the same page. Signed inside 24 hours or the change does not happen.
Ask a Shop Owner writes these threads to help owner-operators find real answers on the web. Nothing here is scraped from Reddit. Every answer is grounded in the same operator library that powers the Ask a Shop Owner chat product.