Should I have done a free consultation?

[Wheelie]

I was called by a customer (Bill) last week (who I did one job for at his home in 2007) to come out to a business (where he is a consultant) to "talk to the business owner (Oliver) about upgrading their network" and Bill asked me if I could come that day. I said that I could rearrange my schedule and be there within 2 hours. When I arrived about 2 hours later Bill was gone but Oliver was there and we met for about an hour. We discussed replacing his 2 old USB printers attached to a Windows XP PC (that is dedicated to sharing the printers on the network). We also discussed moving from AT&T 6 Mbps DSL to 50 Mbps Comcast business Internet service (he currently has 10 employees connected to the Internet though his LAN). The 10 employee PC's are currently running XP and he said he wants to migrate to Windows 7. We discussed the ins and outs of all this for about an hour and then we concluded the meeting and I presented him an invoice for one hour of my time at my normal rate to which he sort of chuckled and said "you are billing me for your time?" and I smiled and said "yes I always charge for my time." He wrote me a check and I left. I followed up with Bill the next day to clarify what we had discussed and he thanked me for the visit (I did not mention charging Oliver for one hour).

This morning Bill called me and left me a voice-mail and said he was shocked that I charged Oliver and that he had to reimburse Oliver himself for my fee and that he was "disappointed" that I did this to him.

I have never had this happen before. In other words I always bill for my time unless I have screwed something up.

So did I make a mistake? (In hind sight now I wish I did not charge for this).

What do you guys/gals so in these situations? Freebee or charge?

I am thinking about driving back over with hat in hand and asking forgiveness.

.

 

[4ycr]

I offer a free initial consultation but I don't rearrange my time like you did in this case. If you were going to bill then say so upfront so they know you are on the clock and can budget for it or refuse it. Billing for it after without warning is a bit harsh imo.

 

[pcman2010]

I do free initial 1 hour consultation, and I don't touch or change anything! I also try to leave with a signed agreement or check for future proposed work.

 

[mraikes]

I think it was a mistake. It sounds like you basically charged them for a sales call. Appointments like that are opportunities not jobs.

Even if you categorize it as a consulting appointment (perhaps you actually specced out whatever was needed and left Oliver with actionable info) pricing should have been established before getting into your car.

If nothing else, at least you set the expectation that time=money right from the start!

 

[RedBankPCRepair]

I am new to the repair business, but I think my start-up experience may be helpful. When doing market research I noticed that the majority of local competition offered free consulting/diagnostics. To be competitive, I am going to have to do the same. If the trend in your area calls for a free consult, they may have been expecting that. Should you have done a free consult, in my opinion is the wrong question to ask. Before you went out of your way to rearrange your schedule, should you have clearly stated that there was a fee for you coming out to consult them, should be the question.

 

[Mokester]

Businesses are a little different...I usually do not charge for an "initial consult" since I am hoping to bring them on as clients. But if I'm going in for a system assessment...then that is billable and they know up front.

For me an initial consult doesn't go into detail as to how we would do things, it's more of an hey how ya doin type of thing.

Also, for residential...diagnostic is usually free...once I start TS...that's all billable and we usually request 15 min of billable time to start and then if we need more we call them up and get more.

EDIT: Nice bike...I currently ride a CBR 600RR...but used to ride an Aprilia RSV1000 and a Shadow. Keep her upright!

 

[Mercenary Roadie]

Even lawyers give a free consultation. Contractors do free site walks to see what needs to be done and then provide a free bid package.

Handing someone a bill without ever discussing that they will be charged and how much is the wrong way to do business. Not saying charging for your time is wrong. Just not being upfront about it is.

 

[Markverhyden]

I have no problem doing a free consultation. At my convenience. Drop and run? Always for a fee, I don't care what it is for. But it is a mistake not telling someone up front that there will be a charge and what it is prior to leaving to go onsite.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Depends. If you just talked about General issues with his systems and network then that is just a sales call not work. If you gave him a shopping list: Buy these Dell configured just so then yes that is billable work.

 

[callthatgirl]

I do a free consultation, but it's never an hour and not onsite. I land my jobs in 20 min or so. After 20 min, people know they want what I have or not. Then I have learned to not put in a ton of time on proposals, my target market, (luckily) usually just needs basic info and buy.

I would call the client and make good

 

[bertie40]

If any consult looks like going over half an hour, I tend to point out, in a friendly manner, that we MAY be entering chargeable territory.

It's just a few quid at this stage but I need to point this out.

This tends to focus their minds a bit [emoji2]

(..... If they tend to object, I suggest part payment by carnal services,..... Alsatians, cream etc etc etc....)

I've had a number of these consults drag on for ages, and eventually it becomes clear that they aren't looking for my services, but are just mining my knowledge for use with someone else.

 

[Markverhyden]

If any consult looks like going over half an hour, I tend to point out, in a friendly manner, that we MAY be entering chargeable territory.

It's just a few quid at this stage but I need to point this out.

This tends to focus their minds a bit [emoji2]

(..... If they tend to object, I suggest part payment by carnal services,..... Alsatians, cream etc etc etc....)

I've had a number of these consults drag on for ages, and eventually it becomes clear that they aren't looking for my services, but are just mining my knowledge for use with someone else.

Might this be part of the compensation package.........

 

[Eagle21]

So this 'customer' Bill has given you one job in 7 years! He calls you out the blue and wants you to rearrange your schedule so you can be on-site within 2 hours for a free consultation. He certainly values your time.

"Should I have done a free consultation?" is the wrong question to ask.
Charge or don't charge, it is up to you. Just make sure you discuss it with the customer first and get their agreement.

If someone calls and wants me on-site within 2 hours, I would be inclined to charge for the consultation.

 

[Wheelie]

Thanks for the feedback.

I am going back over tomorrow with check in hand and try to fix this. I don't like having customers mad at me nor do I like making stupid mistakes like this. Oh well ... (I'll have a bottle of the bacon lube with me)

 

[Rocco]

I have one customer, he was my first customer who was not a friend or family member. This was in August last year. I have worked on all 4 of his computers. He has sent me 9 people that I know of, not to mention what he says on Facebook. I go out of my way for this guy. I go out of my way for anybody he sends my way. If he wants an hour of my time, then he can get it. Last time I went over there, I was done in less than 10 minutes. I was not going to charge, but he wouldn't let me not charge him.

I would rearrange my schedule for him. May do it for one of his referrals. I wouldn't for too many other people though.

In the case you mention, it sounds like a long term project, not to be completed that day, so really, there wasn't a rush on it anyway. I wouldn't have charged for the appointment, but I wouldn't have changed my schedule for it either.

If it were me, I would call them back, offer to put the money as a sort of down payment of work to be completed later.

 

[Markverhyden]

As far as the OP's plan of action. Personally I would do the personal visit and just give them a refund check apologizing about not discussing the fee matter prior to going onsite.

A drop and run is not the same as swinging by in a day or so to discuss the situation. I always do the initial consultation for no charge. But the information is limited as I do not want to give away solutions for free. If a customer wants details I will charge but offer an upfront credit for implementation.

 

[lan101]

I wouldn't offer a refund now. Just makes you look weak in my opinion if you do that. He already has an opinion of you now one way or the other. From this point forward I believe the best thing to do is either call or show up in person and say something like this...

I was thinking about our consultation and got the impression that you thought it was free. Maybe I did not clearly present that up front. I would like to offer that hour towards any work that we will do for you.

This way you still keep your money for getting there to them so quickly etc. Also at the same time, giving them the benefit of the doubt.

 

[kwest]

I would offer a hour credit if he decides to do all of the work listed in the consultation.

In the future let them know you charge.

 

[Tech in SC]

Do whatever it takes for you to feel better about the situation and yourself. Otherwise it will eat at you. You likely have made a bad first impression but it takes a lot to return with an apology and refund. Sounds like the project he was speaking with you about would pay nicely if you can get it. Heck, offer to take him to lunch to further talk about the project and use the time to repair the damage and build a lasting relationship.

 

[BrentfromZulu]

Personally, I think initial on-site evaluations should be free. Basically, talk with the guy, ask what is expected, write down notes for what should be done in the future, retainer agreement, etc.

In my opinion, I think you blew it. I said this to my buddy who works at Lowes and he agrees with me on this:

"It's not about this sale, it's about the next 10 sales."


EDIT: I just saw your follow up post. If you refund / give credit, you should be fine.