Measure Twice, Cut Once

Have you ever heard the term, “Measure Twice, Cut Once”?

We interviewed several contractors for the job of completing our backyard landscaping project on our new build.

They all worked with similar materials and, in essence, did the same “job” and provided similar outcomes:

• Rocks / Fill Rock
• Trees/Plants
• Concrete for patio
• Artificial Turf for grass
• Measure and Design
• Submit the design to the HOA
• Had 4-star reviews or better

Why did we pick the winner?

He sold us on a transformation. 

He sold us a promised outcome.

He measured our backyard and asked us a series of questions about what we wanted our backyard to provide (hide our neighbor's hot tub, xero scape as much as we could, have just enough grass for a dog to pee and a patio for a pergola with pavers as walkways around the yard) and right then and there, literally drew us a picture on paper that showcased a backyard of my dreams with trees, plants, a patio to fit my pergola, artificial grass for the puppy sprinkled with cool bushes, boulders, and walkways. 

We provided everything as asked…yard plat for measurements and HOA requirements.  Then he got us the “Official” required professional drawing to scale of that beautiful backyard to submit to the HOA, and a well-written contract and invoice.

We signed on the dotted line for a LOT of money.  But it was worth it for the promised transformation.

HOA approved.

We paid ½ upfront.

On Monday, he showed up, got his team started, and left.  They set up the concrete form and poured the concrete the same day.  Flint sent me a picture of the finished pad.

Um…something was wrong… that concrete patio would butt up to our future fence line, it was supposed to have at least 5 feet for my pavers and trees to block out the sight of my neighbors potentially skinny dipping in their hot tub.  So we reached out and let them know their measurements were off.  Way off.

No response…

On Tuesday, his team kept moving forward, the next day the artificial turf, rocks, and trees/plants were delivered and put into place…but not where they were supposed to go due to that patio.

I texted and emailed

He responded, “We put the bushes to the side due to the big patio you had us put in so nothing fits”.

I called him on Wednesday morning- not my husband, me.  You don’t want me calling. 

On Thursday, he came out the next day to check why I was “complaining”. 

“Huh, ya, that fence line was closer than I expected”.

He said he messed up on the measurements but it was too late to fix so we would not be getting the backyard we were promised and lots had to be taken out… my walkways, my pavers, my boulders, my hiding the neighbor’s hot tub…oh, and, “Even though we put in the driplines for your plants, I forgot to add in that you needed them in the pricing so that will be an extra $1,800” and still expected full payment.

His response?  We are in our busy season, I was trying to get your yard finished quickly and made a mistake. The form I sent to HOA wasn’t to scale but you signed the contract, so this is what you get. 

We are working directly with the business owner to come to an acceptable agreement.

Why am I posting about this? 

It’s about selling the transformation, promised outcomes, being able to actually do the work that delivers on the promised outcome, what you need to do if you can’t, and communication.

At no point that first day when they came to frame out the patio did he remeasure before they got started, have a check-in conversation, or say, “Hey, I mismeasured and this patio we are going to pour is going to be too big to achieve the desired backyard you want, here is what we will need to amend to make this happen.”

Here is where we MUST BE different. 

If you sell a transformation, a vision, or a promised outcome, you must have the knowledge, experience, professionalism, tools, and skills to be able to make that outcome a reality.  If you come up against a roadblock where you cannot deliver on that promised outcome, you must be able to explain why and come up with an acceptable Plan B. 

If you make a mistake, do not charge the client to spend time fixing your mistake. You must be willing to move heaven and earth to fix your mistake.

If you priced out that package to deliver on your promised outcome, do not charge extra for something you forgot to put in to make that outcome happen.  That’s called a lesson learned. You’re the expert, they hired you because they don’t know what they don’t know and you should have put it in.

Check in with the client BEFORE work starts to ensure you are on the same page and set expectations for the outcome you are providing so neither of you wastes time, money, or energy building out something that is NOT the desired outcome.

During the project communicate with the client regularly so they know what is happening next and why. 

Measure twice and cut once.

Yours in success,

Kimi B

The Joyful Contrarian