To have called out my gardener

[Whenindoubthugitout]

I have had a gardener this year. I have been really pleased and happy with the work he has done.

I asked him to reseed my lawn. Which he agreed to do.
The price he quoted was for 2.5 days work.

he reseeded it within a day, and I asked if the price would be reduced to reflect that it hasn’t taken him as long.

he said that - whilst it was reduced slightly - he would come out and water it daily for me whilst we were away, and that this was reflected in the pricing - which was fine.

we have been away all week, and he sent me a text this morning telling me I was due him the full amount.

however - I have a ring doorbell - and he hasn’t been out all week. (Tbf - it’s rained every day)

I called him out, and said I was unhappy to be paying for a job he hasn’t carried out.

he has now backtracked and said - oh yeah - but I plan to do three more trips (cynically I don’t believe him) and that he just didn’t want to bother me on holiday.

Aibu -to think he is trying it on -and the extra 3 trips are now because I called him out. And if he had initially intended to do these - he would have said so upfront……

I feel really sad. And let down
and slightly stupid for trusting someone to do something whilst I wasn’t there.

Thank you
I am trying to understand the other point of view.

I am also feeling pretty foolish.

But its been raining?

YABU. He quoted a job, you accepted the quote for an OUTPUT - not time spent. The output is your lawn is seeded. If you didnt like the quote - dont accept it. Dont 180 after the event and refuse to pay a quote you accepted.

I also consult. Sometimes it is time and materials, sometimes it is fixed price.

There seems to be some confusion between you and him as to which this was.

I’d just clarify with him:

“Look Jim, I’m a bit confused by this one. I’ve been happy with all the other work you have done, but I’ve paid you by the hour. I know you expected this job to take 16 hours, but it was done in 8. Why are you charging me double? Did you mean to charge “for the job” on this one? If so, could you be more clear in future because I really prefer to just pay by the hour.”

I didn’t accept a quote for the job.

he told me how many hours he thought it would take him.
it didn’t take him those hours.

I’m going to pay.
and find a new gardener.

I’d tell him you’ve been pleased with his work so far, but you’ve been unhappy with this job, given the actual work involved. That perhaps in error he overestimated.

I think you should pay him the agreed amount. I also think £500 and £250 is an insane amount of money to pay for reseeding grass, it’s so easy to do yourself.

It depends how much you need a gardener. You have said that he is normally great. I assume that he didn't come and water the lawn because it has rained every day. Where I live, it's really hard to find good gardeners that understand gardens, rather than someone that will only cut the lawn.

Except you’re not actually trying to understand any other point of view, everyone who tries to help you understand is simply replied to with you re-stating your opinion.

Your posts are contradictory.

Did he say 'It'll be £600/£500' or did he say 'It'll take 2.5 days / 2 days'?

I would also assume the total would include an amount for general aftercare which could include watering (when needed!) but also filling in patches etc. which it still might need.

Oh dear - that's a mess. I think you are right to think you are being overcharged and I think relationship between you and gardener is probably gone anyway. You feel like a mug and he's going to feel caught out. He will justify it to himself and blame you for making him feel bad.

This is exactly what he said

“I’ve booked in for the 26th, possibly need 2 days at it, one of the days with a hand so expecting Labour & waste removal of moss/thatch to be £600”

he came alone - he did the main job in a day.

It’s a total mess
I feel really sad

i have taken on board that I am partially responsible for the miscommunication.
I have paid him in full

I'd be paying our gardener in that situation - he had the time booked in for watering. That it rained and wasn't needed didn't change the fact he'd allocated that time to me and couldn't book other jobs in for it.

But it's just luck of the draw that it rained every day. He would have still needed to have had that time blocked every day to have come and watered it if it didn't rain / didn't rain enough.

He mislead you completely by telling you it was a 2.5 day job.
It clearly wasn't.
I would pay him for the one day it took and tell him that he has broken your trust by misleading you.
How big is the lawn?
2.5 days to seed it is a very long time.

I certainly wouldn't have.
I also would tell people be wary.
He exaggerated the length of the job and charged you for longer.
Thats fraud.

Yes!

That to me reads as a quote for the job. Glad you paid him, as that was the correct thing to do.

Exactly this.

You are not engaging in a Zero Hours contract here. He would have had to pre-allocate time in his schedule to water your lawn if it had not rained - time which may have been far longer if the season had hit a really dry patch for your grass to survive & thrive.

It just happened to rain, but you had pre-booked his time regardless.

'Everyone has to eat' as the saying goes - the guy has to make a living whether it rains or not.

As someone who has had to reseed their lawn themselves, without the help of a gardener, I think you are being massively unreasonable.

If I got that quote from someone I normally paid by the hour, I would assume that that estimate of £600 would be adjusted once he knew the actual labour costs.
If it has said “cost for the work will be £600. I’ll come on the 26th, will take a day or two” I wouldn’t assume that.

I'm not sure I would have paid him that full amount, because his estimates for the time it would take were totally out, even including the thatch removal beforehand. When you pointed out his estimate was way over and it wasn't a two day job, he assured you he would do more with the job. Then he didn't. He should have turned up to inspect for any damage that needs sorting and perhaps pick a few weeds while he was there, because he quoted you for a two day job. You don't just not water because it's raining either.

Since you've paid him the full amount now, I'd let him go because the trust is gone. You'll be wondering how many other jobs he might have turned up for but skimped on, because he's shown he doesn't have basic honesty.

I wouldn't rip my clients off like this. If I say I'll do something, I'll do it. If I can't, I'll adjust the charge appropriately. I hope you find another gardener soon @Whenindoubthugitout.

@ARichtGoodDram Just to be clear, I am speaking to the Op. I agree with you.

Did you ask if he’d visited and he lied and said yes? That might sway things for me. I would come to an agreement on final price, buy it as full and final settlement then look for someone else.

You sound so tight!
Watching his coming and going, wanting to leave him short because he got the job done quicker, eugh pretty gross, id be advising him to dump you asap

10m x 10m is quite big and if he did it properly digging over, removing weeds, raking to a fine tilth, seeding and as other's have said watering as required (it rained a lot so not as much needed perhaps) and will re-seed any patches the birds got, it doesn't seem too bad a price. He may have worked like the clappers to get the main part done in a day.