When to turn work away

We asked three trades we list — a bike workshop, a picture framer and a sharpener — the same question: what does a job that goes wrong have in common? The answer came back almost word for word.

It was taken in a week that was already full

Not a difficult job, not a rude customer, not a bad price. A job squeezed into a week with no room in it. The work is done late, done twice, or done in a hurry — and the customer remembers that, not the reason.

The honest waiting list

All three keep some form of waiting list and tell people the real date. Two of them said the waiting list itself sells work: a shop that says "the earliest I can start is the 14th" sounds like a shop with work to do.

Say no early, and say why

A no on the day of the enquiry costs a minute. A no after two weeks of holding the job costs the customer two weeks they could have spent elsewhere, and they will say so to other people.

Refer, if you can

The three businesses send each other work constantly, and none of them is in the same trade. A referral is cheaper than an apology and, in a small town, it comes back.