A bathroom job. Popcorn ceiling removal. Drywall repair. Paint.

A bathroom job. Popcorn ceiling removal. Drywall repair. Paint.

The estimate was detailed and specific. Exact number of primer and top coats. Ceiling only... walls explicitly excluded. Scope clearly documented in the work order.

Then the crew started scraping. And underneath that popcorn ceiling they found mold. Mildew. Conditions that were completely invisible at the time of the estimate and couldn't reasonably have been anticipated by anyone.

So the crew made a decision. They handled it... all of it... without contacting the office. Without informing the customer. Without a change order. Because the job needed to get done and they wanted to take care of it.

30 hours over bid later... the job was finished. And it wasn't profitable.

Mark Black is candid about this in Episode 24 of Success Beyond the Brush. His response to his crew leader was direct... "You gave away our money. And you don't have permission to do that."

Not because the mold wasn't a real problem. Unforeseen conditions happen on every job site. That wasn't the failure.

The failure was the assumption that absorbing the cost silently was the right call. That handling it without a conversation was somehow better for everyone involved. When in reality... the customer never got the chance to make an informed decision. The office never got the chance to protect the margin. And the crew leader... with genuinely good intentions... made a business decision that wasn't his to make.

The work order exists for exactly this reason. It defines the scope. It protects the crew. It protects the customer. And when something falls outside of it... that's not a problem to quietly solve. That's a conversation to have. With the office first... and the customer second... before a single extra brush stroke happens.

Train your crew on this. Reinforce it regularly. And make the work order the non-negotiable foundation of every single job.

🎧 Listen to the full episode on Success Beyond the Brush... now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.

Ready to stop the profit leaks in your business? Book a free strategy call with Scott
-->
#Consulting4Contractors #SuccessBeyondTheBrush #ContractorBusiness #PaintingIndustry #ScopeCreep #ChangeOrders #CrewTraining #WorkOrder #ProfitFirst #ContractorCoaching #BusinessSystems #ClearIsKind #SmallBusinessGrowth #ServiceBusiness #ProfitProtection