Negative Online Reviews: How to respond to them Pete did a good job on the cover for my pontoon but I was very disappointed when the bill was 40% more than the original written quote. His explanation was that it took 19 yards rather than the usual 17 yards of fabric and two extra $25 support poles. Two yards of fabric is a little over 10% so I could justify a 10 to 20% additional charge but not 40%. He didn't call to explain the overage... just handed me the bill and said the $850 was just a quote and he would not negotiate.
Back to the Future Upholstery First of all, thank you for taking the time to post a review. I am glad that you at least think I did a "good' job. We take all our reviews, both good and bad, seriously, as "word of mouth" business is our biggest asset.
Allow me to break this down for you. We are a service industry. We have an approximate cost for custom covers for standard lengths of boats. When a customer calls for an "estimate", that series of charges is what we quote. The original estimate was $900 in material and labor. Again, as stated in the Service proposal that is an "estimate".
You brought your boat over on Memorial Day at 8:00 in the evening, when we asked you to be here by 1:00 as the shop was closed on a Holiday and we had plans.
I told you at that time, that the cover for the bow deck and the ladder deck would be additional. You also asked me to replace the broken snaps as needed on your boat. Due to the configuration of your boat, it was not typical of a standard 22' pontoon with 3 support poles. Your boat needed 5. These things cannot be determined until your boat is physically here. That being said, your labor and material cost came in at $1,161.04. That is a 29% increase - NOT 40% and it is due to the additional customization of your boat.
Estimates are for the cost of Labor and standard materials needed for a custom cover. Incidentals such as sales tax, shipping. waste disposal and additional supplies pertaining to each job are additional charges. Quite frankly, this is the first time I have ever had to "explain" additional charges on a custom cover. The $25 charge for the additional support poles included the poles, the bases, and the vents.
We hope this helps you better understand the charges for your pontoon cover.