Shoutout to the city permit process that delayed our big removal job for months

We had a huge elm slated for removal back in spring. The city's permit office took forever to approve, pushing us into fall. How do you guys handle long delays with clients?

3 comments

3 Comments

adams.taylor3mo ago

Giving clients a heads-up about the permit timeline right from the quote is key... I always add a buffer of a few weeks to their estimate. Regular check-ins help too, even if it's just a text saying the file is still with the city. Sent a client a picture of the permit application on the counter last month, just to show we weren't sitting on our hands. It kept them calm while we waited.

angela8904d ago

My buddy Mark did something like that last year. Took a picture of his permit application sitting on the city clerk's desk with the date stamp visible. Sent it to the client every Friday with a "still waiting" text. Took 14 weeks total for a simple deck. @adams.taylor is right about the buffer, Mark added 3 weeks and still barely made it. Client stayed patient the whole time though, just because of those little updates.

brooke_knight3mo ago

That picture of the permit application on the counter is a smart idea. I've thought about setting up a live feed so clients can watch the city ignore it day by day. My last permit took so long, the client joked we should have just built without it. Adding those extra weeks to the estimate is really just admitting we have no idea how slow they can be. But regular check-ins do help, even when the only update is that there is no update.