When a Customer Asks for a Change Mid-Job

The job is taken, started, half done. The phone rings and the customer asks for something that sounds small to be different. The "of course" given at that moment can turn into a different job altogether once the work is back on the bench in the evening.

A request arriving while the work is under way is as ordinary as the work itself; the difficulty is not that it arrives but that it is taken on before anyone sees what it brings. This article looks at the steps of handling a change asked for after the job has started.

Where a Change Request Comes Up

A change is usually asked for not before the work starts but while it is under way. The more a customer sees of the job, the more comes to mind; that is also a sign the work is moving.

The table below sets out the kinds of request, the stage they arrive at and what they can touch.

Understanding the Request in Full

Before starting on the request, asking exactly what is meant to change can make the job easier. A request that arrives in one short sentence often turns into two separate requests once it is asked about.

Asking back what is to change, where and how far can bring a misreading to light before the work is redone. How information can be taken at the start of a job is something we covered in our article on mistakes when taking customer orders; here the subject is a request that arrives after the job has begun.

Seeing What Stage the Job Is At

The same request can be small at the start of a job and a far bigger one in the middle. That is why the place to look before answering is not the request but where the job stands.

Seeing which step is finished, which material has been cut or which piece has been fitted can make the cost of the request clear. Reading from a note where a job that was set aside had stopped is something we covered in our article on what gets missed when a job stalls midway.

Talking About the Delivery Day Again

If the change stretches the time the job takes, the delivery day can be taken up in the same talk. When the day slides later, the reason for the slide goes with it.

Saying which part of the job will be redone while giving the new day can make the change of day easier to follow. Settling the delivery day and what will be explained beforehand is something we covered in our article on preparing to hand over a job to the customer.

Writing the Change Down

A request that stays spoken can be recalled in two different ways on the two sides once the job is over. A request written down keeps the new shape of the job in one place.

Three things stand out in that note.

1. What changed

Writing the old shape and the new shape side by side can show later on at which point the job took a different turn.

2. Who asked and when

Writing who passed the request on and on which day can make it easier to go back to the start of the talk when a question comes up.

3. Who is to be told

If someone else is doing the work, the change has to reach them too. Ways of keeping a relationship going through a single record are covered in our article on winning new customers or working with the ones you have.

Not Every Request Has to Be Done at Once

A request arriving today does not mean it has to be done today. Some changes can be made without waiting for the next step; others can wait for the step that suits them.

Taking the request and saying when it will be dealt with can keep the job from being broken up and the request from being forgotten. How incoming work can change the order is something we covered in our article on when urgent work crowds out important work.

Seeing the Changes Afterwards

One change on its own looks small; several in the same job carry it away from its first shape. A small note can make that drift visible while the work is still going.

Looking at these fields as the job ends can show together what changed along the way. Seeing which requests come often in similar jobs can also set what is talked about at the start of the next one.

Summary

A change asked for while the work is under way is a sign the job is moving; the trouble comes from taking it on before its effect is seen. Understanding the request in full, looking at the step the job is at, taking up the delivery day again where needed, writing the change down and knowing that not every request has to be handled at once can make this easier. Changes kept on record also show what is worth talking about at the start of the next job.