I feel like an asshole even asking this but - we have a customer that we have done odd jobs for for several years. However as the business has expanded and grown, we can’t really afford to do work for this customer - the time vs labor hours is not worth it.
We used to have extra labor hours that we could accommodate her, the nice old lady just wants a strong person to do things like assemble a IKEA desk, hang some picture frames on the wall, replace a doorknob and latch… nothing difficult, just time consuming. but now our available time is getting more limited.
We don’t want to do handyman jobs anymore because they always grow beyond the initial scope. But we’ve done work for her before… how do we start to decline this work now? Tried saying “no, we cant do this” and she was like “you’ve done it before, this is what I want, why won’t you do the work now?” and we deferred saying we are booked for the holidays.
Our guy makes way more money for him and us doing bigger commercial jobs.
How can I let her down gently and make it clear we don’t do this kind of work anymore?
Find someone who can do it for her at a price she can afford.
It’s bad business practice to say no to a long-term and loyal client.
But … just explain that your business has grown beyond that kind of scope, however, you know someone who used to be just like you looking for exactly that kind of work, and then connect them.
This actually works well if it’s even kinda a potential up and coming competitor. Because it bogs them down with unproductive work and hands off a problem you have to them, all the while making you look like a nice guy who is giving them work.
(Just gotta hope they’re not smart enough to realize that though!)