Arrived at a job to find another company had been there yesterday and made a complete mess of things. Now I have to fix their mistakes before I can even start my own work.

Field Service Insights & Best Practices
1

Dealing with this kind of situation is frustrating. Came in today ready to work, only to discover the last crew left everything in disarray.

It feels unfair that I have to fix their mistakes before I can even start on my own tasks. The client thinks I should just handle it, but it’s definitely eating into my time and budget.

2

Stop work immediately and document everything. Take pictures of the mess and send them to your client right away. Tell them you need written approval before starting cleanup.

Don’t just roll with it hoping to get paid later. I made that mistake once and ate $400 in labor. Now cleanup’s always a separate line item on my invoices. No exceptions.

This video covers exactly how to handle these situations without losing money:

They hired you for specific work, not to be their janitor. Make that clear upfront.

3

This is exactly why I charge a site assessment fee whenever I’m following another company.

Here’s what I do:

  • Visit first to see what mess I’m walking into
  • Quote cleanup separately from my actual work
  • Make it clear these are two different jobs

Clients hate surprise costs once you’ve started. But they get it when you’re upfront.

I learned this after wasting three unpaid hours organizing someone else’s disaster. Never again. Cleanup is real work and deserves real pay.

Some clients actually go back to the original company when they see what fixes cost. Win-win.

4

Can’t believe how often that happens to us.

5

Been there way too many times. Last month I walked into a client’s office - cables everywhere, half-finished wall mounts just hanging there. Previous contractor bailed mid-job.

Here’s what works: Take photos of everything before you touch it. Send them to the client immediately with a heads up about extra time needed. Most clients have no clue about the mess until you show them.

I give two options - pay me to clean it up, or call the other company back to finish their work first. They usually just want me to handle it and eat the extra cost.

Now I ask about previous work upfront when quoting. Saves massive headaches.

6

I just add cleanup time to my original quote now. Saves everyone the headache later.

7

I always include a cleanup clause in my contracts now. Learned that lesson the hard way.

When another company worked there, I tell clients upfront there might be extra prep needed. This way, when I find a mess, they’re not surprised by the extra cost.

No more arguments about cleaning up someone else’s work for free.