hey guys. Serious question. My mom had a stroke in december. Its bad. She has 70% brain damage. The rest of the family is trying to put her in nursing home. She is on life support. My mom went from a vibrant woman to child in 1 week. We feel she will not make it. Since my business had suffered. However we have got her stable. This has been a strain on me like no other. Sleep deprevation has become an issue, there is no such thing as sleep now. I have done things to keep me occupied since this happened. However she goes into respiratory relapse at least once a week. This is hard and anyone who has went through this will know what i am saying. Here is some more crap. As you guys know i am doing a resto on a 70 trans am for a major speed company. I contracted to be done in six months. Things have came to a halt since this happened. However i have started to work on things kind of steady again. However i am behind, way behind on the trans am. What do i do? i speak with my client weekly but he is Wanting his car on time. However everything is on the contract but the begin date. Only thing to go by is the date the check cleared. But that is not on the contract. I offered to give his money back he does not want it. I even give him my moms hospital room number so he knows i am not trying to cheat him. He understands but still wants his car on time. I cant blame him. Guys i am not a shop that puts things in body shop prison. I get stuff done timely but how can i help this. I need a desperate way to fix this. I am working on my cars as hard as possible. They are getting done! However when the hospital or nursery calls me and say you need to be here i must be there. Please help me! No smart ass remarks please as this is touchy to me and i need some genuine advice. My shop is going full force now but can slow at any time. I have workers that are there to do everything but the trans am, i want my personal touch on it and so does my client. And if thats not enough the doctors cant give me an estimate when she will leave me. I probably should not have put my personal life on here but i cant find advice from anyone else. I cant see a counselor because i dont have time.

I think you should document that you offered the guy his money back (send a registered letter) and then just do the best you can. If he wants to wait until you get done, fine, if not he should come get his car.

Now, if you're saying you have an actual CONTRACT with the guy, maybe you should seek advice from a lawyer.

Sorry to hear about your mom, Mike.

The Trans Am owner needs to show a little compassion.

How much over 6 months do you think you need?

How far into the restore are you?

Randy

put everything aside, call the client, and make it perfectly clear, the car will not be done on time. if he wants to move the car, fine, but just make it clear.

i know how these conversations go. customer: i'd really like the car on time, you: well i really don't see this happening, customer: well keep working and we'll see how things go, tranlation: he still expects car on time.

you don't owe him a room number, and even though you agreed on a date, that date is now unrealistic.

you tell him straight out: i have family obligations, that have taken priority over the job. i'm sorry, but it was unforseen, and i'm not going to get the car done by the agreed date. how would you like to work this out? move the car? agree to a new date?

this should take some load off you. you need to start taking care of yourself. if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of others.

get back to some type of resonable schedule, stress causes mistakes, and if you keep the project going, you'll want to give your customer, your best.

no matter how persistent he gets about finishing the car, alays counter that it won't be done. it might take him 8 or 10 times before it sinks in.

i'm sorry to hear about your mother. i hope things change for the better. good luck.

Get your shop guys to work on the Trans Am. You can direct them to do things 'your way' and check back later to make sure, but it's not a good business decision to have a shop with workers in it who can work on 'anything but' the one car you need to get done on time.

Put your personal pride aside and get some bodies working on that car. If it's for a big client, it should become priority ONE at the shop and get finished on time, if not early. While I appreciate your wanting to do it all yourself, you're simply not in a position to do so right now. But, you should respect your commitment to the customer and do whatever you can to get it done on time. I was going to suggest sub-contracting it to someone who isn't stuck with the heavy personal issues you're going through, but if you've got a shop with workers in it, then tell them to get to work on it!

~Scotch~

Mike:

Family comes first in this situation. If you have a signed contract, you are obligated obviously. With those two said, surely you have someone in the shop that can work on it besides yourself. Is there anyone (family) that can help with your mother? I know this is not the thing you want to do but sounds like the contracting party is adamant the car is finished on time. They may have obligations to others themselves. If I remember right, the car was for a major company/sponsor for a show.

I would agree with sending a certified letter stating you can not get it done due to extenuating circumstances and you will work with them even to the point of returning a mutually agreeable portion of the money.

My prayers go to you and your family as I know it is a hard situation to deal with.

Best of Luck,
Durand

Hi Mike,
The posts before mine pretty much sums up everything. I have to add Family comes First. If the Trans Am owner can't understand this and is unwilling to budge, you should make out a bill for the work that you have done so far and tell him to pick up his car. The world does not revolve around him and he should have some compassion for what you are going through. Of course the perfect solution would be that the Trans Am owner could be more understanding and take some pressure off of you.
No need to apologize for bringing your personal life on the site. We are here to support each other PERIOD. Car related or otherwise, everyone's support is what makes this site so unique and special.
My prayers are with you, your Mom and your family during this difficult time. Please keep us posted.

Everyone that has posted is right on on this! You have been upfront and honest about the situation and that's all anyone can expect!
If he does not want to take his money back and take the car elsewhwere then just keep working on it as you can.

If it comes down to him doing something ugly like taking you to court you will find that most Judges take family matters to be more important than business matters in situations like this. Just as has been said keep record of all contacts. Have witnesses that know what is happening and what is going on.

My wife's cousin had a situation similar and was sued by the car owner. In the end the Judge asked the man if he had no compassion for this man's family?
He had the car back even though it was 6 weeks later than promised. The car was done to his satisfaction, and he had been offered a full refund even though considerable work had already been done.
He had left the car there to be finished therefor the Judge said "you must have then agreed to accept the cat at a later date than promised or you would have undoubtedly accepted the refund and went elsewhere! She ruled in favor of the Shop and then ordered the man to pay the shops legal fees!
We are praying for your Mom and hope things get better for you and your family.:)

I would like to extend my sympathy. I was in a similiar situation with family members and myself. However I did not have a customer to deal with. I will not take up your time reposting what everyone else has said as I agree with them totally. Aside from all the strife, problems at work etc... you have got to take care of yourself as was stated. You will get to the point where you cannot function as you need. Then you will be no good to yourself or others. Your mother, I'm sure, knows you love her but probably would not want to see you getting yourself sick or in trouble over her. But You have to take care of her. My mother had cancer and was in the hospital the last two weeks of her life. The Doc's did not know when she would leave, but told us it could be any time, so we were there nearly 24 hours a day taking shifts for others to take naps, eat and run arends. After a few days of this, my mother was irate for the time we were giving up, and other parts of our life that she thought we were neglecting. Take care of yourself, take care of your mother, and have a good long conversation with your guys and your client.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation with your mom. Let that be the #1 priority. If you do so, in the future you will have no regrets. There will always be another Trans Am but not another mom. Many good suggestions here. I would think you may want to send that certified letter explaining the situation and let the owner of the Trans Am make the decision. Obviously something here has to give. I had my own business for fifteen years and I can speak from experience. The Trans Am owner doesn't give a rats behind about you or your mom, he just wants his car done perfectly and on time. Even if this was the one hundreth car you had done for him and the previous 99 were on time and flawless he would kick you to the curb for screwing him ( IN HIS EYES ) on this car. Its just a car.

Mike, I'm too am very sorry to hear about your situation with your mother.

Not knowing all the circumstances, I think I would have my workers do the TA, maybe letting them know that this job is special and must be done perfect, then just check everything over very well.

The Trans Am owner doesn't give a rats behind about you or your mom, he just wants his car done perfectly and on time. Even if this was the one hundreth car you had done for him and the previous 99 were on time and flawless he would kick you to the curb for screwing him ( IN HIS EYES ) on this car. Its just a car.

We don't have any idea about what the owner of the TA is thinking. :confused:

Sorry to hear about your Mom. Here is some input from personal experience and research and classes I have done. Have the doctors said she has any chance of recovery? Or is the 70% the best she will get? What is the prognosis for here continued quality of life? 90% of all medical expenses in this are spent in the first and last year of a persons life. We now have the ability to keep people "alive" that even 10 years ago would have passed on a birth or at the end of their lives. Most elderly people that are kept on life support is for the benefit of the family that will be left behind. It comes down to the quality of life for Mom and the family left behind.

I went through this 10 years ago with my Mother when she had lung cancer and other respritory issues. She was on life support for months and would require heroic efforts to keep here going. During one of her lucid periods we had the discussion about her quality of life and pronosis for recover. Based on those discussions she signed a living will and Do Not Resusitate form. It gave us the peace of mind that we were following her wishes, not our emotional needs. It turned out that it never had to be used, for unexplained reasons (a miracle in our mind) she recovered. But we kept the DNR in place because quite frankly her current status is not that great.

I understand you and your siblings feelings and desire to keep Mom alive as long as possible. But please have a frank discussion with the doctor and your siblings about the long term prognosis. Also make sure that she has a will, etc. Another practical consideration is the cost of keeping her "alive" (as opposed to quality of life "living") when the end outcome is known. You need to get resolution so you and your siblings can live your lives.

A true contract is viewed by the courts to have reasonable expectations. I would think a court would rule that he is to deliver a car to you as described and the work be paid for under the terms of the agreement. If this customer had the same family crisis as you and he was late 30 days with a payment the court would not be very sympathetic towards you if a rash act was taken. The court on the other hand would not be supportive of you if these delays were caused by lack of diligence on your part.

The best advice has already been given. Send him a certified letter explaining all of his options and include an out. Most of all require his response be in print back to you in 10 days. Should he refuse I would then continue on with the car the best you can.

It is not likely he will sue. Although you are operating under the terms of a contract basic human compassion is given a lot of consideration. He will be hard pressed to look a judge or anyone else in the eyes and explain why he could care less about your family situation, and knowing this wanted you to continue on.

We don't have any idea about what the owner of the TA is thinking. :confused:

Dean I beg to differ with you. In his original post it states " HE UNDERSTANDS BUT STILL WANTS HIS CAR ON TIME" That says it all as far as I'm concerned. He doesn't understand or he would be open to some sort of compromise. Maybe he would be understanding and suggest others in the shop do the majority of the work just this once. The cold hard facts of the business world are that people just don't care what you have to do to get it done they just want it done or else. Just ask anyone in business for themselves.

Dean I beg to differ with you. In his original post it states " HE UNDERSTANDS BUT STILL WANTS HIS CAR ON TIME" That says it all as far as I'm concerned. He doesn't understand or he would be open to some sort of compromise. Maybe he would be understanding and suggest others in the shop do the majority of the work just this once. The cold hard facts of the business world are that people just don't care what you have to do to get it done they just want it done or else. Just ask anyone in business for themselves.
Ya' don't need to YELL :D
Well naturally he wants his car on time, who wouldn't?

But we still don't know all this;

The Trans Am owner doesn't give a rats behind about you or your mom, he just wants his car done perfectly and on time. Even if this was the one hundreth car you had done for him and the previous 99 were on time and flawless he would kick you to the curb for screwing him ( IN HIS EYES ) on this car. Its just a car.

Mike, agree with the above. Sorry to hear about your mom, hang in there.

wow sorry about you mom thats hard on anyone.. on the part abou the trans am well he paid for a job to be done ontime so it should be done ontime no matter what happens in your personal life. but im kinda shocked the person didnt at least give u an extra month to get it done. and do you think he would really know if you had the people at your shop work in it. i look at it this way here where i work/own if the people are good anuff to work for me then there good anuff to work on something for me.

Well, i will need some advice in another post i will put up on stroke patients. My client gets on here quite often and seen this post today. He is compassionate. I approached him earlier and he wanted it for his open house i believe he is opening another store. i asked for an extra month and he granted it. After some thought he give me some more time tonite. Tim is his name and he requests that i keep him secret. I think like sevt_chevelle that he has a reason for this. Heck he even wants me to do more work for him after he has seen some of mu stuff. I am kind of shocked! I mean some companies want their stuff now, they are kind of spoiled. He seems not this way. I did sign a contract that give me reasonable time to do this. However this was unforseen. My mom is sick. I am a mommas boy i admit. As if this is not enough their are people already after her estate. They want to know what they are getting when she passes. I hope my kids dont do this when i pass. After i informed tim that she was sick he did still want the car on time but did give me an extra month. However i think he needed to investigate this more to make sure he was not being scammed, i cant blame him. Please only advice here no bad remarks. Tim showed his true colors this evening on the phone and he is a good dude. Of course only time will tell. As far as what has been done, the car is on the rotisserie. Front subframe is detailed and shrink wrapped ready for later install. I still have to do the undercarriage where it was involved in a collision. Replace driver floor. Both quarters. Fender patches. Complete trunk. Complete interior save for dash. Right firewall piece where collision was also. Detail underside and do a show finish. I figure 4-5 more months with care for my mom. If she dies soon, heaven forbid maybe 3 months. Prayer is the only thing that keeps me sane and awake. I understand that life must go on but its my mom. My dad is dead. The family is not close enough physically to help. And to make matters worse an xray showed what looks to be cancer in her lungs. She is doomed. She is like a small child now. The sadness is undescribable. I lost a child awhile back that was 6 months in her age and she passed, the feeling is very similar. I try to keep my life going as much as possible. I am still taking clients but with the warning that hthe jobs will be slow. My uncle and a few others are going to pick up soon and give me a break. They also understand my business situation that must be attended to. I work alot to keep stuff off my mind. Mom was also a muscle car freak. She loved it when i restored an old car. I had an old barracuda formula notchback 440 car. She drove it everywhere! She hated it when i sold that car. And there are decisions that i cant make because i am not power of attorney either. My uncle has that which i feel there are some very bad decisions that are being made. I can talk all night about this but i will let you guys eyes rest.

wow sorry about you mom thats hard on anyone.. on the part abou the trans am well he paid for a job to be done ontime so it should be done ontime no matter what happens in your personal life. but im kinda shocked the person didnt at least give u an extra month to get it done. and do you think he would really know if you had the people at your shop work in it. i look at it this way here where i work/own if the people are good anuff to work for me then there good anuff to work on something for me.
This is not just my personal life. This in a death in progress man. Not to sound harsh but life stopped for me when my little girl died. I dont care who got mad. Have you been in this situation? My guys are good but not as good as me, period. This is a show car. This thing needs certain attention to detail. My client is picky. This thing is out their with his name on it. I define personal life as fight with spouse, fight with kids, brothers and sisters. Brother wants to come out of closet that sort of thing. This is my mom man. Sound like a mommas boy? Well these are the last days i will ever see her! We are very close. Sometimes i think about the disagreements we had and am very regretful. I do not have a close family at all. i have 6 kids i have to explain that granny is not coming back. Sorry but i am not as strong willed as you sir.

First and foremost, I am sorry to hear about your mother. :( I have been greedy and have only had to loose my great-grandmother early on in my life and it has been smooth sailing since. I send my prayers and thoughts. Hopefully God takes it easy on your family, whatever he decides.


Secondly, I am glad he has allowed you more time. Shows that he is truly a stand-up guy. I know I would be willing to add a little time on the ETA if I knew I would get quality.

Take care.

-Todd

I'm glad to hear Tim has shown some compassion and given you extra Tim.

Hang tough, Man.

I'm glad to hear Tim has shown some compassion and given you extra Tim.

Hang tough, Man.Did you ever get a solid quote for your car randy? When i get straight i would still like to do your car.

As if this is not enough their are people already after her estate. They want to know what they are getting when she passes.

Tell them to f-off. Seriously. We have had a couple of estate battles in my family over the last few years, and all I can say about vultures like that is SCREW THEM, family or not. REAL family wouldn't act like that.

Mike i ment no harm by my statement, yes i am numb to alot of feeling in life nowdays, i have not had my mom taking from me but i have had my twins go up to heaven 2 3 years ago, but i wish the best for you and hope everything works out for the best

Mike wrote:

Did you ever get a solid quote for your car randy? When i get straight i would still like to do your car.


I have only gotten one quote so far, the one I told you about earlier.

There are two more shops down here that I am going to get a quote from.

I still may want to send it to you if neither of those shops don't talk the right talk (or have the right price).

I am thinking about waiting until the summer for the paint job anyways. Once the rainy season hits I won't be driving it much anyways, so I won't miss it so much.


Randy

Sorry to hear about your Mom, it sounds like everyone is now handling the situation the best they can. It's hard to have deadlines and even harder to have life and death family issues come up. I'm sure you will do your very best to get everything handled in time.

Please let us know how your Mom is doing, I'll be thinking of you!

Are you like me Mike?
I spend too much time on the computer to get much of anything else done.
:(