Operations
Order the materials before you promise the start date
By Teresa Okonkwo, Senior Editor6 min read
The missing material can cost the crew a full day
Most schedule slips on small and mid-size jobs are not caused by the crew. They happen because one material was not on site when the crew showed up.
You have seen the pattern. The crew is booked. The customer has moved furniture out. Then you find out the special-order item was never ordered because the customer was “still deciding.” The crew loses the day. You spend that day on the phone apologizing instead of working.
The start date you give a customer is only as good as your slowest material. Stock lumber, fasteners, and common supplies are usually same-day or next-day from a supply house. That is not true for every item.
Windows and exterior doors can hold up a job. So can custom or special-order cabinets, countertops that must be templated first, specialty tile, customer-picked light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, appliances, and anything colored or cut to size.
Find those items before you promise the date.
Ask the supplier before you quote the start date
Ask the supplier for the lead time on every slow item. Get the answer in writing by text or email before you quote a start date.
Do not rely on what you were told last season. Lead times change. A supplier’s answer from an earlier job does not tell you what will happen on this order.
Write the answer in the job folder. Include the item, the supplier’s lead time, and the date you asked. If the supplier gives you a delivery window, keep that message too.
The customer does not need a guess from you. The customer needs a date based on what the supplier has told you and what has actually been ordered.
A selection that is not made cannot be ordered
Selections drive delays. A customer who has not picked the tile or the faucet cannot be ordered for.
Put a “selections due by” date in the estimate or contract. Say plainly that the start date moves if selections come late. That sentence gives the customer a clear deadline and gives you a clear record when the deadline passes.
“Still deciding” is not an order.
If the customer is buying some of the materials, the same rule applies. See customer-supplied materials for how to handle that.
The order confirmation is part of the job record
Order first. Then verify what you ordered.
When the order is placed, get an order confirmation. Check that it shows the item, color or finish, size, quantity, and promised delivery window. Keep the confirmation in the job folder.
Do not treat a phone call that says “we have it coming” as the full record. You need the details that let you compare the delivery with the order later.
One wrong finish can create the same delay as a missing item. So can the wrong size or the wrong quantity. The confirmation gives you something specific to check before the crew needs the material.
Open the boxes when the delivery arrives
Check the delivery on the day it arrives, not the day you install it.
Compare the item with the confirmation. Check the model, color or finish, size, quantity, and damage. Open the boxes. Do not assume the right boxes contain the right material.
A cracked tile or a wrong-hand door found on delivery day can still be reordered or claimed. Found on install day, it stops the crew.
This check also gives you time to contact the supplier while the delivery is still fresh. If you wait until installation, the crew is already standing there with no material to use.
Decide where the delivery will sit
Plan the delivery location before the truck arrives. Decide whether the materials go in the garage, a covered area, or inside. Tell the customer ahead of time.
Protect the delivery from rain and theft. Do not leave it where the customer’s car needs to go. Do not place it where the next trade needs to work.
The delivery location is part of the schedule. If the material arrives but cannot be safely staged, the job still has a problem. Give the customer a clear instruction before delivery day so nobody is making that decision at the curb.
Tell the customer the same day an order slips
When an order slips, tell the customer the same day you hear about it. Give the new delivery window. Then say what you can do in the meantime.
You may be able to move other work up, complete prep work, or reorder the crew on another job. Do not wait until the day before the crew is due.
A short, honest call early is better than silence. The customer may still be disappointed, but the customer is not finding out after clearing the room and waiting for a crew that cannot work.
Keep a small buffer between jobs. Do not book the next customer on the exact day the previous job’s last material is due.
Bella can catch the call while you are working
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You can change her answers any time. For example, you can add a note that a delivery is delayed.
Bella does not order materials, track deliveries, check supplier stock, reschedule crews, or give customers new dates on her own. She catches the call and passes it on.
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Put every material on one line
Do not rely on memory. Write the lead time, order date, confirmation, and promised delivery on one line per item in the job folder.
Use this five-point check before you give a start date:
- Ask the supplier for the current lead time in writing.
- Put the selections due by date in the estimate or contract.
- Order the item and save the confirmation.
- Check the delivery against the confirmation when it arrives.
- Leave a small buffer before booking the next customer.
The new habit is simple. Confirm the slow items, order them, and check the delivery before you promise the start date.
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