NO MATES’ RATES FOR BODGE JOB

Dear Coleen

My friend who lives across the road did some decorating work for me recently. I wanted to give her some business as she’s just started out and is trying to drum up work, and I get on well with her.

However, she hasn’t done what I asked her to do – she bullied me into having some horrendous wallpaper that I couldn’t afford, which my husband says looks like the bedroom curtains his mum had back in 1975.

Now she’s given me this eye-watering invoice which is like a month’s wages.

I tried to tell her I didn’t like what she was doing at the time, but she wouldn’t listen and I just gave in, plus I was led to believe I was getting “mates’ rates”.

How can I deal with the situation and my anger?

Coleen says

Awks! You sound like me – a soft touch who finds it hard to say no. When she put that first bit of wallpaper up, you should have told her you hated it and changed direction, but now she’ll claim you agreed to it.

But, look, it is hard to speak up when it’s a friend, however, I do think you can give her some feedback. Be honest and say you can’t use her again because it cost too much, and say you wish she’d listened to you a bit more about what you wanted.

If she wants to get her business off the ground, she’ll take it on board. As an interior designer you need your own style, but you have to listen to what the customer wants. She might find the next person she forces bad wallpaper on isn’t so reasonable.

Maybe your feedback will open the door to renegotiating the cost. On the other hand, if you really want things to stay amicable, you might have to swallow it and make a mental note never to make the same mistake again.

You were trying to do a good thing for a friend – hopefully, she’ll reflect on it and come back with a more sensible bill.