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i have a small job comming up in a co op im running 3 cat 5 cables for network cameras for the building the head of the board wants to pay me half up front ant the other half after a couple of days when every things been working for a couple of days and everyone is happy this is a first time customer should i agree to those terms or tell him i need full payment upon completion of the job

If all you have to do is run (3) category 5 cables and terminate, then get all of your money up front. If you have to set-up the cameras and the software then it should still be COD for new customer, but I can understand a little flexibility.

If your responsibility stops with the cabling, meaning someone else comes in to do the set-up work on the cameras, all you should have to do is run the cables and test them. After the cables test good your job is through, and you should get your money at that point.

(3) cat 5 cables isnt gonna run him that much.

If you are able to test and confirm that they all work within the specifications for a CAT5 cable, better yet prove it with a tester, then I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to collect for the work that you did. You were just hired to run the cables, right? I assume that someone else is actually installing and placing the cameras. That being said, if you do your job and prove it, you should be able to expect full payment upon completion.

thanks guys thats exactly what i thought

Here is a update i told the pontential customer that we would test the cables in front of him but he insisted on only paying half up front i told him that we couldnt do it under those terms so he canceled the job which was fine with me he sent me a email later apoligezing saying its just the boards policy since that had a contractor rip out some walls and then tell them it would cost more to finish the job can you belive the nerve of this guy this is a guy how asked for references and called every single one of them and they were all good references any way he says hes handing the job over to the person who would normaly handle it but if i can do it with the boards terms let him know i told him i couldnt but wished him luck finding some one who could

Your better off this way you won't have to fight for your money for a small job like that who needs the headache

It does look like the customer went a bit overboard but sometimes you have to evaluate the situation from different angles. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and take a small risk in order to land a big fish.
The fact that you said “the board” indicates to me that this was at a school district or a hospital. Or some other type of “governmental body” where tax dollars are being spent. At least that seems to be the case around here.

Even if that is not the case I take into consideration the possibility of future business with the customer as well as other businesses, school districts, hospitals, etc… that they deal with. And if it is a school or hospital district it is well worth a small risk!

Maybe the person you were dealing with is “new” at this job and is trying to over compensate for their lack of experience and was using the “We’ve been ripped off before” tactic as a cover. Then again, maybe they did get ripped off.

I guess I’m taking the long way to say, stand back and look at the big picture before you turn down any job.
We have another cliché around here for what I’m saying which is: “Don’t let a dime keep you from making a dollar.”

I agree if it had been a school board or governmental body i would have done it in a flash but it was a co-op board for a residential building once they get those cables ran (camera cables for the lobby) they probally wouldnt need anything else its a apartment building plus i just didnt get a good vibe from this guy when setting up the job i left him about 5 messages and he called me a week later that sugested to me that if they owed me money i might never get a call back plus his exact words were we usually pay half up front and the other half when every things working for a couple of days and ever one is happy well you know the first time any thing goes wrong the first thing the do is blame it on the cable

You handled it the right way then.
Magic word “Co-Op board”… enough said. Co-Op = CheaP LoL

down this way we dont have co-op's we do have condos with condo assoc

I quit quoting condo assoc . in this area their retired business guys with nothing better to do then micro manage

3cat 5 cables

no way would I give refrences for a small job like that . I save my refrences for jobs where real money is involved