Cash or culture?

[Elsa TLC]

Two emergency jobs i have turned away this week. This is because both customers tried to negotiate the call out cost and tell me that I should make the repair within the hour.

I understand bartering is a big part in some cultures.

Not so much mine, so I lost money. They hung onto a problem and a worry longer than they needed to.

I find it strange that some people think they know how much I should be charging.

 

[Notch7]

It’s a strange attitude, if they didn’t like the price, surely they should try somebody else.

And how can you possibly know how long a job will take without having seen it?

 

[Elsa TLC]

It’s a strange attitude, if they didn’t like the price, surely they should try somebody else.

And how can you possibly know how long a job will take without having seen it?

If access was good, it seemed an easy one in one out. But it's the easy jobs that trip us up in life.
However, the job will take as long as it takes. It's not for him to tell me.
I'm not there to drag it out.

Saturday/Sunday, emergency/ Semi emergency comes at emergency rates.

His details are now saved in the B section under Blacklisted in my address book.


Unless I mellow, I'll run out of B's eventually.

 

[johnny2007]

Keep them in the black list.
In my days I got to the point that I asked for the call out fee of £50/60 before attending.
The classic was tenants who wouldn't tell the landlord and once the job was done they would give me a telephone number to chase payment.
No thanks.

 

[Murdochcat]

Never start a job, especially a call out “emergency” if the customer doesn’t accept your rates

What is your trade?

 

[Elsa TLC]

Never start a job, especially a call out “emergency” if the customer doesn’t accept your rates

What is your trade?

Plumber.

Then you get the ones that start negotiating after the job has been done, full well knowing the cost beforehand.

 

[Elsa TLC]

Keep them in the black list.
In my days I got to the point that I asked for the call out fee of £50/60 before attending.
The classic was tenants who wouldn't tell the landlord and once the job was done they would give me a telephone number to chase payment.
No thanks.

I've fallen for that in the past. Now I ask. And say they have to pay and claim back from the landlord.

 

[Murdochcat]

Plumber.

Then you get the ones that start negotiating after the job has been done, full well knowing the cost beforehand.

Avoid certain postcodes then

 

[Elsa TLC]

Avoid certain postcodes then

Can't do that. This is my area.

Most of the bartering comes from foreign if not Asian customers. Yet some of my best likable customers are Asian or foreign in general.

There are plenty of other customers that pîss me off in other ways, and are under B for blacklisted.

 

[Odds]

Never start a job, especially a call out “emergency” if the customer doesn’t accept your rates

What is your trade?

Have you forgotten Bod already?
How quickly they fade from memory on t'interweb.