Some customers are real dipshits and not worth the hassle of working for.
Then don't work for them.
What has a 77 year old guy taking a swing at someone got to do with payment? I think your mixing your conversations up here.
The OP was:
Just wondering how soon do you expect to be paid after you have completed a job.
I am a self employed roofer, I DO sub contract work for various companies and they generally pay every 2 weeks which is fine. When I work for homeowners the time until they pay varies and I wonder what others feel is reasonable.
I simply joined the conversation by giving my perspective as a customer.
Yes some of them can be bad, just as some tradesmen can be bad, customers can not pay, delay payment or be right arseholes about it.
Some Tradesmen do a good job that deserves immediate payment, some do crap jobs that require them being recalled for corrective action, some charge up front, do a crap job and clear off leaving the customer with problems that they have already paid to be sorted out.
Some customers are Black, white, pink, yellow, brown and some are even tartan coloured - the worlds different - we have different people in it with different opinions on how things are done, what quality is acceptable to them.
Again - I gave an opinion on how "I" deal with it as "a" customer, not every customer, not all those that are bad payers - JUST ME.
Can you not accept that?
Can you not accept that before I pay for something I need to be sure that I will be happy with what I am paying for.
IF that means that I withhold payment until a specific part of the job/contract is completed to a satisfactory standard then so be it - it is my right as a customer to expect to be able to do this.
yes there are going to be times when I have to pay up front, when I pay for a train journey I pay up front and can have a hell of a time. However when I pay for a tradesman to come and do some work on my property I will not pay him until I have been satisfied that what he has done is acceptable.
If that's 5 minutes or 5 weeks later - that's between me and the tradesman and how we have agreed payment. (note - I have never taken 5 weeks - its an example - the last time I used a tradesman he was paid the same day).
Its not unreasonable as a customer to expect to be able to satisfy myself that the works are of acceptable quality, done correctly and as per the agreement is it?
Or would you prefer that I just pay up front for any of carp?