how would you handle this

Paul Pollets

Which simply amplifies the Holohan Golden Rule...

"Dont work for friends, family, church or synagogue...these jobs will never work".....

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Kevin_12

Price?

When you were done, she didn't say like, how much do I owe you? I can't beleive that you had to find her address and issue a statement. Send it thru the mail or sneak it over to the mailbox. You should of be more upfront with her and when you were done and expected something you need to bring it up right then. She was probably totally floored to open up and see a bill. You;ve got to see her side of it.

I agree with most people here that it should of been a free gester if you didn't talk about compinastion when service was rendered.

mp1969

Situation

I was on call this weekend and got called out today to a house where a blind individual lives. I found a simple plugged toilet and snaked it out in about 10 minutes. It was very obvoius that this fella was on hard times so I waived our mandatory double time and will take only 1/2 of my pay.
I felt better about doing this than I would have about charging the overtime rate. In your case you had little time,no travel and an excellant opportunity for good will.
We all face these situations time to time and usually our conscience and values shape our response. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
MP 1969

jackchips_2

I hope that

isn't "Dan" Holihans golden rule.

Could it be "Don't charge" family, friends, etc. I would NEVER tell my kids not to call me. Nor my six brothers and sisters, or 80 year old parents. Of coarse the problem with doing work for Dad is he still wants to crawl under that sink with me and give me great advice.

This thread has definetly taken on a life of it's own. Chuck originally asked what each of us would do if the situation happened to us. I didn't read into the question what we thought of the customer, Chuck or anyone who replied.

Mark Hunt

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

> ...keep the check and never cash it. When she

> tries to balance her checkbook, she will contact

> you. At that time, you need to tell her that

> you're saving it, along with her letter, as a

> reminder never to work for her or a neighbor

> again.

>

> That's what you need to do.

>

> _A

> HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=

> 282&Step=30"_To Learn More About This

> Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in

> "Find A Contractor"_/A_




EXCELLENT JOHN!

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Mark Hunt

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!


EXCELLENT JOHN!

Made my SNOWY nite!

Mark H

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canuckDale

Yep...Read them all!

Still stickin' with Dan!

In fact, I sent him twelve more!

The other folks...hmmmm. 12 here..quickly....12 there..if he's fast enough.

My point is........there is worse caca to worry about this season.

I am proud to be your neighbor.
Nice job Mr. Bush!

VivaVegas

The longer this thread sticks around

the more incredulous it becomes. Frankly, I am amazed at some of the comments that have been posted here. First of all, Chuck's "customers" had no disability (such as blindness) nor are they anywhere close to being some sort of charity case. They called Chuck on his business line, not his personal line. When you call a business, request a service call, you have to know that there is going to be a charge.

Why is it so difficult for so many of you to comprehend that fact? It matters not one whit that he was able to walk to the jobsite. It matters not one whit that it took him only fifteen minutes. If Chuck told you he spent four hours plunging the sink, you guys would be all over him saying he must be the worst plumber in the world and he deserved to not get paid.

The man is a pro. He solved a problem for these two upper middle class morons AFTER HOURS when he should have been home with his family. He gave them the deal of a lifetime at fifty bucks. All I hear is "send back the cheque", "forget about it", "charity this and charity that". Incredible!

There's an old joke about a woman who called a plumber because her toilet just kept running and no matter what she did, she could not get it to stop. When the plumber arrived, he examined the toilet, returned to his truck, came back with a rubber mallet and gave the toilet a good smack. Suddenly, the toilet stopped running. The woman flushed the toilet several times and each and every time the toilet filled properly and shut off. The woman was in awe until she was given the bill. "What, $100.00 to fix my toilet? Why, that's highway robbery for five minutes work."
"All you did was hit it with your hammer".

The plumber camly looked her square in the eye and said, "Lady, the blow from the hammer only cost you five bucks. Knowing where to apply the blow, cost you the other ninety five."


This little time-worn joke applies fully in this instance. Unfortunately, considering the content of some of the posts, there will still be those out there who just won't get it and probably never will.

VV

Paul Cooke

Yo, VV

Did you notice that one of the reasons that this thread is so long is cuz you're so dam windy?

VivaVegas

Joe, nice of you to stop by.

Yep, you're probably dead on there, Joe. It's just that threads like this have a tendency to bring out the best in me. lol I hope you enjoyed the read. I know I did.

VV

Dave DeFord

Just my 2 cents...

I've been in this pickle many times. I'm a CPA that used to have my own practice. I made the decision many years ago that there were two types of work. Work for which I would charge full price and work for which I would not charge at all. The determining factors were the amount of time it would take and whether or not I felt the person I was doing the work for was a close enough friend that I would not be charged if I needed their professional services. Generally this worked out to whether or not I was doing a business or personal tax return. I don't know what the situation is with your neighbor on a personal level but like the one guy said if you're not on their "A" list for parties then the bill was not out of line. If you get invited to their parties and have a close personal relationship with them then I would just forget it and never mention it again. It's not worth losing a friendship over $30. It's a situation everyone who has ever been in business faces - you just need to learn what you can live with and don't beat yourself up over the decision. You certainly did strike a nerve here with lots of folks!

GaryDidier

What I do!

Chuck,
No matter what you do now,its a done deal. I had a similar situation.I ended up returning the check and apoligizing, but lost the individual as a customer. Maybe I'm better off.Chalk it up to lifes experience. Now when a customer calls that is a friend or relative I tell them I have a special discount for them. After a pause and when they ask-I say DOUBLE!!! This gives me a reaction to guage them by.I then inform them of my regular rates.It still bothers me about losing this customer but put most of the blame on myself for not communicating better. Part of business 101 and I'm still learning.
Thanx,
Gary from Granville

GaryDidier

Heat Doctor's wife here, aka Boiler Babe. I was a Dental Assistant for many years presently I am my husband's assistant. I am right there through many wonderful situations...many, in fact most are far from pretty. When someone calls for service they are getting in touch with a professional. After hours on a holiday is personal time which could constitute paying extra for the call. I wonder if the neighbor would want to be paid, and also paid overtime if they had been called in to work at that time. Somehow a clogged kitchen sink seems to be more of a nuisance in my opinion and not an emergency. I consider a major leak or no heat in the cold weather an emergency.
Here is something to consider...getting back to my Dental Assisting days. I remember a patient who complained about the cost of an extraction. He felt that since it didn't take very long he had overpaid. I remember saying that due to the fact that the Dentist had a good x-ray, was skilled, knew which tools to use and how to use them he had been saved alot more stress by the Dentist not taking a long time. If the Dentist had difficulties due to the condition of the tooth he would have been charged the same as long as it didnt need to become a surgical proceedure. In addition, if that had become the case, the Dentist was capable of preforming that proceedure. The patient walked away with a different opinion.

Dan M

reputation

I would let it go because of the rap that comes with it. Regardless of your reputation in the Business no one who works in the public can afford to have some one out against them. Each time this lady goes to "Card Club" or some other gathering you become her favorite subject. She's probaly on Garden wed.com with a thread longer than this one. Her version of the story will change each time its passed on untill the story really is shocking.I hear people sitting on the assembly lines at work talking about this stuff and it gets better each time they tell it .It may indirectly cost a you a bigger job later.

Dan m

Duncan_6

Survey-y-y-y-y-y SAYS???

I got so interested in the people part of this thread that I had to tally the replies to see how we humans add up.

Results are entirely unscientific, and subjectively interpreted by yours truly. I counted the replies I thought were pretty clear cut. Someone else doing the same count would prolly interpret it differently. Some replies were stories of similar situations. Interesting, I think, pretty much a standard bell curve. Here's the count.

16 say keep the twenty and drop it.

9 say talk it over with her.

9 say return the check.

7 won't work for her again.

6 say no charge.

5 say it's a tough call. Maybe need more info.

5 say it's an insult.

3 want to return an insult to her.

3 say donate the check to a charity.

1 wants to bill the full amount for the service.

1 wants to bill her for the remainder.

1 or 2 looked at it philosophically.

Margin of error is about fifty or ninety hundred percent. Some of the replies fell under more than one category, like forget the $30.00 owed, but discuss it with her - which would appear under the first two headings, for example.

Einsiedler

my opinion

Don't cash the cheque, don't give it back. toss it.
Next time advise cost upfront.

for 15 minutes,I'd probably not even have sent her a bill, although I may have asked for a turkey "care Package", since I'm single and can't cook worth a darn..

regards,
EIN

Mad Dog

I hear ya Dan, but you can't let one ingrate blackmail

you, your company or your rep. Lookie loos like her try to screw everyone they meet. She will expose herself to 0thers as such. If someone listens to her at the coffee clatch - you don't want to work for them either. I've had new customers tell me - albeit after they saw the "superior service and unparalleled craftsmanship" that we deliver - so and so knocked your brains out...I can't stand her, so I wanted to see for myself. When you always do the right thing, the right people will notice. Mad Dog

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Jed_2

I Agree with

> Don't cash the cheque, don't give it back. toss

> it. Next time advise cost upfront.

>

> for 15

> minutes,I'd probably not even have sent her a

> bill, although I may have asked for a turkey

> "care Package", since I'm single and can't cook

> worth a darn..

>

> regards, EIN

Jed_2

I Agree with

Einsiedler. Chuck, in my opinion, since you say she called on your business phone, after 30+ years in it, I would think that you should have had your "business hat" on. But, you just said have a happy Thanksgiving.
Since you have been in this business for 30+ years, and have been living somewhere(if not always in your current neighborhood), I would think that your business proticol would have taken over. Even someone with your experience can and does make judgement errors. And, I think this is a case of a little slip. And you must have thought about such possible situations over the years.

From your comments, you are not close to this person or family. She may just have thought she could take advantage of the situation. BUT, you didn't have your hat on. Mis-communication big time. Maybe the neighborhood needs a block party.

Jed

Bill_14

Moral to the story...

Let your conscious be your guide.

Richard D._2

Well said

JohnNY..I like your comment!! I do not like to work for neighbors either.I refer them to another tradesman I can trust..Richard

jim_14

I noticed that she called your business line

am I to assume she doesnt have your "personal" number and had to call the # off of your truck parked in your driveway??

If she doesnt know you well enough to know your home phone # then the bill is appropriate. If this neighbor was a good friend (hold keys while on vacation, BBQ's together, etc) then we wouldnt even have this message, he wouldnt have billed her for unclogging her drain.

Terry St.James_2

Neighbours......................................................

I would take the 20 bucks and buy her a plunger and give it to her for Christmas.