One thing abikerboy..
Guys like myself understand that there are those who exist that do need help....and for the most part, they are the ones that will purposely leave it out of conversation, will conceal it to a degree and let the reputation of the service provider provide the discount.
The ill-willed though will enter it into conversation immediately and pound it into your head to make it your focus. I spoke of a woman and her daughter living together that I did a service call for $90 after hours to replace a thermocouple.
She started crying on the phone about her desperate situation, started crying twice while I was there speaking of her personal health situation.
She had just activated a card to pay for my services, but the card got denied when I ran it for $90; She failed to advise me that her and her daughter ate at Cheddar's for $60, "because they've worked hard for it and deserved it" in her head.
So I sit there.....listening to these sob stories the entire time I'm there, only to find out they've trumped the cheese crackers in my stomach against the rich food in their bellies. I sat there until I got paid cash for the call and pitched the idea they was hurting. Total manipulation and it happens very often in my profession.
Here's another recent call that when this woman calls back, I'm ending her ability to use my company.
Two daughters taking care of a mother with allheimerz sp? and I've talked in great detail, showed up for a 40 minute estimate and another 15 minute phone call yesterday. Not paid one dime and I refuse to even do this job now......knowing I could recoup some of the deadbeating time I've invested.
All of the above is my fault, it's because I pulled this call from a church bulletin I recently did $400 worth of work for free, just doing my part for thanking them for the ability to advertise in their church bulletin.
Anyway....I keep hearing this conversation revolving around a laundry tub that has a lead trap arm leaking like a seive and the tee entering the drain stack is in need of replacement.
One of the sons is a doctor, the one daughter lives out of state and apparently took off work for the past 5 months while her family lives on the east coast.
She keeps calling me back, keeps wanting me to do the job incorrectly or install a bypass into a vent line. They keep telling me that money is tight and that they don't have the money budgeted for the expense and they don't want to spend more money than they have to.
So.....they've spent well over an hour of my time trying to get me to either bend/cave in to a cheap fix. I won't do it and I keep standing firm on 3.5 hours labor and $100 in materials to correctly do this job according to code because IF I do it any other way......when the home inspection comes in, they'll red flag a half ass installation and guess who comes back on my own dime.....me.
I truly feel that these people are working this angle so they can get the work for practically nothing.
Once again......using the ill woman upstairs in a bed in the living room as a pawn to ask a licensed service provider to hack a plumbing repair and between the 3 siblings they make enough to pay this measely repair.
But of course, this would be too easy.......they'd rather take the deceptive path which is clearly so evident by their actions.
I'll take responsibility for playing "tag along" by being nice again and trying to accommodate their needs......but it sure looks like I've been sucked for information and knowledge, my free time without any regard to my financial needs to run a business. << This is the draw that adds up yearly that is lost sales, down time.
This wouldn't happen so often if I hardened my attitude to ALL of my customers. But as you see.....the bait was there for me to take, and I f'd up and took it because I cared indirectly for a stranger that had bad intentions for asking of my time.
I bet the old lady with no memory of anything right now doesn't have a bad bone in her body; it's just the ones surrounding her.