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.

 

[TopDiyBodger]

Yeah, I don't get it.

I've never tried to negotiate with a tradesman. If I'm not happy with the price, then I'll go elsewhere. If you start haggling money away from a tradesman, then most will try to claw it back by using ****e materials or cutting corners.

Yeah, foreigners love to haggle or not pay after the job has already been done. Blacklist them. They also like to say they'll recommend you to their 12 brothers and sisters who all apparently need work in the near future.

 

[Mottie]

I understand bartering is a big part in some cultures.

Whenever I dealt with a barterer, I’d barter upwards. “How much.” “£100”. "I’ll give you £90”. "£110" "Okay, £100”. "Plus tip".

 

[martygturner]

Another boring attack against anybody foreign camouflaged with all the normal trigger words buried in the text. If you don't like living in a multicultural free market economy then move to country that does things differently....

 

[carmanmemoranda]

I don't have a problem with people bartering over price before I start work. I stick to my price but it's not an issue.

Bartering afterwards is what annoys me. And that's usually typical English people. Often those with a bit of money that think they can get away with it

I've lost some returning business from some like that (I don't want that type of work anyway), when I say, pay the price agreed now, or there's a daily storage charge going on top. I've got your keys, and the keys to the car that's now going to be parked in front of it.

Why make it racial, it's not.

 

[Elsa TLC]

Another boring attack against anybody foreign camouflaged with all the normal trigger words buried in the text. If you don't like living in a multicultural free market economy then move to country that does things differently....

Is it the thread or is it a post that's offended you?