Don a pair of headphones plugged into your iTunes, and go fix it.
abusive customer has a call back
I had a job where the customer tried to renegotiate after the job was complete.....I refused to budge on price since it was a fair bid. He paid me, but then wrote me a hate letter a few days later
saying I am con man and I ripped him off.....the letter was full of conspiracy theories and was just odd.....I wrote him back and ignored his rants....I only answered to his normal problems/issues
well 6 months later and he's having some issues with my work....its very possible that its a legal call back for me.....I have him checking some things over to verify its related to my work..
I can fix whatever it is in 1-2 hours.....and for a normal customer id run over and do it
I have concerns hes going to rant and trash talk me while I work.
my wife was actually scared from his hate letter....it was just off the wall In a few ways...it was not a normal customer complaint letter...it was a few steps into the weird/insane
I am considering sending the customer a full refund and let him hire someone else to fix it.....my wife says I should blow him off and ignore him for the way he got(and she's usually the calm one over these issues)
what would you do?
saying I am con man and I ripped him off.....the letter was full of conspiracy theories and was just odd.....I wrote him back and ignored his rants....I only answered to his normal problems/issues
well 6 months later and he's having some issues with my work....its very possible that its a legal call back for me.....I have him checking some things over to verify its related to my work..
I can fix whatever it is in 1-2 hours.....and for a normal customer id run over and do it
I have concerns hes going to rant and trash talk me while I work.
my wife was actually scared from his hate letter....it was just off the wall In a few ways...it was not a normal customer complaint letter...it was a few steps into the weird/insane
I am considering sending the customer a full refund and let him hire someone else to fix it.....my wife says I should blow him off and ignore him for the way he got(and she's usually the calm one over these issues)
what would you do?
1 - 20 of 102 Posts
Can you give any details re: the callback? May make a difference.
he had a rotten fitting in his drain pipe right where it leaves the house
so I had to dig up the sewer outside the house and run a new piece of pvc into the house....
there is a rubber boot where the new pvc attaches to the old cast iron..
he is getting sewage into his sump pump....so something in his septic is having an issue....its possible his septic collapsed further down the line and it has nothing to do with me....ive done this repair many times w/o an issue....
whats odd about it is how it sounds like a major problem...not a drip...sounds like almost everything that's going out of the house is leaking
I will not go until he opens up the cleanout and looks down it himself...
I really don't want to go in his house....I have a concealed carry license and can carry my .40 with me I guess...
why put yourself into a situation where neither of you want me there...why not just give him his $650 back and let him hire someone else
why get into a shouting match or have to sit there while someone swears at you
this is not a normal customer....í get 1 bad customer every year or 2...this is my bad one from 2013
so I had to dig up the sewer outside the house and run a new piece of pvc into the house....
there is a rubber boot where the new pvc attaches to the old cast iron..
he is getting sewage into his sump pump....so something in his septic is having an issue....its possible his septic collapsed further down the line and it has nothing to do with me....ive done this repair many times w/o an issue....
whats odd about it is how it sounds like a major problem...not a drip...sounds like almost everything that's going out of the house is leaking
I will not go until he opens up the cleanout and looks down it himself...
I really don't want to go in his house....I have a concealed carry license and can carry my .40 with me I guess...
why put yourself into a situation where neither of you want me there...why not just give him his $650 back and let him hire someone else
why get into a shouting match or have to sit there while someone swears at you
this is not a normal customer....í get 1 bad customer every year or 2...this is my bad one from 2013
Tell him to call Mikes plumbing and they will end up best friends and go golfing together.
Other than that I would go check it out.
Other than that I would go check it out.
I'd love to see the letter.
Bring a witness or two and go fix it. Skip the concealed carry.
Found the letter
it ends with
some day when you meet your maker, you will have to justify, how you made your money
talks about how im laughing at him
talks about how the business that referred him to me is laughing at him
talks about how my proposal document is so slickly written that it keeps him from taking legal action (its a standard form taken from a website)
he says I betrayed and cheated him
and it was $875.....which is enough where im now considering going to the house...I can give up $650 to avoid the issue, but now that its close to $1,000 ill most likely go
I may bring a helper with me.....with 2 people there he wont try to intimidate me
my only issue is if I find the issue isn't my fault he most likely wont pay me
it ends with
some day when you meet your maker, you will have to justify, how you made your money
talks about how im laughing at him
talks about how the business that referred him to me is laughing at him
talks about how my proposal document is so slickly written that it keeps him from taking legal action (its a standard form taken from a website)
he says I betrayed and cheated him
and it was $875.....which is enough where im now considering going to the house...I can give up $650 to avoid the issue, but now that its close to $1,000 ill most likely go
I may bring a helper with me.....with 2 people there he wont try to intimidate me
my only issue is if I find the issue isn't my fault he most likely wont pay me
Wear a GoPro. :whistling
I would send a copy of his letter back to him ,
Advise him you would love to help but your schedule is full , and when you have an opening you will try to fit him in,,,,,and if he needs to find someone else you understand.
Keep it professional.
Don't worry about him spreading bs around , people like that typically have friends that are the same way.
I've learned that no matter what you do you will not change his opinion of you.
You may think you can change his opinion of you but you won't.
If you do go back and you find out its not your issue I would explain to him it's not your call back and walk...
Don't get into a crap throwing contest and don't repair it for no charge..
Advise him you would love to help but your schedule is full , and when you have an opening you will try to fit him in,,,,,and if he needs to find someone else you understand.
Keep it professional.
Don't worry about him spreading bs around , people like that typically have friends that are the same way.
I've learned that no matter what you do you will not change his opinion of you.
You may think you can change his opinion of you but you won't.
If you do go back and you find out its not your issue I would explain to him it's not your call back and walk...
Don't get into a crap throwing contest and don't repair it for no charge..
If you don't want to go back, I probably wouldn't either, not on the fact I wouldn't want to fix it but on the fact the world is full of crazy people, tell him to get 3 quotes to have the problem fixed from other companies, send them to you, then tell him you will refund him the cost of the repair.
Nice thinking !,SectorSecurity said:If you don't want to go back, I probably wouldn't either, not on the fact I wouldn't want to fix it but on the fact the world is full of crazy people, tell him to get 3 quotes to have the problem fixed from other companies, send them to you, then tell him you will refund him the cost of the repair.
but the quotes must be specific on the repair not generic ..
If you give him the money back then you're guilty and some health and safety type lawsuit will find you.
Don't be anxious
Don't give the money back unless you absolutely have to because at this point giving the money back is not going to change how the customer feels about you. If you send the money back the customer will only think he was entitled to get the money back, will show no gratitude, and will still badmouth you.
The only time I will send a customer back their money is when I know my time is worth more than the amount I am paying. Before sending back $850 you should consider that perhaps spending two hours to resolve the issue earns you $425 per hour since the materials are already paid, etc.
The only time I send a customer back their money is when my company did something wrong and/or I know I will lose money and time writing letters, paying an attorney, or having to spend the time to go to court.
I never send customers emails when negotiating and never send letters unless I absolutely have to. The best way to resolve an issue is to make an appointment with the customer, or go directly to his house with no appointment. When talking face-to-face you can usually get the customer to understand.
The first thing you always want to do is listen to the customer very carefully and don't interrupt until he is 100% finished. Then, you need to take control and explain one issue at a time and let the customer speak between each issue. Sometimes, you have to politely ask the customer to let you finish your explanation with no interruption. This is why you need to be very quiet when the customer is blasting you.
Often, we do the 'good cop bad cop' scene. You send someone to the customer's home who is a good negotiator. The negotiator tells the customer that he is there to straighten everything out and he tells the customer he will to everything possible to make the customer happy. The customer bad mouths you and chums up to your negotiator. Then, when the negotiator tells the customer it will be $*** more money to correct the problem and the customer feels like a fool if he doesn't follow his new buddy's advice.'
If you earned the money then keep it. It raises the hair on the back of my neck when I see businesses giving customers back their money just because the customer has a loud mouth.
Don't give the money back unless you absolutely have to because at this point giving the money back is not going to change how the customer feels about you. If you send the money back the customer will only think he was entitled to get the money back, will show no gratitude, and will still badmouth you.
The only time I will send a customer back their money is when I know my time is worth more than the amount I am paying. Before sending back $850 you should consider that perhaps spending two hours to resolve the issue earns you $425 per hour since the materials are already paid, etc.
The only time I send a customer back their money is when my company did something wrong and/or I know I will lose money and time writing letters, paying an attorney, or having to spend the time to go to court.
I never send customers emails when negotiating and never send letters unless I absolutely have to. The best way to resolve an issue is to make an appointment with the customer, or go directly to his house with no appointment. When talking face-to-face you can usually get the customer to understand.
The first thing you always want to do is listen to the customer very carefully and don't interrupt until he is 100% finished. Then, you need to take control and explain one issue at a time and let the customer speak between each issue. Sometimes, you have to politely ask the customer to let you finish your explanation with no interruption. This is why you need to be very quiet when the customer is blasting you.
Often, we do the 'good cop bad cop' scene. You send someone to the customer's home who is a good negotiator. The negotiator tells the customer that he is there to straighten everything out and he tells the customer he will to everything possible to make the customer happy. The customer bad mouths you and chums up to your negotiator. Then, when the negotiator tells the customer it will be $*** more money to correct the problem and the customer feels like a fool if he doesn't follow his new buddy's advice.'
If you earned the money then keep it. It raises the hair on the back of my neck when I see businesses giving customers back their money just because the customer has a loud mouth.
No offense, but that is horrible advice. You just agreed to refund an unknown amount of money to them for an unknown problem. Stupid.If you don't want to go back, I probably wouldn't either, not on the fact I wouldn't want to fix it but on the fact the world is full of crazy people, tell him to get 3 quotes to have the problem fixed from other companies, send them to you, then tell him you will refund him the cost of the repair.
Go back and at least verify if it is your fault. Then fix it if possible.
Take someone with you. Take pictures.
Leave the gun at home.
Another option may be to contact your local Police or Sheriff's Dept., briefly explain the situation and ask if you can get a civil stand by. A cop can show up just to keep the peace.
Good Luck.
Take someone with you. Take pictures.
Leave the gun at home.
Another option may be to contact your local Police or Sheriff's Dept., briefly explain the situation and ask if you can get a civil stand by. A cop can show up just to keep the peace.
Good Luck.
I agree with griz on this one. Not that you ever want to have to use your gun,
but if you did indeed find yourself in a situation of self defense, it would not look good at all that
you came with a gun because you thought you would be threatened...
but if you did indeed find yourself in a situation of self defense, it would not look good at all that
you came with a gun because you thought you would be threatened...
Especially after advertising your gun on CT!Xtrememtnbiker said:I agree with griz on this one. Not that you ever want to have to use your gun, but if you did indeed find yourself in a situation of self defense, it would not look good at all that you came with a gun because you thought you would be threatened...
I'd go back (with a witness) to verify and document if the problem is your issue or not. Yes, after that letter, I would bring my pistol. A civil standby would not be a bad idea either.
1 - 20 of 102 Posts
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