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I have a customer with a really old piece of equipment. The last 5 visits the technicians have recommended replacement. She refuses to do that. I have done a few free visits but we have reached the point that I have to bill her a service call for all calls we run now. It’s hard to help someone that won’t take the steps to help themselves.
The lady called to comply that we charged her. I explained that we can’t keep coming out for free. I have to cover labor, truck, materials etc. She thought I was being unreasonable. I gave her rock bottom price to refurbish existing, replace or remove it. She wants to do nothing that costs money.,She threatens to give bad reviews. Fine, without working for free, I can’t help her.
Well then the daughter called back. I explained it all to her. Daughter argues that it’s our equipment and I explained her parents bought the equipment 25 years ago. We just installed it but they definitely own it. Throughout the entire conversation she just kept repeating that her mother is 82 years old... finally I said I am not sure what her age has to do with this 25 year old piece of no longer functional. She is a ****ty tone said, “mam, she has a limited income”.
I have a limited income as well. Don’t we all have a limited x amount of money to work with? I know no one that has a endless supply of money growing on a tree they can pluck off whenever.
What is this mentality that just because you made it to 82, that nothing should cost money?
I have a customer with a really old piece of equipment. The last 5 visits the technicians have recommended replacement. She refuses to do that. I have done a few free visits but we have reached the point that I have to bill her a service call for all calls we run now. It’s hard to help someone that won’t take the steps to help themselves.
The lady called to comply that we charged her. I explained that we can’t keep coming out for free. I have to cover labor, truck, materials etc. She thought I was being unreasonable. I gave her rock bottom price to refurbish existing, replace or remove it. She wants to do nothing that costs money.,She threatens to give bad reviews. Fine, without working for free, I can’t help her.
Well then the daughter called back. I explained it all to her. Daughter argues that it’s our equipment and I explained her parents bought the equipment 25 years ago. We just installed it but they definitely own it. Throughout the entire conversation she just kept repeating that her mother is 82 years old... finally I said I am not sure what her age has to do with this 25 year old piece of no longer functional. She is a ****ty tone said, “mam, she has a limited income”.
I have a limited income as well. Don’t we all have a limited x amount of money to work with? I know no one that has a endless supply of money growing on a tree they can pluck off whenever.
What is this mentality that just because you made it to 82, that nothing should cost money?
I understand your frustration and agree with you. Some people think that just because they have some "situation" that might be different from the average consumer, that automatically entitles them to a free handout from others.
we like to dream up stereotypes .... like those words "living on a fixed income " which are supposed to conjure up visions of an old woman counting pennies out trying to buy groceries .
in the mean time those living on a fixed income are those working who don't get raises , at least social security increases with inflation .
so living on a fixed income really means little , you can be wealthy and living on fixed income from bonds ...
here in nyc the term living in a rent stabilized apartment stirs up visions of an old couple in an old hobble struggling to pay rent .
in the mean time stabilization has nothing to do with net worth .. it only has to do with the type of building and how long you lived there .
Last edited by mathjak107; 01-24-2020 at 07:20 AM..
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Reminds me of when I had a business for 16 years, and several times people from different local churches would come in and ask for a discount, because they were "non-profit." My response was that I was not non-profit, I was trying to raise a family on the profits from my sales.
As for the aged, I have noticed that those elderly complaining the most about high prices are those that have the most money. Many of them that truly struggle never complain, they just pay what they have to.
Reminds me of when I had a business for 16 years, and several times people from different local churches would come in and ask for a discount, because they were "non-profit." My response was that I was not non-profit, I was trying to raise a family on the profits from my sales.
As for the aged, I have noticed that those elderly complaining the most about high prices are those that have the most money.
One of the reasons they have more money is that they whine and carry on over every expense, pull on people's heart strings, guilt tripping and shaming. I grew up with a parent like this. Financially he was fine as he got older but you'd never know it. He'd try to convince everyone he was almost destitute. House was a mess. Dressed like a ragbag. His car ran, but there was some problem with the charging system so it stranded everyone regularly. Would he take it to a shop to find out why? No. He'd direct everyone to put it on a battery charger all night. He would either buy cheap crap that broke quickly and complain about it constantly. His house was littered with non functioning small appliances (when I cleaned it out I found no less than 23 broken phones).
For some reason I keep recalling a battle over a garbage disposal. Year after year the thing could handle less and less. The food chopping and shredding we had to do just to squeeze a few more uses out of the disposal grew longer and longer. Would he ever consider replacing it? No. Once while I was visiting I ended up creating a pile of vegetable trimmings most normal people would compost. He never composted anything. He told me to put them down the disposal, expecting it to handle it. The sink drain line clogged up to the point nothing would clear it. When he realized a plumber had to be called, he went ballistic. The plumber removed a mass of fibrous stinking junk and found that the disposal blades were worn down to nothing. It wouldn't have handled soggy cereal. He still refused to replace it and insisted the plumber put everything back as it was before. And called the poor guy to scream about the bill. And complained about the disposal for another few years.
Throughout the entire conversation she just kept repeating that her mother is 82 years old... finally I said I am not sure what her age has to do with this 25 year old piece of no longer functional. She is a ****ty tone said, “mam, she has a limited income”.
I have a limited income as well. Don’t we all have a limited x amount of money to work with? I know no one that has a endless supply of money growing on a tree they can pluck off whenever.
What is this mentality that just because you made it to 82, that nothing should cost money?
Old lady is emotionally attached to the object and wants you to fix it for free. Daughter mentions age because she wants you to feel sorry for an old lady and give her (old lady) a break. People won't see your side that you're running a business, only their own side.
I blame AARP. I'm 66 (almost 67) and they bombard me with e-mails about all the swell discounts I can get just because I'm Old. (I joined only because I wanted their Medicare supplement.) Then they bombard me with more e-mails urging me to call people in public office or sign petitions giving this or that to seniors.
Yes, there ARE many poor seniors, some due to bad luck and some due to bad decisions. I'm not one of them and I never ask for a senior discount. If one is offered I take it but if it's based on the assumption that seniors are poor, it's very wrong in my case. I'd rather it went to someone struggling to raise a young family and pay off student loans.
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