Is your average customer a pirate?
- Thread starter la poste
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Help Support Talk Electrician Forum:
You never know , Lampost , some builders are notorious and many large companies will put you off for 30 days ,60days, 90days.
I never like those domestic customers who, when you have finished the job, come out with " Oh all finished, send us your bill then"
I never like those domestic customers who, when you have finished the job, come out with " Oh all finished, send us your bill then"
Sometimes folk whose 1st language may not be English try the bartering system . I could never grasp which part of " It'll cost you
Have to say all my non-payers, there arnt many, have been white scum, the ones that have been difficult have also been white scum usually well off. Every Asian has paid in full and on time. There arnt so many Asians around here so maybe its just a percentage thing.
Do you laugh at the insurance advert on tv where he goes on about bartering? Its very common in a lot of countries as is fair exchange.
The large companies that hold on for 90 days are making money out of you and most people add onto the estimates for them, cant see the difference there.
I carry a duplicate invoice with me that on the bottom says payment on completion, amongst other things, so when I hand it to them its very difficult to say I'll send you a cheque. If they do I offer them an sae and then I say if its late I charge interest etc.
Some on here will say Oh you cant do that you have to wait etc I can and do and aint had a non payer for years.
The duplicate invoice is one of the best things I have done for domestic and small commercial works really improves cash flow as well.
Do you laugh at the insurance advert on tv where he goes on about bartering? Its very common in a lot of countries as is fair exchange.
The large companies that hold on for 90 days are making money out of you and most people add onto the estimates for them, cant see the difference there.
I carry a duplicate invoice with me that on the bottom says payment on completion, amongst other things, so when I hand it to them its very difficult to say I'll send you a cheque. If they do I offer them an sae and then I say if its late I charge interest etc.
Some on here will say Oh you cant do that you have to wait etc I can and do and aint had a non payer for years.
The duplicate invoice is one of the best things I have done for domestic and small commercial works really improves cash flow as well.
I do a fair bit for Asian customers and it all started from when I rented a flat above a shop ran by two guys,
mostly word of mouth and I now add a little bit on as they usually want an extra socket here or a new light there, so Im covered,
and if they want to barter I say,
"well what about the extra socket you got for free,
you know I dont rip you off, Mr XXXXXX recommended me to you."
works ok for me, but then again, never done anything more than
mostly word of mouth and I now add a little bit on as they usually want an extra socket here or a new light there, so Im covered,
and if they want to barter I say,
"well what about the extra socket you got for free,
you know I dont rip you off, Mr XXXXXX recommended me to you."
works ok for me, but then again, never done anything more than
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I had one not so long back
I was called to a unit, on an industrial estate where i had previously carried out work ( so he must have got my number from someone on there )
All the circuits needed putting back right as it looked as if someone had done a diy installation, and then removed the kit leaving it a right mess.
After the work was complete i turned up at his unit and he wasnt there, and after talking to the tenants of the other units it looked like he used me to sort the electrics so he could hand the unit back to the landlord in good condition.
After more conversations i found out he was a drug dealer, and the kit that got removed was his drug growing kit.... the unit had been raided by police the previous week.
Then i had comments like, hes a nasty piece of work, and his mates are like the mafia.....this fuelled me even more
No one wanted to tell me exactly where he lived although i got a rough idea from the other tenants
So after circling the area for a few nights i saw his car drive past me, so i turned around and followed him right to his house.
I got out of my car and walked towards him, he could tell i was angry ( maybe from the wheelbrace i was swinging )........first thing he did was pick up his young child from the back of the car, what a coward.
He promptly paid me, and i walked away smiling, thinking that maybe he wasnt the nasty piece of work that people had painted the picture to me.........if he was im sure he would have wiped the floor with me that night.....or maybe he wouldnt have
I was called to a unit, on an industrial estate where i had previously carried out work ( so he must have got my number from someone on there )
All the circuits needed putting back right as it looked as if someone had done a diy installation, and then removed the kit leaving it a right mess.
After the work was complete i turned up at his unit and he wasnt there, and after talking to the tenants of the other units it looked like he used me to sort the electrics so he could hand the unit back to the landlord in good condition.
After more conversations i found out he was a drug dealer, and the kit that got removed was his drug growing kit.... the unit had been raided by police the previous week.
Then i had comments like, hes a nasty piece of work, and his mates are like the mafia.....this fuelled me even more
No one wanted to tell me exactly where he lived although i got a rough idea from the other tenants
So after circling the area for a few nights i saw his car drive past me, so i turned around and followed him right to his house.
I got out of my car and walked towards him, he could tell i was angry ( maybe from the wheelbrace i was swinging )........first thing he did was pick up his young child from the back of the car, what a coward.
He promptly paid me, and i walked away smiling, thinking that maybe he wasnt the nasty piece of work that people had painted the picture to me.........if he was im sure he would have wiped the floor with me that night.....or maybe he wouldnt have
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I think you're an idiot and just as bad as he is.
I'm not sorry to be harsh. Do things the proper way or you are just a common criminal. That is no way of going about anything.
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My reaction was built up over time
Countless phone calls.......promising to meet me, then not showing, id been messed around every day for over two weeks, which in itself was costing me money, then he decides to just not answer the phone to me
What was i to do, at that point the only bit of hope was that i knew the car he drove
I didnt have a business address, or home address so i really had no choice to try and find him
I simply just could not go home at night and sit down without thinking of how i could find him... this in itself was eating away at me
He clearly expressed that he had no intention of paying me at all and i wasnt prepared to accept that
So i made the choice to recover the money myself, if i would have gone down the lines of debt recovery it would not have been worth it....they would not have found him
And my method of confrontation was based on the type of character he is......that night it was me or him, and it wasnt going to be me.
Let me ask you a question
If a guy like this was pushing drugs onto your children and their friends, would you have been swinging the wheelbrace ?
Because thats him all over
Im far from the type of person to resort to this, but i suppose everyone has a breaking point
Countless phone calls.......promising to meet me, then not showing, id been messed around every day for over two weeks, which in itself was costing me money, then he decides to just not answer the phone to me
What was i to do, at that point the only bit of hope was that i knew the car he drove
I didnt have a business address, or home address so i really had no choice to try and find him
I simply just could not go home at night and sit down without thinking of how i could find him... this in itself was eating away at me
He clearly expressed that he had no intention of paying me at all and i wasnt prepared to accept that
So i made the choice to recover the money myself, if i would have gone down the lines of debt recovery it would not have been worth it....they would not have found him
And my method of confrontation was based on the type of character he is......that night it was me or him, and it wasnt going to be me.
Let me ask you a question
If a guy like this was pushing drugs onto your children and their friends, would you have been swinging the wheelbrace ?
Because thats him all over
Im far from the type of person to resort to this, but i suppose everyone has a breaking point
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No. Unquestionably no! I would go through the proper channels. Maybe I'm dull and boring but I have to conduct myself as a professional or I could be struck off. I would lose my gun licence if I was caught intimidating someone in that way. It goes against my every moral fibre.
I'm not judging you as a person, I'm judging that action!
patch, I woulda just took the gun and had some barley and salt in the cartridge.
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I think certain people only understand the wheelbrace option. I say good on ya for getting paid mate. Can't afford to be knocked in this climate.
la poste
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My boss got knocked not long ago.
English builder gave him the job, we worked for two weeks and got the first fix sorted then he got a cheque for half the amount, then upon completion with all the lights and switches and socket faces in place, with the wiring and fuseboards beautifully teminated and the whole installation tested, inspected and guaranteed the builder is unobtainable.
My boss is not a very good business man, he never gets a contract signed.
English builder gave him the job, we worked for two weeks and got the first fix sorted then he got a cheque for half the amount, then upon completion with all the lights and switches and socket faces in place, with the wiring and fuseboards beautifully teminated and the whole installation tested, inspected and guaranteed the builder is unobtainable.
My boss is not a very good business man, he never gets a contract signed.
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