Maybe cash isn’t king? Long post sorry.

[SamT1]

So I had a new to me problem yesterday.
I had a lady I’ve never sold wood to contact my wife about 45 days ago. She wanted to come pickup 4 cords of wood. Wife tells her I’m a month out and she says that’s fine. Couple weeks ago her names comes up on the list, she brought a trailer by my place and I put 2 cords on it. It’s full 16’ utility.
Wife tell her it will take while to get the second load since it’s getting cold and I have old lady’s who are calling me out of wood. Lady seems fine with it.
so lady comes for her 2 cords, we both have day jobs and aren’t there so wife tells lady to put money in my fridge in the shop or she can pay when we get the rest done.
I saw envelope in there and didn’t open it for a few days. I needed to pay my friend for some cow feed I “borrowed” $375, he gave me a deal so I figured I’d give him the $400 that’s in my beer fridge. I open envelope and there’s 2 $100 bills in it. I figured it was a down payment, maybe what she had on her at the time. No big deal. I cash another check on the way to pay my friend.
Fast foreward 2 weeks. Lady starts badgering my wife about the rest of her wood order, wife knows she has 2 cords and it’s only been cold a few days. So tells here we are filling orders based on need for another week and I’ll have her done. (I have people I’ve sold to for 20 plus years who need wood)
so lady gets horsey and says she’s coming to get her trailer. My wife tells her no problem, just leave the other $200 in the fridge. All hell breaks loose. Lady accuses my wife of being dishonest, says there was 4 $100 bills in there. Gets plumb ugly, says someone stole it out of there. ( I have no employees and live pretty secluded, shop stays unloaded, but an envelope with $400 under my coors light is far from the only thing a thief would take) Anyways, I told my wife to let it go, I’m not much for an argument, but the lady keeps it up. I think wife blocked her number. Anyways, I’m just surprised, I’ve taken lots of checks from folks I don’t know and dropped wood off without being paid while people aren’t home. Never had a problem. Im just surprised, figure I’ll get blasted on Facebook, not much I can do about it.

 

[Jere39]

I feel you. It's mostly a great world populated by great people, and the circles I travel in are almost all great people. But, there are some genuinely dishonest, disingenuous folks out there. In my world, I'd do probably what you are trying to do. Write it off as a parting gift to one of those folks you will never see again, and weather the FB storm if it comes up.

 

[esshup]

Tell the lady that the wood is in her trailer. When she gets there and the wood isn't there tell here that someone must have stole it.

 

[SamT1]

I feel you. It's mostly a great world populated by great people, and the circles I travel in are almost all great people. But, there are some genuinely dishonest, disingenuous folks out there. In my world, I'd do probably what you are trying to do. Write it off as a parting gift to one of those folks you will never see again, and weather the FB storm if it comes up.

Im gonna guess If she storms me on Facebook she will get a bunch of folks calling her out on it. This is a pretty small town area.
I just can’t believe she got so mad. We didn’t accuse her of anything fraudulent, but she went straight to that. Acted like I’m some sort of nut for not being immediately concerned about not being paid for a job I hadn’t even finished. Wife says she’s raising the price $50. Fuel and supplies are killing me. I have more orders than I can fill. I’d be done by New Years at best if I didn’t get another order from here out.

 

[Del_]

Cash is still king in my book.

Nobody goes in my shop unless I'm with them.

Maybe the cash thief only needed $200. and left the rest.

 

[SamT1]

Cash is still king in my book.

Nobody goes in my shop unless I'm with them.

Maybe the cash thief only needed $200. and left the rest.

envelope was sealed. Besides that I have cameras. Locked doors are a pain for me with farm stuff. Cameras much better all around. Thieves are way more scared of the camera than a locked door. I don’t even have a key to my house. People I bought it from didn’t have one and I’ve never changed the locks.

 

[CentaurG2]

I have sold a lot of firewood over the years. You occasionally get a ding-dong. You learn to know your customers and word travels fast with folks who sell wood. If the lady calls again next year, I bet you are all sold out. I would be.

 

[SamT1]

I have sold a lot of firewood over the years. You occasionally get a ding-dong. You learn to know your customers and word travels fast with folks who sell wood. If the lady calls again next year, I bet you are all sold out. I would be.

That’s for sure. A good customer of mine threw my name out on a garage sale site where people were asking about good firewood in a town 20 miles away where I’ve never sold any. I bet he sold me 40 cords to new customers off one post. She is #2 I had trouble with. First Lady claimed she knew nothing when I showed up with wood. Called my wife back nect day and said she didn’t know what she was thinking. I took her wood again 2 days later and she came and looked at it and said this won’t do. Showed me some sticks 2.5”x16” and said that’s what she burned. I politely told her she’d have to call someone else for that and she was ok with it. Both times I just called next on the list and delivered so it wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t get a good few really nice customers out of that I hope I keep.

 

[CentaurG2]

I have been selling firewood for over 33 years. We sell about 100 full cords a year. Only had 3 complaints in all that time. It was “your cord was short”. Each time, I loaded another full cord onto the truck and dropped it off to the offended customer. Polite conversation about how sorry I was about the shortage and this should fix any problems. They call next year for a cord and funny, I am sold out. Amazingly, all other sellers in the area are sold out too. I have even had one call me back and ask why they were blacklisted. I had no comment.

 

[SamT1]

I have been selling firewood for over 33 years. We sell about 100 full cords a year. Only had 3 complaints in all that time. It was “your cord was short”. Each time, I loaded another full cord onto the truck and dropped it off to the offended customer. Polite conversation about how sorry I was about the shortage and this should fix any problems. They call next year for a cord and funny, I am sold out. Amazingly, all other sellers in the area are sold out too. I have even had one call me back and ask why they were blacklisted. I had no comment.

I get quite a few wood is too green complaints. Usually it’s some old guy who says his stove plugs up if he burns it green. It’s almost always someone who won’t burn the full cord this year and has half sitting from last year. Response is always the same, we sell wood year round….. I try to get about 2/3 dry wood and 1/3 green on every load until march then I swap it until august. Dead trees become more precious every year to me.
it’s hot in Texas and for the most part you can burn august cut green in December.
I can’t stack any wood up because it sells before I cut it.
This year I’ve got a few mad because I’m so far behind. But I’ve worked until my wrists have stress fractures and it’s taking a good few coors lights and ibuprofen to go to sleep. My hands are asleep half the time because of inflammation they say.
If I have to quit axe splitting I’ll have to go way up for the time a hydro adds.

 

[Sandhill Crane]

I bumped mine up $75. in one year. They buy it, or they don't.

 

[SamT1]

I bumped mine up $75. in one year. They buy it, or they don't.

I should have done that I went up 25 and didn’t get much resistance. One old lady told me she would never go over 150. I told her I had 27 orders behind her and she wouldn’t hurt my feelings. I bet she bought 2 faces from someone instead of 2 cords. One old guy said I quoted him 175 after I unloaded. I wasnt going to argue since I very well may have.

 

[SS396driver]

Seems a little too convenient that she was short 2 $ 100 Bill's. I had to opposite happen I sold a real nice low hour wheelhouse tractor with a Kohler twin that I got on a barder deal . I wasnt really looking to sell it but a guy was looking at it on my trailer . I sold it to him he came the next day with $ 900 cash . I did a quick count loaded it up on his trailer and he was off . My wife went to the bank and they ran it through the counter and it came up $ 1200. Seems that some of the new bill's were stuck together. I called him and he was beside himself as he had lost 300. I gave it back to him of course.

Were these bills new that she gave you?

 

[SamT1]

Seems a little too convenient that she was short 2 $ 100 Bill's. I had to opposite happen I sold a real nice low hour wheelhouse tractor with a Kohler twin that I got on a barder deal . I wasnt really looking to sell it but a guy was looking at it on my trailer . I sold it to him he came the next day with $ 900 cash . I did a quick count loaded it up on his trailer and he was off . My wife went to the bank and they ran it through the counter and it came up $ 1200. Seems that some of the new bill's were stuck together. I called him and he was beside himself as he had lost 300. I gave it back to him of course.

Were these bills new that she gave you?

Yea 2 short is odd to me. That’s why I didn’t say anything at first. I just figured she only paid for one. Never assumed she meant to cheat me. If you meant to you’d put 20’s or something easy to miscount.
Yes they were new 100% perfect. I did. Have to pick at em to pull em apart. I picked and picked wondering if there was 4. I’ll have to ask the friend I paid for feed with em if he has opened the envelope I put them in. He would tell me for sure. I know he ate the T bones I stuck in his shop freezer with the cash.
I’d feel real dumb if my buddy calls me and says why did you leave me 575 instead of $375?

 

[unclemoustache]

My wife tells her no problem, just leave the other $200 in the fridge. All hell breaks loose. Lady accuses my wife of being dishonest, says there was 4 $100 bills in there. Gets plumb ugly, says someone stole it out of there.





That right there says everything. The fact that she got mad is a dead giveaway she cheated you.

 

[daddy]

I should have done that I went up 25 and didn’t get much resistance. One old lady told me she would never go over 150. I told her I had 27 orders behind her and she wouldn’t hurt my feelings. I bet she bought 2 faces from someone instead of 2 cords. One old guy said I quoted him 175 after I unloaded. I wasnt going to argue since I very well may have.

are you hand splitting wood that you are selling?

 

[SamT1]

are you hand splitting wood that you are selling?

100%. Hand split with Fiskars X27. I don’t even own a hydro besides an old tractor one that I haven’t used in 20 years. 10 a week is about all I can do though before the body takes a toll. Hoping to get caught up and let some stuff heal and I may be good to go forever.
Mesquite wood isn’t that hard to split though. Especially it you strategically cut around the Y’s in the wood to your advantage.

 

[benz66]

My wife tells her no problem, just leave the other $200 in the fridge. All hell breaks loose. Lady accuses my wife of being dishonest, says there was 4 $100 bills in there. Gets plumb ugly, says someone stole it out of there.





That right there says everything. The fact that she got mad is a dead giveaway she cheated you.

Classic sign of a grifter. First thing they do is cover the crime by being mad at the victim.

 

[calamari]

Classic sign of a grifter. First thing they do is cover the crime by being mad at the victim.

How old is she? If she is approaching what some call the "Golden Years" it's possible she thought she did when she didn't. I've had some wonderful set-tos with "She" about things I thought she'd done or I'd done only to find we hadn't. Being angry like that seems to go along with not wanting to acknowledge her memory is slipping and it might be her fault especially when she wants more wood. Throwing a fit and never coming back fits someone who only put two bills in the envelope better. Wanting more knowing that they'd stiffed you already isn't going to be successful very often and seems to indicate they really think they put 4 bills in the frig.
Not trying to excuse her behavior but it fits a geezers pattern and I should know being a geezer myself.

 

[SamT1]

How old is she? If she is approaching what some call the "Golden Years" it's possible she thought she did when she didn't. I've had some wonderful set-tos with "She" about things I thought she'd done or I'd done only to find we hadn't. Being angry like that seems to go along with not wanting to acknowledge her memory is slipping and it might be her fault especially when she wants more wood. Throwing a fit and never coming back fits someone who only put two bills in the envelope better. Wanting more knowing that they'd stiffed you already isn't going to be successful very often and seems to indicate they really think they put 4 bills in the frig.
Not trying to excuse her behavior but it fits a geezers pattern and I should know being a geezer myself.

She’s old and cranky for sure. I thought maybe that or that she may have had debt issues at one time and is sensitive about that sort of thing. That would make sense for an honest mistake or something slipping your mind triggering anger too.