Is $5.00 too much

[donho]

customer always right

Lets see first of all by being in business we are all rich and have all the time in the world to please the customers who patronize us lets face it we all get this type of guy hopefully not every week but we are all customers too and look at how much better it makes us when we go into an unknow field with avlack of knowledge besides wait till he comes back to buy something smile and then charge him another ten bucks on top and in the end he is still ahead and you can have your chuckle after hes gone. How could we all know we are masters of the chainsaw weedeater etc. if it wasn't for some guy who occ. floods his machine as for me im still dumb I learn all the time quite a bit since I found this site as you guys truely are professionals when it comes to saws etc. Donho self annoyed/employed

 

[sawn_penn]

If I came in with a fault that was really a flood I'd pay $5.

Come to think of it, if you fixed it and didn't tell anyone what an idiot I'd been, I'd make it $20.

 

[GTIspirit]

First of all it was brought in under warranty. Any charge not covered under warranty should have been cleared by the customer first.

I grew up in a variety of family businesses (running at the same time) where the customer was always right and any doubt is given to the customer. ALWAYS! All the business were very sucessful and had good reputations as a result.

The $5.00 is immaterial, it is the fact that he brought it in to you under warranty and you charged him! You will lose that $5.00 in bad PR from the customer and all the people that he tells.

Now if there is a problem that you didn't catch he will never bring it back to you and will crap all over the product and you.

Very poor way to make $5.00 in my opinion versus the goodwill that handing him back the product working would have generated! Do you think that he will ever buy anything from you again?

Well said.

If you wanted to charge him then $5 was too little. Not enough for your time, and so little it was probably an insult to this customer. I understand your point of not wanting to always cover stuff under warranty, but for $5 you should've done it for free. Charge him more next time, or don't charge him at all. If this guy runs a business with local customers, who might frequent your place, how much is a little goodwill worth? Think of all the people he will tell, about your "good" or "bad" service. How much is that worth to you?

When I was younger I worked in a bike shop that offered "free tuneups." How much did that cost us to adjust cables, change a flat tire, oil a chain? Nothing in comparison to the goodwill and showroom traffic that it generated...... Good customer service is how to differentiate a family business from the box stores that offer cheaper prices.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

I started to let the guy slide and forget about the $5.00 but everytime he comes in for anything he feels he shouldn't have to pay no matter what. I held my ground this time and made him pay. Question is did I overcharge him?

You way UNDERcharged him. Flooding is not covered under warranty, and you have every right to charge for your time. A half hour minimum is NOT unreasonable.

First of all it was brought in under warranty.

It was NOT "brought in under warranty". There is no such thing. Until the cause of the problem is determined, there is no way to know whether it's covered under warranty or not, whterh it's within the warranty period or not. The fact that a customer has unrealistic expectations is irrelevant. A warranty is a legal contract, which promises certain remedies under certain conditions. If those conditions are not met, no rememdy is owed.

 

[Jim Mesthene]

If he bought the machine from you, you should clear it and explain how to avoid flooding in the future and thank him for his business. Isn't that the service you get from your local dealer instead of the internet or Lowe's?
If he didn't buy it from you you should clear it, explain how to avoid flooding in the future, and charge an hour's labor.
Do it for free or charge full price. Now you're responsible because you charged him, but you only got $5.

 

[Lakeside53]

If he bought the machine from you, you should clear it and explain how to avoid flooding in the future and thank him for his business. Isn't that the service you get from your local dealer instead of the internet or Lowe's?
If he didn't buy it from you you should clear it, explain how to avoid flooding in the future, and charge an hour's labor.
Do it for free or charge full price. Now you're responsible because you charged him, but you only got $5.

That's pretty much what I do. If it from us, and he watches me start it, and it starts, it's free. If from someone else, maybe it's free. We have a sign that says clearly "minimum charge $15", but... . He learned something and will come back... hopefully not for the same problem. Same for "the clutch jambed" - hmmm, chain brake on...

Interestingly, most flooded saws/blowers start right up for me. Usually they flooded it the night before, and by the time they get it to the store, it's dried out somewhat. I just hold the throttle open and no choke. Watching their face when it roars to life is the best part.

The important reason to do it in front of the customer, is that if it doesn't start, then at least they knowingly book it in for repair and expect a bill. Sometimes flooding is operator error (most learn quickly in this case) but often it's symptom of bad gas, ignition, compression or whatever...


No charge : I get a bunch of good-will, and occasionally wine, beer, fruit and...

 

[rb_in_va]

If he bought the machine from you, you should clear it and explain how to avoid flooding in the future and thank him for his business. Isn't that the service you get from your local dealer instead of the internet or Lowe's?
If he didn't buy it from you you should clear it, explain how to avoid flooding in the future, and charge an hour's labor.
Do it for free or charge full price. Now you're responsible because you charged him, but you only got $5.

If he charged full price the guy probably would have went somewhere else, especially after getting so much free service in the past. THALL is just trying to ease the guy into paying for what he has obviously taken for granted. Just because a person bought a saw from the dealer doesn't mean he gets free service for life. Time is MONEY. And maybe next time the guy will think about that $5 when he floods the machine and try to troubleshoot himself. If I were billed $5 for a similiar fix I would have paid $10. Courtesy is a two way street.

 

[havvey]

full price

That's pretty much what I do. If it from us, and he watches me start it, and it starts, it's free. If from someone else, maybe it's free. We have a sign that says clearly "minimum charge $15", but... . He learned something and will come back... hopefully not for the same problem. Same for "the clutch jambed" - hmmm, chain brake on...

Interestingly, most flooded saws/blowers start right up for me. Usually they flooded it the night before, and by the time they get it to the store, it's dried out somewhat. I just hold the throttle open and no choke. Watching their face when it roars to life is the best part.

The important reason to do it in front of the customer, is that if it doesn't start, then at least they knowingly book it in for repair and expect a bill. Sometimes flooding is operator error (most learn quickly in this case) but often it's symptom of bad gas, ignition, compression or whatever...


No charge : I get a bunch of good-will, and occasionally wine, beer, fruit and...

you know that makes a lot of sence and gets out of nickle dime repairs. There is an old proverb that if you don't charge someone enough they don't think you did anything!! :yoyo:

 

[THALL10326]

Well said.

If you wanted to charge him then $5 was too little. Not enough for your time, and so little it was probably an insult to this customer. I understand your point of not wanting to always cover stuff under warranty, but for $5 you should've done it for free. Charge him more next time, or don't charge him at all. If this guy runs a business with local customers, who might frequent your place, how much is a little goodwill worth? Think of all the people he will tell, about your "good" or "bad" service. How much is that worth to you?

When I was younger I worked in a bike shop that offered "free tuneups." How much did that cost us to adjust cables, change a flat tire, oil a chain? Nothing in comparison to the goodwill and showroom traffic that it generated...... Good customer service is how to differentiate a family business from the box stores that offer cheaper prices.

Agree to a degree with ya there. First off warranty isn't gonna cover someones else mistakes, plain and simple. Second off the old guy got a free chain sharpening the week before hollering WARRANTY, should I have gave in on that too, no but I did. He left smiling on that deal because he knows he dulled the chain and screwed me but yesterday I got the last laff. Enough is enough out of some customers, This old man finaly got a taste of how it feels to actually pay for something. He has no problem overcharging his lawn clients for mowing, $180.00 for little over 2 acres, yet he wants to get everything on his end for nothing. He brought me a $2.00 edger blade worn down to 2 inches last year and tells me the same ole "I've hardly used it" non-sense I've heard out of him a 100 times over the years. He was long overdue. As for word of mouth about good service its a well known fact people that get good service like that old man has been used to may tell one other person. Its the ones who get bad service that tell everyone. Whats he gonna do, go around and tell everyone in town don't go overthere, Tom charged me $5.00 to get my blower running,haha. Think he told anyone I sharpened his chain for free last week, if he did no one has come told me, hahahaha, give me a break. I think my 10 years of him dealing with only me pretty well says the service he's been getting is very good, if not he'd been long gone by now. He'll be back as soon as something goes wrong and as usual he will try to squeeze the head off those pennies before letting go of them. I may let him slide as many times before but ya never know, I may break it off in his a--, fairly of course, hahaha. I got one more post for this story that took place today, you are gonna enjoy it.

 

[THALL10326]

If he charged full price the guy probably would have went somewhere else, especially after getting so much free service in the past. THALL is just trying to ease the guy into paying for what he has obviously taken for granted. Just because a person bought a saw from the dealer doesn't mean he gets free service for life. Time is MONEY. And maybe next time the guy will think about that $5 when he floods the machine and try to troubleshoot himself. If I were billed $5 for a similiar fix I would have paid $10. Courtesy is a two way street.

The clincher for $5.00 story happened today and I was like the good Lord must be looking down on me. Feller brought in a old 029 and guess what, flooded big time. He knew he had flooded it but he didn't know how to unflood it. I popped the wet muffler off real quick, gave her a few cranks and away she went. Dump the gas out of the muffler and put it back on and said there ya go, whole job took maybe 10 minutes at most. He said what do I owe you, I said nothing, get that thing on outta here. He said oh no, no way. He reaches in his wallet and hands me guess what, a nice crisp $5.00 bill. I started laffing and he was puzzled. I said come on back in the office for a minute. I got on the computer and brought up this very thread. He put on his specs and read my very first post. He said you have gotta be kidding. I showed him my name on my shirt and told him look at the name on the post. He looked and said now isn't that something. He said ya know some customers don't deserve a break at all. He said what in the hell is $5.00 when getting your machine running, its nothing. He said you don't need customers like that guy, he needs to go somewhere else, he's just a pita. I said I know but isn't it funny he screamed over $5.00 and you on the other hand tipped me when I told you to get that thing on outta here. He laffed and said all work is worth something regardless of what it is. I rest my case. I also took his five bucks to Roy Rogers and bought me a No.1 meal and thought to myself ya dayummmmmmmmmmmm right, all work is worth something if only a hamburger,hahahaha.

 

[bump_r]

Now ya gotta print this thread and stuff it in with the first guy's receipt...

 

[THALL10326]

Now ya gotta print this thread and stuff it in with the first guy's receipt...

Not a bad idea there................

 

[Marco]

Have these tight wads sweep the floor or something. I once drove 7 miles on a service call to install a new belt on a 610 Bobcat in a sleet storm. When the guy asked how much I told him $35 knowing it was way under what it should have been just to test him, he still howled. Installing one of those drive belts is no picnic.

 

[oldugly]

From the other side

Guys,
I don't run a shop, and my opinion probably doesn't mean much....but.
I've had a few beers and I want to express myself.

One...how much do you pay in advertising? It seems 5 bucks is cheap for a satisfied customer who might refer you to someone else.

Two....If the customer is such a pita, then maybe the minimal charge will educate him, or at least give you some self-respect for your work

Three...If you had done that for me, I would have not only paid the 5, but brought in the burger as a tip.

Seriously, I once had a customer complain to me that my employees had left a big mess in her parking lot. I went back and swept her parking lot for her, and gave her back 10% of her bill. She owns a liquor store in town, and has since recommended me to over a dozen customers. Her job was only 150.00, but the referrals I've had from her have been over 5,000.00.
BTW...the "big" mess resulted in about a half a dozen leaves that missed the truck from the chipper. The sweepings from her parking lot included a hundred pounds of sand, and countless amounts of trash...but a small price to pay for the satisfaction of my customer and the referrals since. A helluva lot cheaper than the yellow pages, and a lot more effective.

 

[THALL10326]

Guys,
I don't run a shop, and my opinion probably doesn't mean much....but.
I've had a few beers and I want to express myself.

One...how much do you pay in advertising? It seems 5 bucks is cheap for a satisfied customer who might refer you to someone else.

Two....If the customer is such a pita, then maybe the minimal charge will educate him, or at least give you some self-respect for your work

Three...If you had done that for me, I would have not only paid the 5, but brought in the burger as a tip.

Seriously, I once had a customer complain to me that my employees had left a big mess in her parking lot. I went back and swept her parking lot for her, and gave her back 10% of her bill. She owns a liquor store in town, and has since recommended me to over a dozen customers. Her job was only 150.00, but the referrals I've had from her have been over 5,000.00.
BTW...the "big" mess resulted in about a half a dozen leaves that missed the truck from the chipper. The sweepings from her parking lot included a hundred pounds of sand, and countless amounts of trash...but a small price to pay for the satisfaction of my customer and the referrals since. A helluva lot cheaper than the yellow pages, and a lot more effective.

Sounds like you did good. I agree with what ya did about the complaint
100%, I would have done the same as you. As for my pita customer his only complaint was the usaul one, it wasn't free like he's been used to. He'll be back trying me like always. Next time he comes in for a freebie I'm gonna tell him are ya tipping today or are ya paying just to see what he says,haha

 

[bugfart]

Funny thread.
From way over here a couple thoughts come to mind.

1) Definately the guy is a survivor of the depression. Copper wire was invented while he was fighting his brother over a penny.

2) Don't trouble yourself over bad press, he has a reputation that preceeds even his BO.

3) I don't question he barely uses these things when they wear out; He probably underpays a fleet of morons to run these. He has in-fact barely used them. The saw actually being under warrantee is probably the truth as well.

They don't like to lie either. An excerpt from the movie Pink Panther;
Peter Sellers; Does your dog bite?
Old lady sitting on bench by dog; No.

Peter Sellers attempts to pet the dog and is barely able to retrieve his hand before the dog can bite it.

Peter Sellers; I thought you said your dog does not bite!
Old lady sitting on bench by dog; That is not my dog.

So you have to take the E-Bay approach to these folks some-times, being very mindful of the litteral spoken word.

But I'm glad to hear you help these guys. And I'm sure way down inside, they know that. Find yourself a place to test this stuff with the customer so you don't have to clean up your new tile. And only charge 4.98 because you know full well you've got 2¢ coming one way or the other.

 

[Mr.]

And only charge 4.98 because you know full well you've got 2¢ coming one way or the other.

Best thing I've heard in a while.

LOVE IT.

Fred

 

[bassman]

omg 5 bucks
my dealer is a jerk also ... he wanted me to pay for the gas he put it every time my saw stops when it runs out.
then he sold me a lawnmower and wont come cut my grass!!!
just today my saw was dull and he said "bring it in " to change the chain:jawdrop:

all kidding aside you should have charged him at least $15 unless this was his first petrol running machine.
when i buy a new piece my dealer takes me out and shows me how to start it and so on.
I do alot of small engine work and he knows it but still shows me what to do .
from time to time i go in and ask advice and also how to fix things and after he helps me out i always give him a 4 or 5 bucks .
he gives it back but i say keep it for the holiday fund.
I think a guy in business that takes his time to fix or help me should always get paid.
unless the power/ gas/ and phone company stops charging i will pay him.

shayne

 

[THALL10326]

Funny thread.
From way over here a couple thoughts come to mind.

1) Definately the guy is a survivor of the depression. Copper wire was invented while he was fighting his brother over a penny.

2) Don't trouble yourself over bad press, he has a reputation that preceeds even his BO.

3) I don't question he barely uses these things when they wear out; He probably underpays a fleet of morons to run these. He has in-fact barely used them. The saw actually being under warrantee is probably the truth as well.

They don't like to lie either. An excerpt from the movie Pink Panther;
Peter Sellers; Does your dog bite?
Old lady sitting on bench by dog; No.

Peter Sellers attempts to pet the dog and is barely able to retrieve his hand before the dog can bite it.

Peter Sellers; I thought you said your dog does not bite!
Old lady sitting on bench by dog; That is not my dog.

So you have to take the E-Bay approach to these folks some-times, being very mindful of the litteral spoken word.

But I'm glad to hear you help these guys. And I'm sure way down inside, they know that. Find yourself a place to test this stuff with the customer so you don't have to clean up your new tile. And only charge 4.98 because you know full well you've got 2¢ coming one way or the other.

Hahahaha, 4.98, thats a good one. Next time the ole geezer comes in I'm gonna say no matter what I do for ya ole a-- its 4.98, ya hear me,hahahaha.

 

[Lakeside53]

Hahahaha, 4.98, thats a good one. Next time the ole geezer comes in I'm gonna say no matter what I do for ya ole a-- its 4.98, ya hear me,hahahaha.

Plus tax