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bad customer vent.

routierracing

New Member
Had a job to letter a short bus for a day care. First time customer that a mutual friend vouched for. Did not bother to get deposit up front. Lettered the vehicle like requested all the way down to the size he wanted the "child's hand print" decals.

On completion I called the guy to let him know it's finished and ask if can pick it up and he responds with attitude and says, "well i need to come look at it." He gets there. Walks by me avoiding eye contact (still hasn't Seen the bus) Goes to the bus walking around it shaking his head. He then says the hand prints are too small and there is not enough of them. I ask how many more he would like and he says FORTY. He also says he is disappointed that there is no letters on the back where he had previously not wanted them. He then asks price and I repeat previously discussed price. Then things get odd..

He asks if I will drive it home for him and he'll bring me back. Odd, but its 3 blocks so i do. I get there and he comes out and angrily tells me that he is not going to pay until the addition decals are installed. He says he's never met me before and there are a lot of shady people in this would who will screw you over. And he went on about it for a couple minutes while i bit my tongue. He even mention something about you just scan a picture in and print it off... I will not be doing any more business with this guy.

(Apologies if there's any typos above)
 

GAC05

Quit buggin' me
That's not such a bad customer.
He could have asked you to lend him a few bucks to put some gas in the tank while dropping off his van.

So what happened? Did you leave with any money in your hand?
Might have been a good time to hop back in the van and take it back to your shop for some "adjustments".
Have be professional, no deposit - COD before the vehicle leaves the shop.
Sadly, people are going to try to get away with as much as they can if they think you are not going to stop them.
Could also be time to reevaluate the judgment of your friend....


wayne k
guam usa
 

Jburns

New Member
Ugh... what a pain. That's funny- scan a picture and print it off buddy- lets see how that turns out.
If he doesn't want to pay- or haggles again, I would start removing items off the van.
 

routierracing

New Member
No cash so far. Shame on me for not being more professional and getting a deposit. It wasn't the money that bothered me as much as the comments about shady people and how he's never met me. Only thing i said was i agree about shady people and that's why I usually get half up front. He concluded the coversation with "I'll just stop talking now."
 

Craig Sjoquist

New Member
The not getting a deposit part is not bad unless you are designing a brand, because you have the truck & keys.

But driving to his place without money in hand VERY BAD.

At that time also you both relook at your agreement, amount of hands & copy on back, renegotiate, & reassure him the truck is yours till paid in full, assuring him that a lien will be filed & held for storage payments after 30 days if not payed & truck will be yours after x amount of days depending on your state laws.

He intended to take you for a ride because he seen your weakness, this is how some people are now take advantage of anyone ya can just because ya can, our government & big business does so why not me, besides what can they do ha ha ha

Knows what I've done for people I've trusted & was intentional take advantage...it cost them way more & grief
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
He's just doing the same thing everyone else does.......

What I don't quite understand is why you didn't refer to your proof you had to give him to start the job ?? That proof is signed and dated, so you both have something to fall back on for this very reason. Also, your quote to him should've specified sizes, how many, where the copy goes and colors, which is also signed and dated, again for this very reason.

Besides, you told us you thought the size was odd. Things like that are mentioned in the quote that you didn't recommend some of his bad choices. Not having anything on the back is also wrong.

While he might've been an odd one, you broke so many rules, you appear to be a total novice at this stuff. He probably did see you coming and is not satisfied with your work and knows you have nothing signed, so you're at his mercy.

Is it possible to see a photo of both sides and rear of this vehicle ??
 

routierracing

New Member
I don't think I'm the only one out there that gets proofs confirmed through email and phone. Although I certainly agree that getting a physical signature is a much better practice. Having had a chance to relax and reflect, the wwhole thing is laughable. The good news is that this week I received a job offer to join a full time fire department. Still a great week.
 

d fleming

Premium Subscriber
I would have told him HE was a shady sob and he can have his bus when he pays as contracted. But I'm a gruff old **** to begin with. That's why I don't work for someone else. I'm unemployable, lol. I also would never have started without $$ in hand for someone I didn't know and had never done business with before. Lesson learned. I'll be surprised if he ever pays you a dime without you having to get stern with him.
 

zmatalucci

New Member
Print 500 children's middle fingers and stick them all over the bus...Then let him take them all off. It's be worth it to not get paid just to see his reaction.
 

Jillbeans

New Member
Yup I would print FORTY childrens' hand in rude gestures, stick them on the van in the night, and write it off as a lesson learned. I'd also add in a few scary monster faces and other things that would make kids cry.
:Big Laugh
NEVER even turn on your computer without a deposit, even for family.
Love....Jill
 

reQ

New Member
Yup I would print FORTY childrens' hand in rude gestures, stick them on the van in the night, and write it off as a lesson learned. I'd also add in a few scary monster faces and other things that would make kids cry.
:Big Laugh
NEVER even turn on your computer without a deposit, even for family.
Love....Jill

sometimes... SPECIALLY for family lol
 

TheSnowman

New Member
I've had situations like this. Real simple door job. The guy shows up with truck 1 of 3. We do that truck that day, he pays the bill that we'd discussed, then he drops off the other two trucks the next day, we do those, give him the bill and he says "what's this?" I said "this is the cost of the other two trucks." He informs me that the price we discussed was what he'd paid for all three on the first invoice. I was new to being the "owner" and was young, and this guy thought he could, and did walk all over me. I just let it go, but it worked out ridiculous cheap, like $75 a vehicle or something ridiculous like that. Even though it was simple, I won't touch a vehicle for that.

There's way more shady people that come into my shop, than shady sign people that I even know exist, so as far as I'm concerned, there's still way more unhonest customers than shop owners.

Anyone I've had altercations like this with (and I can think of 3 or so in 10 years, and all of them were just flat out lying to me, but I didn't have anything to back it up with) I've just moved on and never done work for them again. It's always awkward when they come in for stuff, but I tell them it'll be two months, and then I double my price on what I'd normally charge, just because I don't want to deal with them. If they want to pay the extra and wait the time for being a pain in the butt, it's worth my time.
 

Techman

New Member
yup, you got borked. No deposit always results in a borking. He is a thief. Get the bus back to the shop.. acting like you will install more decals and then,, peel all the graphics. Then call him to retrieve his bus. Do not drive it again. You will be blamed for some unknown fault.
 

routierracing

New Member
Haha!! Thanks for the advice and support on the thread. Some really good and funny stuff from everyone! Especially about the middle fingers. Lol however, I think I'm just going to take the high road and demand full payment up front before installing the additional decals. And then part ways.
 

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Haha!! Thanks for the advice and support on the thread. Some really good and funny stuff from everyone! Especially about the middle fingers. Lol however, I think I'm just going to take the high road and demand full payment up front before installing the additional decals. And then part ways.

Could we please see both sides and rear of this vehicle ?? Sometimes it helps to see and/or hear both sides of the story. :thankyou:
 

Desert_Signs

New Member
Haha!! Thanks for the advice and support on the thread. Some really good and funny stuff from everyone! Especially about the middle fingers. Lol however, I think I'm just going to take the high road and demand full payment up front before installing the additional decals. And then part ways.


Get the bus back to your shop before you demand anything. "We" know what we're talking about...
 
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