Customer that brings back pc and does not mention paying.

baccart

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I have a neighbor for whom I fixed 2 pcs with following.

Backup Data
Reinstall OS
Restore Data
Updates/optimize/Software re-install/av

Since he is a neighbor, I gave him 50% discount.

2 months later, he brings back the pc # 1 because he corrupted it, and wants me to fix it, and no mention of money. After repair, I put an invoice on it. 2 days later brings it back again, no mention of money. I fix again, and educate him. He brings back PC 2, but so far n o mention of money. Ususaly, the first question he asked in the past was how much and to give him a discount.

I am afraid to mess up our relationship as a neighbor, but how would technibblers go about handling this situation?
 
It's not his responsibility to ask how much. It is your responsibility to set the expectations for both of you. You should have mentioned the the cost to him when accepting the computer. You accepted the work without negotiating the price or making clear the fact that you expect payment, so honestly you shouldn't expect to be paid anything.
 
It's not his responsibility to ask how much. It is your responsibility to set the expectations for both of you.

What were the terms of service? I'm assuming none since none were mentioned, so you can basically blame yourself for what this has lapsed into.
Most folks aren't mind readers and blaming him for not asking questions about what he owes is not right. For what its worth, he kind of gave you and idea of his character when he asked for a discount before you even did anything. This should have told you if he brings it back that he's not going to mention anything about payment.
 
It's not his responsibility to ask how much. It is your responsibility to set the expectations for both of you. You should have mentioned the the cost to him when accepting the computer. You accepted the work without negotiating the price or making clear the fact that you expect payment, so honestly you shouldn't expect to be paid anything.

Agreed. You need to take the bull by the horns or they will expect free services forever. Sounds like there's a problem with your intake process (where you normally outline how much something might cost).
 
I'd call him and tell him his bill is running up how does he want to handle it. Then wait for a reply from him. This will give you a a clue as to his expectations.

My view is that if he pad XXX amount the first time, and you told him that was 50% discount then he already knows your charges so invoice him full price for the rest, and offer a discount from that amount if you wish.

If he expected anything free knowing this is your business than you are not the one risking your relationship.

I don't think you have a problem. Just tell him to bring some cash next time he comes to pickup his pc.
 
Since he is a neighbor, I gave him 50% discount.
Did he know that? If you mentioned a discount, and even though you should have quoted some kind of estimated price, he knows there is a cost. Edit: ...but if you just decided to yourself that you'd discount it and never mentioned, then you've shot yourself in the foot each time.
After repair, I put an invoice on it.
Did you invoice him on the other work done? Have you mentioned that the first invoice has been unpaid? Unless he is paying you in some other form (mows your lawn?), you need to be upfront with him about things. I fixed my next door neighbour's system and let them pay me with a case of decent (non-American ;) ) beer ... and they knew before I took it into possession that that was the fee. You probably shouldn't be taking a computer in a second time if he hasn't paid you for the first one.
 
Once I moved to COD cash on delivery, I have had almost no problems with collections or misunderstandings about my fees. And for sure there wouldn't be a misunderstanding over several invoices for several repairs.
 
Tony has a pretty good explanation on this.

He's paid you before, so he knows and must expect that you earn money by doing this.
I am curious to learn how long have you known this neighbor for?
Tell it straight to him, you are a business, he has a tab, paying you is no secret as he done it once before. Get your intake process looked at too, make him sign some paperwork when he drops off that system to say "no money, no computer"

Depending on that tab he owes you, refuse the next system he brings in, if he doesn't like it I am sure he can go to the next shop who will also make sure they get paid before his system walks out the door and he is not getting a 50% discount.

Discipline my friend, works wonders......neighbor, friend, etc...got to treat them all the same when it comes to getting money.
 
I'm going to mostly agree with the general consensus here. Also, eHousecalls beat me to the punch about bringing up the crucial point of what your neighbor actually knows and expects here. Does he know that you do this for a living or does he think you just do it as a hobby? Does he know what your normal rates are? Did he know that you were giving him a discount the first time? Is there something that has been said/done in the past that would lead him to think that he wouldn't be expected to pay for your recent services (did he perform some favor for you, perhaps)?

Depending on your relationship with your neighbor, you can handle it different ways. If he's a close friend, you could consider giving him a "Friends & Family" discount and let him know what that entails. If you just want to be friendly/neighborly with him, you should let him know that you don't mind working on his machines, but you don't even work on your family members' machines for free.

The point is that it's going to be up to you to make sure that you're comfortable with the situation. Be polite and professional about it, but make sure you deal with it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the worse it'll get. Just make sure you communicate clearly what your expectations are. If he is as concerned about the relationship, he'll make sure that your expectations are met. If not, then you have a free-loader client that you probably shouldn't bother with anyway.
 
I'd just send him the bill. He's already paid you once (I'm assuming) so like others have said, he should know that he needs to pay.

I never give someone their computer without a bill, but I've made it my policy that no further work is done until past charges are paid.
 
It sounds like you haven't even mentioned that you expect him to pay for it and are just sticking invoices with them hoping he gets the hint, to avoid confrontation. Unless you have a conversation with him about it, the pattern will continue.
 
It sounds like you haven't even mentioned that you expect him to pay for it and are just sticking invoices with them hoping he gets the hint, to avoid confrontation. Unless you have a conversation with him about it, the pattern will continue.
, so just man up and confront him, instead of being a timid mouse, GOT IT! The Impression I am getting from him, is that since he has already paid money to get something fixed, that any problems occuring are my fault and I should fix them. I have tried to set him straight and informed him, that he is the one causing the problems.
 
, so just man up and confront him, instead of being a timid mouse, GOT IT! The Impression I am getting from him, is that since he has already paid money to get something fixed, that any problems occuring are my fault and I should fix them. I have tried to set him straight and informed him, that he is the one causing the problems.


Something that has been of great value on this board, is a thing called Managing Expectations. Do a search of that topic. I believe there are a number of excellent threads and even an article or two that would be of value to you in the future.

The Cliffs Notes are basically to make sure your customer has an understanding of what to expect, in regards to service, price, and time. In exchange, your customer knows you expect to get PAID for your work.
 
The Impression I am getting from him, is that since he has already paid money to get something fixed, that any problems occuring are my fault and I should fix them.
That's an issue with not setting the proper expectations to begin with. If you don't speak up, he's not going to assume otherwise.
I have tried to set him straight and informed him, that he is the one causing the problems.
By sticking invoices with his computer? Did you actually tell him he owes you money for the work he's done, or have you subtly hinted at it? If the former, what did he say?
 
The Impression I am getting from him, is that since he has already paid money to get something fixed, that any problems occuring are my fault and I should fix them. I have tried to set him straight and informed him, that he is the one causing the problems.
At the risk of beating a now-dead horse, be clearer. I'm sure we've all had that type of customer. "Ma'am, it's like bringing your car to a mechanic to replace your radiator. If you have a problem with your muffler the next month, your mechanic won't be fixing that for free."

Yes, sometimes one issue might cause another but if they don't bring it to my attention immediately (e.g. 24 hours) then I won't be assuming it's my fault. ("Really, sir? Your email hasn't worked since I fixed your printer two months ago? You've been sending postcards all this time, you say? Mmmmhmmm.")
But that's another reason to have a checklist at the end of a job to make sure all your standard uses are functional (email works, browser surfs, MP3s play, PDFs open, printer works, etc).
 
Keep his computer until he pays you in cash

If I had someone bring there computer back a month later, it would be obvious to both of us that is another matter and will be charged as such. If they bring another computer in, of course that is another matter as well.

If they started talking like they were trying back out of paying for any legitimate service I would talk to him and make any reasonable accommodation including possibly discounting the bill on the first machine only but not giving it for free.

If the customer sticks to some stupid point of now not owing for service (as they sometimes do) and reasonable negotiations does not clear that up then I hold their equipment until the bill is paid in full Cash only.

I will not accept checks, visa, debit card.

When they bitch about that, I explain to them that they made this a hostile situation and cash is the only way to resolve it, or we can go to court and get a judges opinion on the matter.
 
The first time this happened to me it wrecked my day. The difference in our situation is the customer shares an office with a family member, so he probably thought I would be lenient in billing.

I installed Vista on his desktop computer because a virus has done too much damage to the OS. I explained to him that since we started from scratch, there would be no chance that a virus would be on that computer. Even installed OpenOffice and MSE for him as a gesture of goodwill.

He brings it back one month after, reinfected with some rootkits. I fix it, then call him to tell him how much he owes me. Now normally this guy is very polite and soft-spoken, so imagine my surprise when he goes into a rage!

He expected me to fix it for free, as a warranty the work done a month ago. I tried to explain that it wasn't covered, as he reinfected the machine himself, but the damage has been done...no amount of explaining will calm him down. The best thing I could do was give him back the computer without getting paid and to sever ties with this person. :mad:

So yes... manage expectations. Some people have unreasonable expectations, borne out of being a friend/neighbor/coworker or even the same ethnicity. Don't assume anything and let everyone know how much it will cost up front.
 
I recently "Shot myself in the foot" as well. I had a new customer call me up. Said they were reffered by a mutual friend. The website he manages for the non-profit he is president of needed some membership pages updated. When asked if I could do it I said yes, no problem.

Now our mutual friend knows I do this for a living and so I just assumed he would know there would be a fee. I completed the updates and he was thirlled. He thanked me numerous times in an email. But that was all. No mention of how much I charge for this.

It was then that I realized my mistake. Now it was not that big of a deal as I often offer discounts or even free services for non-profits but the fact remains I do get paid for this.

So in an email I let him know that I usually would charge $XX for this service but that I would waive it this time for him.

He thanked me again and said in the future to let him know what the fee would be and that he knows this is my business and not a hobby.

Point: It was my mistake and have to always remember that when you assume......!
 
The first time this happened to me it wrecked my day. The difference in our situation is the customer shares an office with a family member, so he probably thought I would be lenient in billing.

I installed Vista on his desktop computer because a virus has done too much damage to the OS. I explained to him that since we started from scratch, there would be no chance that a virus would be on that computer. Even installed OpenOffice and MSE for him as a gesture of goodwill.

He brings it back one month after, reinfected with some rootkits. I fix it, then call him to tell him how much he owes me. Now normally this guy is very polite and soft-spoken, so imagine my surprise when he goes into a rage!

He expected me to fix it for free, as a warranty the work done a month ago. I tried to explain that it wasn't covered, as he reinfected the machine himself, but the damage has been done...no amount of explaining will calm him down. The best thing I could do was give him back the computer without getting paid and to sever ties with this person. :mad:

So yes... manage expectations. Some people have unreasonable expectations, borne out of being a friend/neighbor/coworker or even the same ethnicity. Don't assume anything and let everyone know how much it will cost up front.

I have written in my work order that if they do not pay, I retain the equipment until they do. And after that it becomes cash only. This solves the issue of having to give the computer back without receiving payment.

work order said:
Payment is due immediately upon invoice. If payment is not received immediately customer agrees to surrender the computer (includes system, monitor, peripherals, and/or related devices that were serviced) to JAG Computers until payment is received. Furthermore, a 16% interest fee per month & $50 storage fee per month will be added to the total amount due and payment will required in the form of cash only.
 
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