Posh Customers

[Pete999]

Sorry Bbut things have been a bit slow lately, so I'm asking for experiences with OH so clever but no common sense customers, you know the type, they think Sparkies Plumbers etc are just people that turn up at the whim of a tele call, and are wearing working clothes, just a Man I know, you must have some tales I certainly have.

 

[Adam W]

There was one on the forum the other day - he thought the plumber and electrician were asking too much to install a new shower and he was being "diddled".
He seemed to think he was clever enough to install it himself, and assumed he could just stroll into the local college and get one of the electrical lecturers to come and inspect and test his work.
He then left the thread in a blaze of sour grapes saying it was no wonder trades were "failing" if they're not doing work at cost price; the ironic part was despite his claims of superior intelligence he was earning minimum wage.

If it's the thread I'm thinking of he PMd me twice asking if I could help him - I told him I couldn't because being a tradesman I messed about at school and hence was too stupid to work my computer so I'd have to take it to the shop and pay the man to show me how to use it.

 

[tomspark93]

funnily enough a lot of them seem to be teachers and doctors.

 

[Pete999]

funnily enough a lot of them seem to be teachers and doctors.

Or Government officials

 

[hightower]

funnily enough a lot of them seem to be teachers and doctors.

I've never known a breed as stuck up and as tight as teachers. Sweeping statement, but if someone wanted work from me and they told me they were a teacher I'd want paying up front.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

 

[David M]

I've never known a breed as stuck up and as tight as teachers. Sweeping statement, but if someone wanted work from me and they told me they were a teacher I'd want paying up front.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

I've just done a underfoot heating job for an ex high school chemistry teaching who now sets and marks exams. Though to be fair he was not a bad fella, he was such a nuisance that I ended up loosing my rag with him.
He wanted to be "hands on" constantly interfering with the install. I bit my lip for way too long and humoured him throughout "can I make a suggestion" was his favourite term.
It got amusing but annoying at the same time as he was always hovering under everybody's feet. He spent his evenings down loading and studying how, underfloor systems work, the do's and don'ts and everyday "he had a suggestion" which I often replied with "I have done this job for years you know, and installed umpteen heating systems".
Anyhow right at the end of the install I fitted the thermostatic controllers and proceeded to program them. At this point my customer took over, as he had studied the manual and would show me how to set the programmers up.
I left him too it, collected my tools up and hit the road. Next day I had the call - "these controllers are faulty, I've set them up but they don't work properly. Can you come over and replace them"
You know where this is going!
He remained adamant that He had programmed them correctly and that they were a poor design.

 

[Leesparkykent]

I've just done a underfoot heating job for an ex high school chemistry teaching who now sets and marks exams. Though to be fair he was not a bad fella, he was such a nuisance that I ended up loosing my rag with him.
He wanted to be "hands on" constantly interfering with the install. I bit my lip for way too long and humoured him throughout "can I make a suggestion" was his favourite term.
It got amusing but annoying at the same time as he was always hovering under everybody's feet. He spent his evenings down loading and studying how, underfloor systems work, the do's and don'ts and everyday "he had a suggestion" which I often replied with "I have done this job for years you know, and installed umpteen heating systems".
Anyhow right at the end of the install I fitted the thermostatic controllers and proceeded to program them. At this point my customer took over, as he had studied the manual and would show me how to set the programmers up.
I left him too it, collected my tools up and hit the road. Next day I had the call - "these controllers are faulty, I've set them up but they don't work properly. Can you come over and replace them"
You know where this is going!
He remained adamant that He had programmed them correctly and that they were a poor design.

I've only ever been knocked once and funnily enough was by a couple who were both teachers. well they knocked the builder 16K and consequently I lost 2.5K........both the same constantly knew better, trying to get involved all the time, etc. The only reason the job went sour was because they both thought they would both try their hand at project management of the refurb/extension but didn't have a clue. I managed to get access whilst they was at work as they had a kitchen fitter there who let me in.........I cut everything I installed out and made sure I cut the lot as tight as possible so cable pinged back up etc :icon10:.

I had my NICEIC annual assessment about two weeks later and my assessor told me they had been on the phone trying to stir things up thinking they could get me in to trouble which they wasn't interested and he fully agreed with what I did after I explained what had happened. Not long after I passed them in the street where she started hurling a load of abuse so she swiftly got told where to go. Just about to tuck in to my dinner that night and I got a tap on the door.....two old bill wanting to speak to me about allegedly assaulting her husband earlier in the day which never happened and was a complete fabricated story made up by the pair of them.

 

[David M]

Sorry Bbut things have been a bit slow lately, so I'm asking for experiences with OH so clever but no common sense customers, you know the type, they think Sparkies Plumbers etc are just people that turn up at the whim of a tele call, and are wearing working clothes, just a Man I know, you must have some tales I certainly have.

Its a good topic Pete, very amusing at times when I think back to some of the dinner dumper customers I've had to endure over the years.
You often find the "too posh" one's never offer you a drink, look down at you, treat you as servants, have no respect for your intelligence, query the bill and expect champagne jobs at lemonade prices!

Years back when I had just started off self-employed I had a client who was a multi millionaire, he had a flood and wanted to scam the insurance. He asked me to do a quote for the insurance company and a "real" one for himself, then offered to pay me cash. Like a naïve fool I agreed and did the job. When it came to payment he refused to pay my "real" quoted price, saying it was too expensive!! In the end I threatened to DOB him in for fraud, although technically I was implicated also. He eventually (3 months later) sent me a cheques by post. I reckon he had scam a few grand from the insurance, yet his greed was such he did not want to pay for the repairs. No wonder he is/was a millionaire!

 

[Andy78]

I have to say, in the interest of balance and fairness, that I have numerous customers that are teachers and I have found every one of them to be warm, courteous, usually a good conversation, and prompt payers.

I have however had a few customers that are very well off, not necesarilly posh, but that I would have no interest in doing any further work for due to their blatant greed and lack of morals. None of which have been teachers.

 

[stevethesparks]

MY biggest gripe with the well-off is their "no sense of urgency" to pay my invoices' of which state "payment upon completion". My preference is by transfer - I hate it when I get a cheque, and all too often I have to send a polite reminder of which makes me feel like I'm pestering them for MY money!

 

[telectrix]

i usuallly ask them "who's going to pay me if you fall under a bus tomorrow?"

 

[tomspark93]

On the flip side, I do some work for a couple, who are both doctors. They never ask for a price on small jobs and they pay me straight in to my bank account the same day that I email them an invoice. I always go out of my way for people like that.

 

[David M]

MY biggest gripe with the well-off is their "no sense of urgency" to pay my invoices' of which state "payment upon completion". My preference is by transfer - I hate it when I get a cheque, and all too often I have to send a polite reminder of which makes me feel like I'm pestering them for MY money!

I get this so often! I had one guy who took ages to pay me. I would call or email him to remind him that payment was overdue. He would always reply with an apology and that he would get it sorted that day.This went on for over a couple of months. I actually believe that he just forgot or couldn't be bothered. The cost wasn't an issue, it was small change to him. I think that because it was such a relative small amount to him, that he genuinely believed it was not that urgent. Bit like if you owed your mate a couple of quid and you kept forgetting.
I remember that the amount he owed was around £300 (2 days pay for me) He earned that in less than half a hour!

How the other half live