"H" and Scott

[Les Smith]

"H" and Scott did have a written agreement. In it "H" provided names,
addresses, phone nummber and other contact information; agreed to con-
tact the customers and inform them that Scott would be taking over the
business from him; and it DID include a non-compete clause. Scott did
not lose any money on the deal, in fact he made money on it. It's just
that for what he paid for it, he felt he was BUYING the list, not just
RENTING it! He obviously could have pursued it legally, but for his own
reasons, chose not to.

To any new tech, just starting out, who might be considering buying a
client list from a tech who is either retiring, or moving out of the
area, my advice would be to wait until you have had a chance to hone and
develop your skills a number of years before making such an investment.
If the list is that of an experienced, well-established technician, the
chances are that many of his clients will have become accustomed to a
level of service and expertise which you, just starting out, may not be
able to deliver for a number of years. Once they become aware of this,
they are likely to take their business to another technician who can.
Once again, the way to go, is probably by starting out working for a
dealer, or two, while developing your own clientel on the side. You
won't get rich, working for a dealer, but you'll rapidly gain experi-
ence while doing so, and in the beginning, that's what's important.

Les Smith