In a message dated 3/24/99 11:58:48 PM !!!First Boot!!!, lafargue@iamerica.net writes: << In the last couple of months I have had at least three customers intentionally overpay me, I guess because they received more than they thought they would, etc. One lady overpaid me $200 because she was so happy, last week $75 overpaid for a $300 job, etc. (I'm charging $45/hr.) First thing I would do is raise my hourly fee. (I charge $75.00 per hour). If some customers are willing to pay you more , just think how many are going to pay you more if you charge them in the first place. THEN, last month a guy I worked for asked if I would allow him to pay me 1/2 in Feb and 1/2 in March since I did more work and charged more than he thought (I was open-ended on the original estimate because of the uncertainty of what would be needed, I was clear with him). Now he's almost a month late with the balance ($525) and I'm getting a little nervous. You always take a chance when you let someone pay you later for that kind of money. I would keep sending him reminder notices every week until he pays.. You might also start adding interest. Sometimes that gets them to pay a little faster. P.S. I had a no-show from a customer who scheduled with me, then got another tuner out quicker than I could and forgot to cancel me. She refuses to pay the $45.00 failed appointment charge because "I have nothing writing". What do you do with no-shows? Do we have a case? No shows are part of the business. I don't charge for them. Taking them to court will cost you more than what you lost, if you can win the case. Just rack it up as a bad experience. Wim LANCE LAFARGUE, RPT LAFARGUE PIANO SERVICES New Orleans Chapter Mandeville, LA. >>
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