Customers overpay me!

[Lance Lafargue]

Wim,
My tuning fees are already at the top in my area, I'm still a little
squeamish because there are those that find $75 tunings hard to pay.  When
Y2K hits and we're all riding bikes to tune 2 pianos a month to feed our
families, I'll still have a few customers because I'm not as expensive as
those rich tuners in Missouri!  If we live thru 1/1/00, I'll go to $150
tunings!     

> 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. 
Unfortunately, this guy is an attorney, which scares me most of all.
 
LANCE LAFARGUE, RPT
LAFARGUE PIANO SERVICES
New Orleans Chapter
Mandeville, LA.
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lafargue@iamerica.net

----------
> From: Wimblees@AOL.COM
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: Customers overpay me!
> Date: Wednesday, March 24, 1999 9:11 PM
> 
> 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.  
> 
>  
>   
>  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. >>