At 10:52 AM 1/7/98 -0500, Zen wrote: >How do you handle the customer who tells you they'll be happy to leave the >door unlocked so that you may come in, do the work, leave the bill, and If a customer asks I tell them I would prefer they not leave their homes unlocked in case I'm delayed somehow. The exception to this is a few select customers who use electronic door locks with a "guest number", which can be used only once. These are becoming more popular here along with steel storm doors, barred windows and burglar alarms. In those cases, if I know the customer, I'll enter the house alone. I do prefer that someone is there when I leave, though. BTW, most of those homes are in the million dollar plus range. I consider it a great honour to be allowed into these homes unaccompanied and make SURE that all I do is go in, do the job and get out after making sure the door I entered the house from is secure again. There have been times when I've been dying to look around at the artwork or fine furniture (I LOVE good joinery!), but other than what I can see from the piano I do nothing with that urge unless the owner is there. The exception to that is that I'll use the guest powder room (can men call it that too?) if I need it. I might add that some of the powder rooms I see are art works in themselves! Mind you, some of these customers (or their children/grandchildren) have been in the "family" for 50 years or more, so they aren't strangers. They know who I am and that in our profession we are (or should be) discreet since we may be in hundreds of homes every year. >I for one will never enter a house unaccompanied. I don't care if the door >was left wide open. Having a teenager, neighbor or house sitter/cleaner >waiting to let me in is "legitimate." Am I being overly cautious? These days I'd sooner enter a house alone than if there is a young female teenager alone there. While I've never had a problem with that there could be severe repercussions if anything happens... or even if nothing happens as we see on the newscasts. None of us need that kind of hassle or publicity, so I just avoid that particular problem area. John John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada musselj@cadvision.com - http://www.cadvision.com/musselj/
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