Customers overpay me!

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

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. >>