>My question regards the ethics of this situation. Having only been in the >newsgroup about 3 months now, I have come to respect the opinions of so many >of you---what is your collective take on this situation? Should I have >refused to supply her with the bridle straps? She could easily break a >wippen flange, or a jack. Then again, she'd call me to come fix it for her. >I don't know...I'm just curious as to what any of you might have done in this >situation. > >Tom S. This is sort of a hard one, but I'm not sure it's an ethics problem. There realistically shouldn't be a problem with a customer doing their own work, since no one but them stands to be hurt by it unless they immediately sell the result to someone else. That might not be a problem either if they did an adequate job. The potential problems I see are for the assisting tech. Assisting support can turn into an adoption very quickly and it will cost someone more money than they are anticipating, or may be willing to forego. Sometimes, it's no problem at all, but other times it becomes a resented time sink. If the tech charges for all the hand holding and emergency aid, it will probably end up costing more than if he/she had just done it for a fee in the first place. If the tech doesn't charge for all the time spent, then it's a charity job. That's not necessarily bad, since we've all done them, and it isn't always a nightmare situation. Sometimes these things go quickly and easily and are sort of fun. When they go well, these relatively safe projects can give the customer a great deal of satisfaction. Everyone needs to win one once in a while. It's like any gambling venture. Don't bet more than you're willing to lose, and if you don't have the time to spare, don't do it. There are more efficient ways to make money. The fun, however, is in the play. Ron N
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