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<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Thanks for all the replies! The =
reason I asked
is due to a most recent experience when I drove 40 miles to perform a =
warranty
tuning, free to the "customer". No one home. Later that day, =
(about
5:15 PM), while standing on my head under the kitchen sink trying to =
install new
water lines, he called. "Guess we missed you this morning...do you =
want to
try again?" I replied in the affirmative and mentioned the little =
matter of
a service call fee and mileage which he refused to pay. I could hear his =
wife in
the background going ballistic as he suggested that I bill the store as =
if I did
the job and he'd "find someone local to do the tuning at his =
expense."
I explained to him that HE invited me to his home on this day and this =
time, and
that if not for that I would have spent the wasted time in my shop =
making my
shop rate. And, I would have started earlier in the day, so the bill for =
the
goose chase was only a portion of what I lost that day. Being a retired =
music
teacher and friend of the store from where he purchased the piano, he =
called
them. In the end I billed the store per their request and that was the =
end of
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>After 15 years in this business I'm =
pausing to
reflect on these situations and was 2nd guessing my policy. However =
after
hearing responses from the group I stand firm: No show = $50 =
service call
plus .30 per mile the 1st 30 miles (RT); then .90 per mile thereafter. =
Those
deadbeats who refuse get small claims court for dessert: They don't meet =
the
minimum qualifications to become a customer. I AM human - if it's a case =
of
"my grandmother died again", well, hey, I can bend, but the =
nozzle of
my howitzer will remain pointed on those who flippantly display a lack =
of
respect for me and my time.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#000000 size=2>Roy =
Ulrich</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>