Some Customers anoy me

[Mike8560]

do any of you get customers
like this ?
If I do a cover the customer looks at it it's good and pay  
A deck boats upholstery the same the old looked like $h!t
but the new seat are poking like new and they pay asap   But a full enclosure  it's always them they think it's a work of art on there boat and they have to look it all over  
A little thing like a roll up
strap or a snap. I finnished last Tuesday and have beeen waiting but they havnt had a chafe to look at it till today and  the boat was less then a mile from there house.
They ae pleased with the product    Tomorows no good but maybe Thursday they can have me come to settle up I tbi k they  would rather put the check in the mail. Across town  
And there retired   Its aLways the enclosures not the mooring cover
I meen  a week and I still can't t get s check  

[Allan]

Mike

Put on the bottom of the invoice that late payment past whatever time you agree on will incur 2% surcharge per day until they paid (it could be more than 2%)

I have used this for years on invoices and it works

Allan

[Mike8560]

I think Allen if I did that they would lick the job apart. To delay
I meen you can find anything wrong I'd you want a snap a fraction tighter then another or a tag end on a thread.
I think they just have to respect on my time  instead of foi f to get a payment I should be working on somthing else making money. 

[kodydog]

Maybe its different for you boat guys. When I deliver a piece of furniture I get paid. Very rarely do I have to wait.

[Grebo]

Some of us ( like me) do work when the customer is not around,  most of my customers don't live here. I get the deposit one way or another before starting work, then the balance 'should' get paid either when they arrive on the boat & see the work. Or soon after ( that's the theory ) some times they come & go with out telling me, then I get pissy with them.  :P

And yes it's usually the one's that need it in a desperate rush  >:(



Suzi

[Mike8560]

Kody some boat work is xelevered to the customers boat at there home and if they are here not up north in summer I get paid on the spot like this morning I just installed a cover a d some seats  
But others like a larger cabin boat sometime are at a marina not at there house and that where the problem arises
it nice working alone at a marina   
If it in there backyard I generally have to work with the owner looking over my sbolder or they want to help or they think they can do there own thing on The boat
but there just I. The way all the time   

[needles eye]

signing on

Hi,  wondering if it was that really nice job you did in green recently (you know did in brown linen earlier)
sorry about the money woes,  i have them sometime time too,  it stresses me out waiting for my renumeration
like they say the cheque's in the mail
but it is recollected, mike, that the cows will come home to pasture
hmm
yes the cows will come home to pasture

and, like they say, when somebody is waiting on you they have time to reflect on your shortcomings!


i like the 2% surcharge balance overdue idea and also getting an initial deposit for the job
if you are sometimes to kind and  have a big heart people can sometimes take advantage of you and it then hurts and with valid reason as one feels unjustly done by most especially after offering up outstanding work that it would be handy to get paid for
maybe Mike you might say to these particular clients we are all one and the only constant is change, hey wheres ya loose change, friend, or me cheque even??
###################
Mike's  Boat Upholstery
Invoice Number___

job description
labour and materials costs

bill details and sketches as required
{maybe use graph paper}

Special deal this month .......... pay your account in full after todays's initial deposit and get ten per cent off your entire bill!!


                      printed on bottom of quote receipt in bold caps...............
Est modus in rebus (L.), there is a proper mean in all things
Note to all customers that all terms are strictly cash 7 days.
Approx one third cash amount of job quote is required on job start, thanking you in advance.
Be aware, please, any outstanding and overdue accounts may then cause litigation costs
Without ill will and without favour, we have good lawyers.


                                                       Customers signature______________________________
***********

guess basically we need to teach our customers some nuerolinguistic reprogramming cognitive therapy,
that is, reprogramming their brain's neuron pathways to pay for good work on time  and in us learning  to talk their language
heck wish i could read up some more on this nuerolinguistic stuff eh

remember that a good lawyer makes a bad neighbour   >:(

dare i say that everyone is entiltled to an occasional bitch?

its my suggestion to you Mike to maybe learn some Latin on the waterfront, bud, or sittin' on the dock of the bay
as it's quiet interesting don't you know

and suggest tell your customers in passing that you've decided to study Law to supplement your sewing income
could even be the time to retire and write a marine  upholstery how to book, i'd certainly buy several for gifts

finally, in my line of work i've learnt to say whats your budget mate, and, how long before you intend to pay. then i say i need a third of the job total on the second or third day thanks, i have materials costs to pay and are we both in accord you'll settle by this day, and might get them to sign even
happy mooring enclosures
keep afloat,
:)

[fragged8]

I feel for ya MIke, i'm waiting on 2 cheques as we speak,

both jobs completed ages a ago, one of the customers was ultra
fussy and i ended up doing far more than quoted for and he still hasn't
paid.

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Rich

[bobbin]

The first shop I worked for required a 50% deposit on any work he contracted (this covered the materials for the job).  The deal was that the balance was due upon completion, and he and the owner set a date to meet at the boat or at the shop.  To be honest, Mike, I don't know if my former employer stuck to that arrangement all the time or if he "cut deals" with boat owners.  Things are considerably looser in the shop where I presently work and there have been some "bad payers" over the years.  (Their canvas repair needs get a low priority, BTW). 

I loathe people like that; they receive quality work, delivered on time, and they turn into "experts" on marine canvas, nit-picking anything to extract a little more "service" before holding up their end of the bargain (agreed upon weeks/months before) and paying up.  And worse, you have to handle them nicely until their final cheque clears the bank.   I suggest you set a meeting with the customer, spelling out that final, in full payment will be expected at that time.   You could pre-install the canvas, so the hardware is all in the proper place, but if they don't hand you the check, you take the canvas back to your shop.  I also like the "late payment" surcharge.   

[Mojo]

In the automotive sector they have what they call a mechanics lien. I wonder if this also applies to canvas work on boats ? They don't pay you put a lien on the boats title.

I stay way clear of Marine work. 1.) I do not know that part of our trade and am to damn old to learn it now. 2.) I have no desire to climb around on a boat in my current health and age. 3.) I would probably be so pissed if a customer didn't pay me that I would go to their location and rip the canvas right off their boat.

I am a very nice person, easy going and will do anything for anyone. But get me over the hump and piss me off and I can revert back to my Marine Corps days and become a raging maniac. I have no patience for people who do not pay their bill's. I see no reason to coddle them and be nice when they are long overdue on paying. I would never want their business again in the future so thus would probably be a horses ass and demand payment immediately in a not so very nice and threatening way. I simply cannot stand deadbeats. It is disrespectful to the max.

Thankfully I have never been stiffed.

Chris

[Allan]

Chris

Maybe Mike could contract you as his collection agency

8)

Allan

[Mike8560]

It's not really that bad the customer did  ask if it could be done within 2 weeks  way back in the spring I said nope  they called me back later a d I was dome within a week of what I estimated   
They didn't nitpik bobbin   Ot just the larger job alway have to wait about a week for there schedual. I meen if your talking on the phone and all is good o can be there in 30 mins. 
I wouldn't care so much but I've been waiting on it to do a boat deal for myself

[mike802]

In the automotive sector they have what they call a mechanics lien. I wonder if this also applies to canvas work on boats ? They don't pay you put a lien on the boats title.

A mechanics lien can apply to any product, or service.  I have an expressed mechanics lien on the bottom of my estimate / work order sheet that the customer signs.  But the customer has to sign it for it to be binding.  I also have a release from liability clause as well. 

It would probably be a good idea to add that the balance is to be paid in full upon delivery, storage fees, etc.  When I first went into business I had a lot of trouble with this kind of stuff, but I don't have much trouble now.  Mostly I charge a 50% deposit to cover materials and some labor and I don't deliver, or let the work leave the shop without payment. 

I once had an argument with a lawyer, he had me recover a pair of bucket seats for his Austin Healey.  He stopped in to pick them up, I told him the balance and he acted all embarrassed and said he forgot his check book and that he would send his son over with a check tomorrow.  I told him that's fine and tomorrow your son can pick up the seats.  We went round and round and he finally asked me if I new who he was, I told him I didn't care who he was and I pointed to a sign I had hanging in the shop at the time that said no credit, no exceptions.  He finally said well I might have some emergency money in my wallet, he then pulled out the 200.00 bucks and paid in cash.

The truth is I knew who he was, he had ripped off a good friend of my fathers in a real estate deal, took legal advantage of him for a fortune and I wasn't going to back down because I new I would never see that money.  I had just put up the no credit sign because up to that point I had been a real push over and I was sick if it.  When the guy finally left I had to sit down for half an hour my legs and insides were shaking so bad.  I must have been all of twenty and that 200.00 bucks was my kids Christmas.

[Mike8560]

Ben there myself mike looking for payday for christmass
if you go into a store tou have to pay when you leave.  Same thing i used to have a shop on. Lake and all boats came to me and it was never a pro lem the customer  was there on Friday afternoon to get the boat and pay.  Here I work mostly on there turf and they have all the hand. 
Some thing like sombody brings me a a seat to recover they come get it and pay.

[Mike8560]

Well it's all good now were just on different levels I'm on a I got Done I'd like to. Be done with you and get  To other  things and move on but there retired probly get up a out 9 and have coffe before they get dressed
if I was a doctor I'll bet they be on time at 8am