I get a call from a customer 108 miles away. I have been to this customer twice before and always charged travel and minimum. This particular trip was to evaluate why a phone in an office wouldn't work after the office had been flooded by an over flowing toilet upstairs. Since I am 108 miles away, I don't know if the sheet rock crew tore out the or what. After making the phone work again I am to swap the extension with another. Also in conversation with customer part of my service call is to evaluate the new location they are moving to in a few months. My job description is a bit more than fix a defective wall jack.
The next day I arrive on time, meet the staff member onsite, replace the jack, swap the extension and verify with staff member that the phone works and it is the correct extension number and that the other extension prior to the swap works. Staff member is happy and I submit invoice. Staff member forwards invoice to Queen Bee (bitch) via email back at the house. Everyone I was supposed to satisfy is happy and on my merry way I go.
Next day I get this in my email:
Hi again John:
I will happily front the funds for the insurance carrier on the condition that you break out your time as I asked you to do two times before. I know how long you were here working, based upon the other staffers who were here at the time you came and left
I created a second invoice with lots of pretty graphics and descriptions and cute stuff for the State Farm guy to crunch over and submitted it again. After a few weeks I got an email back but no check. The email was a biggun so I'll just copy a few highlights.
you will recall from our many past request for jobs to be done by you, that we always paid you promptly, as we do all of our vendors
Finally, I really really feel that you took advantage of me, inasmuchas I had NO idea you had moved to St. Augustine.
Accordingly, I do not intend to pay you anything. I considered you a friend and am truly upset with this whole situation, one exclusively of your making. Shame on you. I would never treat a client that way.
Well after that I decided to take her and her mentally unstable issues out of he equation. I sent the invoice to the bitches husband with the following info.
Mr. Skank
In a seperate email you will receive an invoice from Greenlight Communications. As you are well aware this invoice was submitted to Carol Skank previously. It is no longer possible to communicate with Carol.
There are two reasons why you should figure out a way to get this paid.
#1 When a business requests another business to perform a service, after the service is performed it is customary to compensate the business that performed the service.
#2 My business will no longer be doing any service work on your telephone system. When the next servicing business takes over where my business left off I plan to extend professional courtesy to that business IF I have been compensated for the service previously performed. If I have not been compensated then I simply DO NOT care to be an asset to your operation. The new service business will probably bill accordingly.
Thank You
Well that went over well. Got email from Ms. Skank latter that day. It is a real doozie too.
You have GOT to be kidding. A $20 job and you’re trying to rip me off for $491.00 now? Have you NO shame?
I couldn’t submit that to the insurance carrier, that would be insurance fraud!
Again, no one here had any idea that you were driving from St. Augustine, or, someone local would have been called. You never even mentioned it. Further, a two hour minimum for a 5 minute job; 10 if you’re slow, then, the job was not completed correctly. The jack you purportedly replaced DOES NOT WORK!!!
DO NOT BOTHER TO CONTACT US AGAIN. No one will respond. By the way, your veiled threat in your email to my husband did not play well. He handed it to me and asked, “what’s WRONG with this guy?”
What a mess. You got the two big kings of Slimyville (Lawyers & Insurance Dweebs) going at each other and all I did was my job and I should be ashamed of myself. Go figure?
They deserve each other!
