Got hissed away when I arrived & she may slander my company. Now what!??

S

sahrcar

New member
So after spending the last several days punching holes in several hundred rack cards and then putting rubber bands on them, I went out and stuck them on the front of my neighbors mailboxes. I spoke to one of my neighbors in person and we walked around her sons car and I pointed out that I could get rid of the scratches for a neighborly discounted rate of $45/ hr instead of my usual $60/hr for paint corrections but she didn't seem too impressed with restoring the paint cosmetically. I then also mentioned to her that I could repair the yellowed headlights for her for only $60 and she said when. I said I could come back tomorrow and do it then and she said that would be great. And to make sure, I then also asked a second time if she wanted any polishing done while I was there too and she said "no we'll do that another time".



So I show up today to do the work and had just unraveled my extension cord when she comes out and says "now you're doing the headlights and scratches too for only $60 right/". I corrected her and she started hissing at me and waving me away with both arms saying "go go away" and glaring me down with her eyes too. She started calling me a con and a deceptive liar and that she was going to tell all the neighbors about me. Huh??? She had my brochure in her hands when we first met and spoke that detailed all my services and prices. I've never ever had anyone act that way to me. And I never thought I would get that from one of my neighbors whom lives in a million $ house too.



The last thing she asked me before I left was why should she pay $60 when she could get the kit for $20? I quickly explained to her about how the kits remove the protective coating and only last a few months whereas my system lasts for several years and actually applies a new protective coat. Her response to that was that she didnt care about any of that, she just wanted the lights looking new again.?? Huh? If a millionaire had wanted the kit level of service one of her 3 sons or her husband could have done that.



She clearly has the money for my services but I have no idea what happened here to change it all of a sudden. I'm worried now about what she may say to the neighbors but all the neighbors now also have a description of my services and pricing so she cant slander me for pricing but still Im wondering what sort of public relations work I need to do now if any. What would yall do now?
 
Seems to me there is a correlation between the more expensive the cars, the less customers what to pay. Oh and forget about tips.



Let your work do the talking though. Do one neighbor's car who will rave about your work and the other neighbors will know this lady is bs.
 
I agree with you there Ben! I moved to the nice neighborhood where I am now so I could be closer to my potential clients. Fortunately, Im just renting a room in a large house. I say that because the majority of my clients come from the regular middle class society whom live about 30 min away from where I live now. The richer people think Im out to rob them but the people just getting by think I'm a great deal! I live in Charleston, SC and one day when I was doing a wash, glaze, wax for a small older jeep the owner of the $2.5 million mega mansion next door thought I was robbing the person by charging her $60 for that service!



I've officially been in business now for a little over a year and have yet to have anybody sign any contracts. It's just been the good ole boy southern handshake system and I've been lucky thus far but after today I may have to reconsider. I still cant believe it though since she and I went over the pricing 2 or 3 times.



I have been able to do a few neighbors cars whom gave me high accolades afterwards and fortunately a very good friend of mine whom builds military tanks for a living and drives a big truck with an iron bumper lives only a few houses down so I can always send him over to set her straight if I have too!:boxing:
 
Welcome to the world of business. Ever now and then you'll run across kooks like this no matter what field you're in



FWIW I wouldn't advertise my business to neighbors if I were working from my home
 
sahrcar said:
I've officially been in business now for a little over a year and have yet to have anybody sign any contracts. It's just been the good ole boy southern handshake system and I've been lucky thus far but after today I may have to reconsider. I still cant believe it though since she and I went over the pricing 2 or 3 times.
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Having a nice template that outlines the previous damage on the car, the owner's areas of concerns and the amount to be paid will cover your butt and make you look more professional.
 
I have had people try that bait and switch too. Give them a price for a service and when I get there they want to add more work for the same price. Got to stick to your guns and occasionally walk if you have to.
 
I agree with John. Even her friends probably know she just likes to complain. I wouldn't do anything. Some people just have no understanding of things but like to act like they do. Unfortunately our business is one of those that can be very ambiguous to the masses. Much better to focus your attention on those who appreciate what you do than trying do damage control for what likely will have no impact on you anyway.
 
Deep Gloss Auto Salon said:
Be glad you did not work on her car..... You need to develop your feelers for people like this and respectfully decline their business as it never ends well.
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Agreed. In time you develop a "sense" for these types and learn to cut and run early.
 
Deep Gloss Auto Salon said:
Be glad you did not work on her car..... You need to develop your feelers for people like this and respectfully decline their business as it never ends well.
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Exactly right, Jason. No matter what he did, this woman would have still found something to complain about.
 
I wouldn't worry much about it, your other neighbors probably already know she's a whacko. If it were me, as soon as she said what she said about the scratches being included, I would have just said "no, that was not what was agreed", then as soon as she started to push back with an attitude I would have turned around and walked away. Like others have said, you will learn to spot this kind of thing and when it happens it's not worth another minute of your time. If you did work on her car she would have found something to complain about and maybe even found a chip or scratch that was already there and blame you for it. I would just forget about it and move on, one person isn't going to kill your credibility with their mouth unless she's a real nut case and takes up slandering you as a hobby. I've come across these types of people and used to worry for nothing about what they would tell other people but it never comes to anything you really need to worry about.

As for the tipping thing, I remember when I was delivering pizzas as a second job a while back. The town I was delivering in was very diverse, rich and poor all mixed together. 95% of the time, the rich didn't tip a penny, but the poorer the people were, the more they would tip.
 
It's funny but I found that the folks out working their asses off understand my services and NEVER haggle over price, I have one guy, wonderful man that has gone way out of his way to tell people about me and send me customers. I've had several phone calls that start with, "Bob told me about your work and I want to get my car done" When I do Bob's trucks he asks me how much, then asks, "are you sure that's enough?" Really? How can you not like this guy. But for every "Bob" in the world, there's probably 20-30 whack jobs like you ran into.
 
This type of thing happens every so often. Not much you can do about it. It normally doesn't irritate me as I know it's part of doing business, but what does irritate me is when people go out of their way and start yelling about how they're going to tell everyone how poorly of a job I do and how I try and rip people off. At that point, I kindly remind them that they're free to do so, but that they can also be held liable for what they say. Usually this makes them even more mad, but it's worth mentioning. If someone is going to go around telling people that you're a liar and a thief, then you need to be ready to take legal action if necessary, and they have the right to know that that could happen. Usually they'll storm away pretty mad, but in my experience, people live in the heat of the moment and calm down later. I've even once had someone come back and apologize and tell me that I was right to tell them that slandering me is wrong.



In your circumstance, I'd just let it go and forget about it, it's an eventuality of doing business that you can't escape.
 
Some people are just like that. Don't worry about it. If you want to deal with some real crazy people, start working on yachts. I've had clients that try and haggle me down $100 on a $500 job, all while spending over $3,000 a day in fuel. I've also found that the average Joe will pay you more willingly than the ones that can easily afford it.
 
It isn't just rich people who do this, I've had lower income try the same thing. They have absolutely trashed vehicles and want a miracle for next to nothing. I think it is more a personality fault than what their income level is.
 
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