Allred00535 said:
I dealt with a jerk like that too. He calls for a detail, asks what is included and we agree on a price, assuming the vehicle condition is as he claims. He was a little out of my area but I didn't have anything else scheduled that afternoon and so another 10 miles of driving is better than not working at all, right? I get there and while the outside isn't bad the interior has some red stains. Only his kids are home and he doesn't answer his cell, so I get started on it anyway. About halfway through, his wife gets home and I point out the red stains and let her know they will not come out. She said not to worry, their kids spilled koolaid in the car about 3-4 years ago and she didn't expect it to come out. I finish the car, his wife comes out and looks at it and says it looks great and her husband will be very happy. She gives me a check and I go home. A few hours later, I get a call on my cellphone. I recognize the number as the owner of the car I just did. He seems to be disguising his voice for some reason and asks what all is included in a detail. I tell him and he says "what about the engine?" and I tell him I normally do not clean engines due to liability issues. Too much electronics under the hood these days. I only clean engines with a signed liability release and the customer has to be there along with keys so I can start the engine immediately after washing to allow it to run and completely dry. Then he asks about red stains. I tell him red stains are the hardest stains to remove, especially if they have in the carpet or fabric more than a few days. Red lipstick or crayon is relatively easy to remove but often, red drinks will permanently dye the carpet.
He then tells me who he is (duh) and that he is mad I didn't clean his engine and get the red stains out. I reminded him when he initially called me I told him exactly what was included and if engine cleaning was that important to him he should have brought it up when I didn't mention it as included in the price. I also told him of the conversation about the stains with his wife and what she said. He told me his wife doesn't have a clue and I should have called him. Told him I called his cell and I never heard back from him.
He then said he was sending his wife to my house to pick up the check he gave me and I could have it back when I got the red stains out and cleaned his engine. I asked why he wasn't coming out himself and he said he was mad at his wife for paying me for my "crappy" detail.
Anyway, his wife drives something like 35 miles to my house to get the check and she is fuming...not at me, at him. She says I did an excellent job and has no idea why her husband is acting like he is. I told her to tell him he can keep his check because I am not driving back out there to do any more work for him because I don't trust him to pay me. She said "I don't blame you one bit" and left.
He called the next day asking when I was going to come out and finish the car, I told him "never" and hung up on him. Never heard back. No biggie, he seems like such a d i c k that I bet any bad-mouthing he might have done would have fallen on deaf ears. Plus he was really out farther than I prefer to go anyway.
