customer writes the check

[newmoonfarm]

one of my best customers kills me every time she writes me a check.
she wants copies of all the receipts for materials and questions, literally, what every screw, can of landscape paint, item was and i used it for.
she owns several rental properties and i do work for her all the time but it makes my stomach hurt every time i give her a bill.
oh she usually adds a little extra on the pay (rounds up), and gives me good recommendations but it drives me nuts.
anybody got a customer like this?
i think she just wants to be involved, but i always feel like it's a trust issue.

[pagefault]

If she is tipping you and giving you good references, there may be something else going on. I don't know what it might be. It seems like she believes you when you explain everything. Maybe she is a freak about keeping records. Maybe she has a husband or partners who question everything she does and she wants to be able to answer them and get them off her back. I had a boss that was always pestering me about stuff like that and it turned out that there was another exec trying to get him fired and this exec was always asking my boss the same questions at every board meeting, so he was just prepping for that monthly nightmare. Maybe she just wants to understand everything so that if you move on to other things, the next guy won't be able to screw her. Who knows.

I wouldn't sweat it if she isn't complaining.

[pwarren4]

sounds like expenses tax deduction evidence to me.

No such thing as to much CYA when it comes to the feds.

[NickN]

<i>she owns several rental properties and i do work for her all the time</i>
She's just covering her arse.She's writing this off on her taxes and wants the receipt copies in case she is audited.She could get by with just your invoice,but what's to say the IRS wouldn't accuse her of having you increase the price to lower her tax burden.Just my opinion.

[Popper357]

Why haven't you asked her to find out?

[Garth]

Sounds like our financial officer. One of the most bloody anal people I've ever met and being Scottish, I've met a few. My ol' Dad can squeeze a quarter till the eagle screams, but this guy literally counts how many sheets of lavatory paper each person should use. I've got a couple that are in their 70's and very proud Russian Jews. They are very sweet people, but, they are very tight with money. They own several businesses and scores of rental properties and they always pay on time but let me put it this way. If that old saying," the more you complain, the longer God lets you live" is true, these two will outlive my grandchildren. Sometimes it just what people had to live through that makes them the way they are. This couple lives in a little house, drive older cars, and looking at them you wouldn't dream they actually own half the town.

[polecat63]

You show your customers receipts? Why on earth would you do that? I give my customers a price and if they like it I do the work. If they want to know the cost of operating my business they are more than welcome to buy it from me.

[newmoonfarm]

yeah i know, she's the only person i do this with, she was my first steady customer and she got me on my feet for other big jobs. i have a different relationship with her than any other customer.
i think i've mentioned before that my location is in the part of texas that time forgot.
i have a customer base that still operates under 1940's sort of rules. huge victorian houses and old south, who's your people, gentry.
i have just started working in a larger town slightly further away, which is in the current era. i do like both sorts of customers, but the old fashioned ones are much more loyal.
i do much prefer just invoicing materials and labor, take it or leave it. i also enjoy being in a better position to do that all the time.. when we expanded our business from a farm/nursery to include landscaping it was a whole new world for us.
i have relied on you guys to help correct a lot of mistakes we made in the begining. every job gets a little better bidding wise and in customer relations.

[JRAZ]

I don't think she would need your receipt copies. YOU are her deduction. A bill from you for services rendered should suffice for her records needs. So, she must not trust you or she is just some kind of freak.

[Mike's Yard Services]

Good point........Mike

[sheshovel]

Beleive it or not women get ripped off all the time by contractors,they consistantly get over charged for everything because alot of contractors know they can get away with it because the cust is a women and usualy has no clue what materials cost and what time or materials it takes to do certain jobs.
This is especialy true for older widows,they were raised with the men doing ALL the outside work and house repair and maintenance,they took care of the kids and ran the household and took care of the breadwinner,so he could win bread and feed the family.Then the man dies and some of them can't even drive,or use a checking account let alone know if they are being overcharged or flat out being ripped off.So they DO get ripped all the time.
That kind of knowlage about life is changing now and parents are teaching their daughters real world things .
Your client may have been ripped off at one time or another and lost a fair amount of money before she realized what was happining.

So for this reason she questions everything and wants to know just whether you used that can of spray paint on her repair or took it home and used it on yours.
You have to look at her from a different point of view than where you stand looking out,think about how vulnerable you would feel being at the mercy of many different people that you don't know.
Wondering if you are gonna get a decient price or an outrageously inflated one because you are not educated in plumbing,electrical work,landscaping,building,cement work ect,ect,ect, and you are female.
just my 2 cents :D

[JRAZ]

Beleive it or not women get ripped off all the time by contractors,they consistantly get over charged for everything because alot of contractors know they can get away with it because the cust is a women and usualy has no clue what materials cost and what time or materials it takes to do certain jobs.
This is especialy true for older widows,they were raised with the men doing ALL the outside work and house repair and maintenance,they took care of the kids and ran the household and took care of the breadwinner,so he could win bread and feed the family.Then the man dies and some of them can't even drive,or use a checking account let alone know if they are being overcharged or flat out being ripped off.So they DO get ripped all the time.
That kind of knowlage about life is changing now and parents are teaching their daughters real world things .
Your client may have been ripped off at one time or another and lost a fair amount of money before she realized what was happining.



So for this reason she questions everything and wants to know just whether you used that can of spray paint on her repair or took it home and used it on yours.
You have to look at her from a different point of view than where you stand looking out,think about how vulnerable you would feel being at the mercy of many different people that you don't know.
Wondering if you are gonna get a decient price or an outrageously inflated one because you are not educated in plumbing,electrical work,landscaping,building,cement work ect,ect,ect, and you are female.
just my 2 cents :D

It's all about being an edumacated consumer. Men get ripped off to. Been to a strip club lately? Biggest rip off around. I'll give ya that women get ripped off more than men when it comes to what you listed. Still, it is about edumacation and price shopping to avoid rip offs. I'll go get my soap box fer ya...

[sheshovel]

Whatever you say JRAZ ....you must be right.

[JRAZ]

Sheshovel, I got nothing but love for ya. I am just messin' around :cool2:

[sheshovel]

OK just alittle sensitive lately is all,your a sweetie~