i actually had to deal with something similar just yesterday. very small $120 job for front porch and steps. She said she sent the payment then went silent. Went to play some golf while i waited for payment (home owner wasn’t home) after my 18 holes it was about time for her to get off work so i went back to her house and waited till she came home from work, said i had been there all day waiting for the payment to clear. she acted oblivious. i ran her card through square pay and left.
If she didn’t show up i was going to give my friend a free driveway cleaning and shop vac the reclaim and dump it back on this girls porch *joking
If they aren’t paying, give them a notice that you will place a lien on the home. If they still don’t pay then put a Lien on the home and collect your check whenever they sell the house. They can’t sell it until they settle the Lien.
Yes it’s annoying but not worth the time or energy to chase someone down.
i’ve heard liens for homeowners that aren’t listing their homes are pretty much useless. they don’t have to pay till they sell the home or die if i remember correctly.
It’s not useless. It’s how you get your money back legally. What’s Useless is vandalizing their home with dirt.
You ruin your professional image that way as well. Imagine they write a google review saying you did this and you comment back saying you didn’t pay, you think people like seeing that type of person? It’s childish. Adults use legal routes. People don’t hire the service, they hire people. Who the heck would want to hire someone like that.
I had a client that I squeezed in to my schedule because she needed a house wash almost immediately.
Completed the job, she was very happy.
2 weeks later she hadn’t even opened her invoice, so I reached out to her. I kept in contact with her for 2 weeks, keeping things professional. She eventually paid a month after the service was completed.
The business really needed her to pay but I wasn’t going to tarnish my reputation by reacting negatively. Not only would I get a bad reputation in the community but I could effectively kiss that money good bye forever
“Just” forgot? How do you forget to pay someone for their time if you know that’s how they feed their family? In my book that’s a worst thing one can do to someone who came and did a good (or bad) job.
With the technique i taught you, you should be able to hit a 3 story gutter line with ease. It’s not the size of the egg but how you grip it and release it. Roofs need a bit more finesse, what your looking for is an arch from the boundary line to your intended target.
So there is an update. Customer send a payment for a paypal invoice and asked to get more work done (flat work) . I entertained thought thinking maybe he is just lousy customer. This morning I get an email from paypal saying the e-check was declined by the bank.
Contacted customer again. To that he said it’s due to address discrepancy since he just moved.
Offered venmo or cash app. I don’t do none of thst,Told him i will be over to collect cash.
He said ok.
I am willing to bet lunch that he will not be home or have another excuse.
I offer my customers the ability to pay with Zelle, Paypal, credit/debit card, bank transfer, check, cash, or barter.
In my opinion you seem a little worked up over a house wash payment. It’s only been 3 days and he did try once to pay you. Maybe he is trying to screw you but demanding cash payment after only 3 days seems a little paranoid to me.
I give my residential customers 10 days to pay on average. Be a little flexible, it might pay off in the end. I just had a situation where a customer couldn’t get home to pay me when I finished a house wash. No problem, I said I would text them the invoice. Then they apparently got busy and forgot to pay for a few days but when the credit card payment came through there was a $35 tip on top for my “inconvenience” even though the whole process was about 5 days and I never even mentioned anything to them.
I wouldn’t worry much if he had balls to be clear from the get go. He first sent his 12 y.o boy to tell me he wasn’t coming when 20 minutes prior said he was. He then paid me with a bad check and acted as he didn’t know whats up. I will give him one more benefit of doubt and drive to his house to get paid. Cash is because you can’t reverse a cash payment.
I just didn’t get tooo upset
