Hello there, just got hit with certified mail today from an 81 year old customer who has went off the rails with a complaint.
Of course it was the last job of the season and cash. This was October when it was starting to frost and whatnot. I go through the regular spiel with the guy about the process is with asphalt shingle roofs and how it takes time and is not instant. I complete the job and he wants to pay cash, not check but doesn’t have the cash. I tell him I’m leaving the next day for my state job and I’ll just collect the cash when I get back. I told him I’ll be back in spring for re work if there is still some moss that’s left over and get him squared away.
This guy pays me and everything is cordial. No red flags or issues. Then he calls me up and tells me the roof “looks like ■■■■” I told him it would look worse at first and get better. He is adamant that I need to get up there and leafblow the roof like I promised. I told him the only time I mentioned using a leafblower is the initial cleaning of debris. He’s completely off base. When talking to him, (it’s late October by now) I don’t want to get on any dang roofs it’s icy and late October in Alaska. I told him I’m sorry he’s not happy with how it looks, but by spring if it’s still giving him fits I’d be more than happy to head over and rinse the roof.
He’s saying he has a leak because of the moss and that I also broke his hose bib. Basically just tacking on anything he can right now.
He wants 500$ because I didn’t do the job that I said I’d do, and almost another 500 for the bib replacement.
This is so obnoxious and over the top. Having never had to deal with this issue, do I just respond back to him and agency telling my side of the story?
I assume I could give him some references of people that have had their shingle roofs cleaned by me where they can explain that I told them it takes time for moss to die, and that leaf blowing it with a gas leafblower isn’t doing much.
Also included in the complaint is my nailer which shows a before and after of a METAL roof as proof I didn’t do a good job.
To be honest I don’t want to give this guy an effin cent because he’s so full of and I don’t know if it’s because he’s old and senile or if he’s a jerk. Thoughts?
PS he didn’t have an email address because he’s ancient and of course didn’t hit accept on job because I’d have needed to send him something to his email or phone and he only had a landline so…got me good there I guess.
No approved work order, no paper trail by paying in cash, photos of a different roof… sounds to me like you never did any work for him.
On a serious note… don’t give out other clients personal data. Tough situation to be in… I’d push back and say I’ll be back out in the spring to fix the hose bib and take a look at the roof. At that point either wash it again or refund the money. In the future, no email available gets a printed estimate to sign off on before work beings.
Im In kind of a weird spot because I have call logs of us talking and last call is Oct 9th when he was telling me he wants me back up there now. I told him that wasn’t happening as truck was winterized like wed discussed and spring time was what we agreed to. Then radio silence. He never told me about the bib, or called about it until now and I think it’s BS. He doesn’t want me to use his water so what am I going to do? Charge him a dollar a gallon to haul water back and forth and for setup breakdown time every trip I have to make? Like this is stuff that’s so over the top rediculous. Who would say that a leaf blower is going to remove moss? That’s completely fabricated on his part. I preach all the time to set proper expectations before work is done and this time was no different than the others. It’s just so annoying
Are the call logs actual recordings/transcripts or just dates/times? If they are recordings, double-check the laws on consent in your state. If you are in a one-party consent state and you have proof of what was discussed, I wouldn’t bother thinking about this much more. I’m also curious if, because of his age, there is some form of memory loss involved. Have you presented him with the records of your conversations?
I would personally have one more conversation—even better if it’s left as a voicemail—about what was discussed, emphasizing that you can’t do anything this time of year but will come out next spring. Then, go radio silent. Reach back out in the spring and go from there. By then, the roof should look good, and he may have had time to cool down and see the results of the cleaning.
The options I see moving forward:
He can choose to take you to small claims court. Even if you win with your proof, it’ll probably end up costing you more than $500 in time and money.
Continue to try to appease him.
Revisit in the spring and see what happens.
Refund the money and fix the hose bib, count it as a loss, and hope he never reaches out again.
I don’t know the laws in your state, so I won’t give you advice. All contracts in my state over $500 are required to be signed according to the law. If you have a contract, he can say anything he wants and if it isn’t in there he can go pound sand. I’ve had my problems with contracts and customers, sometimes you have to walk away…and it does hurt (financially or emotionally). You may want to just put your fist down their throat and kick them off you, but that doesn’t work unless you sneak in with a mask and gloves at night, make a hasty retreat, then never tell anyone ever.
I believe you meant that there wasn’t a form of payment available electronically - hence the term cash job. I don’t believe for a second that you meant you worked without anything in writing and took cash from the customer without declaring it as income or paying taxes on it.
There are customers in my area that wait for new contractors in the area, like vultures. The always claim damage and issues, don’t pay, and want payment for damages. They have burnt many contractors over the years. I go see a guy I did work for and ask him, he knows all the dirtbags due to his business and his billing headaches. Maybe this is one of those people. Some old people are cranky, the older I get the crankier I get.
My initial comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek; I wasn’t suggesting any attempt to bypass IRS regulations. Rather, I was highlighting that if this individual plans to pursue small claims court, their case seems weak. Based on the posts, there doesn’t appear to be a signed agreement, and the only documented record is the call log currently held by @Dallsheep… if I was him I wouldn’t sweat it too much at this point and wait until spring to address it.
Am I correct in seeing he paid you $1,000 and what he’s asking for is $500 refund + $500 fix hose bib? Just refund him, learn from it, and be done with the headache.
Yes that’s exactly what it was. He only has a house phone. He has no cell phone, and no email address in order to send him a work order. In hindsight, I will go home and print out my contract for customer to sign if I run into this again. I log my cash jobs because it’s not worth being nervous about such a small amount of money. He said he preferred cash instead of check so I went with that.
I feel like I need to make some sort of official response so that there’s a record of me doing that as opposed to radio silence on record. I have 2 weeks to reply.
I assume he’s 81 years old and has something loose up there. He seemed really sorry but absolutely won’t let go of the leafblowing the moss off the roof. That makes no sense. Nobody in our industry is going to do that. Also nobody in our industry is going to not use the customers water supply. Unless charging them up the yinyang for hauling it. In the receipt I gave to him, it specifically mentions coming back in the spring so I think he’s cooked. He was saying that there’s a leak in the roof because the moss that he found and that it’s wedged up under the shingles too. How is it MY fault that he let his roof go to pot for 10 years before getting it treated? Think I want to spray anything up there now that he’s saying that, no water supply, etc etc.
I might just give in, give him 500 and let him have fun trying to get that hose bib covered under my insurance because I’m not touching his plumbing. Seems way more risky to touch anything on this guy’s property from what I’m dealing with now.
We don’t do any job without a digital or physical signature with contract work & terms and conditions……we’ve had a couple that I will send two copies to them, one for them and one for us signed before we start……everyone needs to be on the same page, otherwise stuff like this comes up, nothing but a headache. Most sign via email or text but there are a couple of times the customer doesn’t do technology……so I do it the old fashion way. Most appreciate the effort to have a formal contract to protect both parties. Hope it resolves itself……
I would say that at least 35-40 percent of my customers fit into the Older, technologically unsavvy types. I am so accustomed to it that I never moved away from doing in person estimates. I’m also a small part timer, so it doesn’t inconvenience me terribly.
I don’t do a job without an agreement, and even with that agreement I have had to walk away and was extremely po’d about the loss of money, time, and aggravation. I had 2 members on here discuss this issue with me about a 3k deck strip, and they were right, but I was so pissed at the moment I couldn’t see it, but I did take their advice. My only consolation is that the person died a bad death later on, which sounds like I am happy but I guess I am trying to say it was karma. Not gonna lie I did smile when I heard about it.
With contracts I always have written that I am not responsible for preexisting damage. In court how do you prove/disprove pre existing damage? Pictures is all. Written takes precedence over typed and have the homeowner initial any handwritten changes, don’t forget to date it. Contracts have expirations, mine all say 15 days unless otherwise written, and outline their rights of recission (how to terminate a contract prior to work commencing) if required in your state. My contracts say what they are paying for up front for stain jobs and that it is non refundable. I’m not buying specific stuff for a job and they back out and I have to hope a future customers wants that.
It is probably colder and snowier in your area than mine and we were at -1/-3 with windchill yesterday. It is unsafe and irresponsible to go on a roof in those conditions, unless it is some emergency.
Personally, I would tell him to pound sand. Some folks think they can take advantage of small businesses and get little to no push back when they do this kind of crap. Follow through with what you said, come back in the spring if needed and don’t budge on the hose bib.
I had a similar situation a few years ago, and guy did the same thing filing a complaint with the state. Luckily for me I had years of emails from him stating how pleased he was with our work every time we came, so the state employee basically told him to shove the complaint up his crack.
and I don’t know if it’s because he’s old and senile or if he’s a jerk. Thoughts?
