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Paying more than invoiced

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Julia

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I'm interested to know if anyone here has voluntarily paid a greater amount for a service than has been charged?

Sounds nutty, I know.

I use a mobile pool service which comes once a month, does full water testing, empties baskets, checks all the machinery is working well, and bills me just $20.00 as a service charge. The chemicals are, of course, in addition, but pricescompare favourably with prices from pool shop, and are all mixed and added without my having to stuff about with it.

Using the pool shop,you have to take water sample in there, hang around while it's being tested, then cart home and administer all the chemicals, large bags of salt etc. Then if an urgent problem occurs, they can't get anyone to you for about ten days, during which time the pool will have gone green.
Monthly service charge from them is around $70 and often the serviceperson who comes is almost useless.

The mobile bloke used to be a pool builder, then had his own pool shop which he tossed in because of the difficulty of getting quality staff. He will come the next day for any repairs and is quick and competent.

$20 seems to me ridiculously little for such a good and reliable service. Usually he's here for about half an hour.

A couple of years ago I had to call a plumber out at 5am on Christmas morning. He came immediately, and did the job quickly, solved everything, and the bill was no more than I'd expect for a non-urgent ordinary weekday.
So I added $35 to the payment. The next time he came he charged an extraordinarily high amount, so I'm wary about switching any disadvantage from the pool bloke to myself.

Comments from anyone?
 
Julia said:
I'm interested to know if anyone here has voluntarily paid a greater amount for a service than has been charged?

Sounds nutty, I know.


Comments from anyone?
Click to expand...

The invoice is the minimum price you need to pay, not the maximum.

The US has a significant tipping culture. For better or worse, it is a way which feedback is given to the service provider. This has some drawbacks when the discretionary element becomes expected....as per your example (to a degree).

I think that the key drawback is moving from a purely discretionary basis that, over time, becomes expected. In this regard, I think that any discretionary element you plan on giving should be accompanied with a statement about why, on this occasion, you are adding to the invoice. This should implicitly communicate that it is a one off and not to be expected.

If this becomes an expectation, it may be because the service was underpriced in the first place. If not, you largely have the choice to replace the provider. The service suppliers are hardly monopolists for the most part.

If it makes you feel better to make a transaction fairer in your eyes, why not? No-one is forcing you and some generosity it good for the soul...until it gets taken advantage of. But then, we need to look for the good and until we find it.

I have done as you have done. I don't regret it. I feel good about it.
 
Pay the quoted price plus perhaps a bevie or a sweet biscuit? A warm smile, genuine appreciation is often worth more than a dollar.
 


There's nothing wrong with paying more for a service if you feel it is warranted.

The poolman should feel appreciated, I know I would.

It should get you better service in the long run, even though that was not your aim when paying more.

The plumber got it all wrong. But that's life.
 
Julia said:
I'm interested to know if anyone here has voluntarily paid a greater amount for a service than has been charged?

Sounds nutty, I know.
Click to expand...
I think the Americans call this a 'tip'...
 
There once was a man who repaired windmill pumps.
He did wonders, sourced second hand parts, made ingenious modifications ... etc. etc.

Kept the price really low.

To show their appreciation his customers would moan or withhold payments.

One day someone p!ssed in his ear ... double the price ... use new parts ... save time.

His clientele improved dramatically in number, value and appreciation.
And he had more spare time.

True story!!
 

Now the farmers use solar pumps. True story!!!

But I do agree with your sentiment, if you charge people a low price, many of them think they are getting an inferior job.
It makes me laugh.
It is the same with car parts, they say only buy genuine.
Well I priced a genuine fuel filter for my car $229 from the dealer. I thought you must be dreaming, bought one off the internet same manufacturer $38.
 
What is the name of the person who repairs windmill pumps ?

Mine is broken and repairers are hard to find in my area.

I also have no chance of getting a plumber on Christmas morning.
 
gordon2007 said:
Pay the quoted price plus perhaps a bevie or a sweet biscuit? A warm smile, genuine appreciation is often worth more than a dollar.
Click to expand...

In the milkman jokes it was often more than a warm smile.


http://www.jokebuddha.com/Milkman
 
gordon2007 said:
Pay the quoted price plus perhaps a bevie or a sweet biscuit? A warm smile, genuine appreciation is often worth more than a dollar.
Click to expand...

+1 It's amazing how appreciated a slab of beer or bottle of whiskey/wine is and the appreciation in my experience is greater than a monetary tip. The gift shows you have gone to a little effort in appreciation for the work which money all though nice doesn't have that effort and thoughtfulness attached. So I would say either find out from him or an associate what he likes to drink and go that way. If you want to give money then I'd write a note to say it's in appreciation for the service so they don't just think you accidentally overpaid the bill.
 
Julia, give him a really nice Christmas gift thanking him for his great service.
That's what I do.
 
I think your pool man was acting in a fairly typical manner to most people selling a product or service for the first time. They start off low and when you are sucked in they hike the prices.

Personally, I wouldn't put up with paying the exhorbitant price and would shop around for similar services in the area. Hiking up the prices after you have shown appreciation for their service is extremely arrogant and disrespectful, and some people need to be taught a lesson in consumer power.
 
Rumpole, your above post is presumably meant in some sort of jest?

Thank you to those who have contributed genuine suggestions. It's not a new service. He has serviced most of the big resorts for quite a long time and has been coming here for about a year.

I already provide cold drinks in hot weather which he has while he works. Too busy to sit around over cups of tea, but I appreciate the sense of the suggestion.

Essentially I was just comparing his $20 for a way superior service to that offered by the pool shops at $70 where half the time they don't know what they're doing, and also I guess I look at a service in terms of what its value is to me, and that's a great deal.
 

I think you have misread the post. Julia's plumber did what you said as above, not her pool guy. Julia is asking is she going to regret giving the pool guy a tip/gift/whatever above invoice cost.

Im with giving a non monetary tip. Beer, wine, movie tickets etc - and only at Xmas or a call-out. Otherwise people expect or feel entitled. Human nature. Being nice is generally harder than being nasty.

I give a double movie pass to all my tenants at Xmas who pay their rent on time the whole period. I have 1 staff in one house and I give him a week rent free the week before Xmas to relieve the pressure for presents. Beyond that, its business as usual.


pinkboy
 
I think you have misread the post. Julia's plumber did what you said as above, not her pool guy. Julia is asking is she going to regret giving the pool guy a tip/gift/whatever above invoice cost.
Click to expand...

There could be several reasons for the low cost. Introductory service, but not in this case, or the pool guy genuinely wants to give good service and thinks that word of mouth is a good advertisement for himself and will lead others to his services.

I agree with others who say a non monetary tip or appreciation is best. Maybe also get some friends to use his services as well would show appreciation for the value for money he gives.

As for the plumber, it seems appreciation of his service was met by ingratitude, so I would be looking for another plumber.
 
I would be giving a gift at Xmas as well rather than a tip, I suppose he is making a profit on his chemical charges as well to pad out his income.

Maybe he just likes you
 
OK, consensus seems to be gift at Christmas. Sounds good to me.

Yes, no doubt the chemical prices are padded but that's the same in any business. No one is going to sell something on for what they pay for it wholesale.

He just seems to me to be a genuinely decent, hard working bloke who believes in providing good service, not all that common these days.

In contrast, I had a quote to do small amount of pruning - chainsaw through and removal of ten tree limbs, no climbing or ladders involved, about an hour plus time to go to the tip. Quote was for four hours at $50.00 p. hr!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to offer a view.
 
Julia said:
In contrast, I had a quote to do small amount of pruning - chainsaw through and removal of ten tree limbs, no climbing or ladders involved, about an hour plus time to go to the tip. Quote was for four hours at $50.00 p. hr!
Click to expand...

Opening up a whole new can of worms here, but $50/hr for general work like that is still reasonable.

Today I submitted some rates to a client who asked for a breakdown on my rate. Was shocked when it spat out a net profit of 8.61% after all the little bits and pieces were added up and deducted out of the rate!


pinkboy
 
pinkboy, I was commenting less on the hourly rate than the proposed rip-off of it taking four hours. I regularly get stuff like this done and it would be no more than one hour's work plus dumping the branches.

I'd suggest that if you'd asked the same bloke to quote for the same job there's no way in the world he'd have suggested it would take four hours. He clearly thought "dumb woman, probably, chance for a bit extra".
 
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