Last Monday evening, I got a knock on the door. It was one of my satisfied customers with another lady with her. She was introduced as a cousin & I was recommended by several of her family (They have all purchased a system from me).

At that time, I was completing a build which she liked & wanted it. She also asked if I had speakers & printer. Showed her the items which were still sealed & she stated that she will buy it as soon as it's ready (I only had to install o/s & other software).

Now for the fun..... Cost. She was told that all in, it would be £355.00 ($720 Can). Rig secs: - XP Pro, 250gb hd, 2gb ram, geoforce 6200 gpu, AMD 3700 cpu, Labtec 2.1 speakers, HP F2180 all-in-one printer, micro tower, 17in monitor, kb, Mouse. The arrangements for payment was 50% immediately & 50% by the end of the month, which was acceptable by both parties.

Received a telephone call Tuesday morning stating that they will pick the computer up at 18:30 along with myself so that I can set it up & then I can walk home when finished - THEN she stated that she'll give me £100 deposit & pay £100 per month until it's cleared. As I was out when call received, she was told that I will contact her when I arrive home to discuss the matter.

Got home around 11am & before I could put the shopping away, she called in person. She wanted to know why the computer wasn't ready as she had purchased a computer desk & had contacted Virgin Media to have Internet access installed. Explained about installing software & she departed. To cut a long story short, I continued to receive phones at the rate of 2/3 per day until yesterday morning, when she cousin (one of my neighbours) called in to ask how it's proceeding.

She was told that unless I receive 50% by 18.00 that evening, I would sell it to another customer who will be calling at that time. Received no answer or comments & at 18:00, system was sold for £385.00 cash (inclusive of setting up charge).

Now for the best part..........She called this morning, again in person, & as soon as she found that the sysytem had been sold, informed me that she will be taking me to court for breach of agreement!

Am I a simpleton or just plain bloody crazy?

OUCH
NOT MUCH YOU CAN DO WITH THAT TYPE OF CUSTOMER. THE ONLY WAY TO COVER YOUR BUTT IS TO GO THE FULL LEGAL-ESE QUOTING AND WORK ORDER FORMS THAT STATE ALL THE PAYMENT TERMS ETC.
ITS A SHAME BUSINESS CAN'T BE DONE ON A HANDSHAKE AND AN AGREEMENT, BUT THOSE DAYS ARE FADING AWAY.
I GOT BURNED A FEW TIMES IN THE CATERING BUSINESS FROM HANDSHAKE AGREEMENTS.
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE.

I've sent a registered letter stating the fact that she agreed to a 50% deposit with the remaining balance due by the end of Aug. I've also included a list of calls she made to my mobile (I love digital) & that if she proceeeds, I will counter with a breach of contract.

I gave a copy to her cousin, who went ballistic & telephoned her immediately & told her to back off. Whether that will have any effect, I really don't care. What she doesn't realise is that should she proceed, she will be making it tougher for her family as I will commence charging full price for any service they require, rather than discounted at the moment.

I had one earlier this year, that purchased a system from me over 14 months ago but would not take out a service agreement. He really was an A*******, and unfortunately for him, his kids messed up his rig. He went to PC World who have a high charge & you have to leave the system with them for 10/14 days. He came to me, where I told him to go back to PC World as I did not want his business. He'd been slagging me off to the wrong people. They came back to me & told me what was going on. Unknown to him, I have most of this area covered by either rigs built or upgrading/servicing & they have come to respect & trust me.

I don't think much will come of this, but I do find it annoying. So much so, I know have had to change my T & C's to the point where a sizeable deposit is required for any complete system order.

I'm just waiting for a customer to return from vacation & I'll let him know what's been happening. He'll sort it out as he's an extended family member of those involved. For a 16yr old, he really put his fellow countrymen to shame. Last October, I had 5 rigs ready to sell, & he picked one out that he really liked & put a deposit down, begging me to keep it for him. He paid every week for another 4 weeks & at the end, couldn't wait to take it home. £425 paid in 5 weeks. I wished I could do that when I was a teenager!

Getting a lot of practice in legal matters aren't you Sirius? LOL

Give 'em Hell!

It's the kind I don't really need. I really don't know why, but the last 10 months have been a nightmare. They know I don't like the big retailers as I think they rip people off. Just finished a build this morning & telephoned the guy to say it's ready for collection. Within 10 minutes of the call, he was here. He couldn't believe what he seen. Micro tower, 500gb hd, 2gb ram, X2 5000 cpu, Asus m2n - hdmi mobo, sony dvd-rw, labtec 2-1 spkrs, HP F2180 all-in-one printer, KB & mouse, Vista Business, 17" flat screen - £485.00 which includes the first years service. He paid cash immediately & told me that I was crazy as pc world's price for a very similar system was £699.99 not including speakers. All components brand new.

He chatted with me for a good half hour & told me that this rig will be used in his lounge by all the family & some time in October, could I build him another one for his daughter who will be starting college, & when he's ready to order, will pay in advance. Boy, could I do with more customers like him! I don't discuss customers personal details but I did inform him of the problem I had last week. As most of my customers are Asian, they tend to know each other, & he asked for her name. He told me that he know's the family well & will sort the matter out. He actually told me that she's the one who's crazy & he'll speak to her husband - hopefully another order.

The problem I find with most Asians is that they want the best of everything at the cheapest possible price. I made £90 profit & that will increase as he want's MS office & good burning software, & I use Roxio & have several packs. So total profit will be £140 which I think is enough for one system. Just shows one just how much profit the big boys make.

I'm definitely stupid!!!

Andrea answered the door about 30 mins ago & there she was, demanding to know if the computer is ready!

I think that I'm going to have to learn Urdu So that they can understand that NO means NO unless they pay for it!

I've always hated lawyers for the simple fact is that they get rich off the misery of others.

It looks like I will have to see one to get terms & conditions set up so that problems like these no longer occur. More unecessary expense!