Tires Customer had a kitchen knife hidden in his grass, cut two tires

[Sebculb]

So how would y'alls handle this? Was doing some dirt work for this fancy landscaper guy at his own house and I got a flat front tire. All just blew right out, figured I pushed up on a rock funny and unseated the bead. Luckily I carry a spare to jobs cuz my tires aren't in the best shape.

Was just finishing up the job and I got another flat front! All the air blew out all at once again. Was looking at the thing and noticed a nice shiny kitchen knife blade sticking out of the ground at a 45' angle back at the tire. Pretty sure I found the culprit for that one and likely the first one too, seeing as how I'd been pushing that same dirt all around for a couple hours.

The customer was skeptical. "Ya think so? Really? I dunno, I don't think so..." Kinda irritated. Usually I try to charge cheaper than the competition, sometimes a lot less. But this time I played a little hardball was like "you send me in your yard full of metal trash and I cut my tires twice on a kitchen knife? You gotta pay me full retail price going rate A+ or we're through" difference of $35 to $40 for five hours. didn't even charge him extra on top of that even though I feel I should have. That $25 will cover the cost of one tire repair, assuming they're repairable.

How would you handle it? Grab the muddy kitchen knife and hold it to his throat while you reach an agreement (that's not what I did but you always come up with the best response to something right after the moment has passed, right?) Just joking I'm not actually a violent guy but some days...

 

[Molalla1]

So how would y'alls handle this? Was doing some dirt work for this fancy landscaper guy at his own house and I got a flat front tire. All just blew right out, figured I pushed up on a rock funny and unseated the bead. Luckily I carry a spare to jobs cuz my tires aren't in the best shape.

Was just finishing up the job and I got another flat front! All the air blew out all at once again. Was looking at the thing and noticed a nice shiny kitchen knife blade sticking out of the ground at a 45' angle back at the tire. Pretty sure I found the culprit for that one and likely the first one too, seeing as how I'd been pushing that same dirt all around for a couple hours.

The customer was skeptical. "Ya think so? Really? I dunno, I don't think so..." Kinda irritated. Usually I try to charge cheaper than the competition, sometimes a lot less. But this time I played a little hardball was like "you send me in your yard full of metal trash and I cut my tires twice on a kitchen knife? You gotta pay me full retail price going rate A+ or we're through" difference of $35 to $40 for five hours. didn't even charge him extra on top of that even though I feel I should have. That $25 will cover the cost of one tire repair, assuming they're repairable.

How would you handle it? Grab the muddy kitchen knife and hold it to his throat while you reach an agreement (that's not what I did but you always come up with the best response to something right after the moment has passed, right?) Just joking I'm not actually a violent guy but some days...

Good, walk away and chock it up to experience . . .

 

[i7win7]

Sounds like a claim against his home owner insurance.

 

[Sebculb]

There's no way to add pics anymore? I want to put one up of the knife.

 

[Jstpssng]

You said that your tires aren't very good anyways. I would walk away from it, and write it off as an educational expense.

 

[Sebculb]

And the knife was only the culprit in the second one. But this dude had all manner of rebar and naily boards and whatever else hidden in his dirt. Something made the other hole but looks more like a rebar hole, all pucker like. I really wasn't that mad he paid a little extra without too much trouble and it'll cover most of the repair it looks like.

However my mechanic is saying this is another example of why I gotta charge top dollar all the time cuz everyone wants buddy buddy discounts but no one wants to help when a tire gets cut and I need to rebuild my injection pump and gotta bunch of hydraulic cylinders to rebuild and so on.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^
That is part of the price of doing business; however, after a while you will get the feel for when you should walk away if it looks like there could be problems.

 

[3Ts]

And the knife was only the culprit in the second one. But this dude had all manner of rebar and naily boards and whatever else hidden in his dirt. Something made the other hole but looks more like a rebar hole, all pucker like. I really wasn't that mad he paid a little extra without too much trouble and it'll cover most of the repair it looks like.

However my mechanic is saying this is another example of why I gotta charge top dollar all the time cuz everyone wants buddy buddy discounts but no one wants to help when a tire gets cut and I need to rebuild my injection pump and gotta bunch of hydraulic cylinders to rebuild and so on.

Your mechanic is right. I also found that there are some jobs I can do but don't want to do because of the junk or because of the client. The money is only part of the job consideration.

 

[Molalla1]

^^^^
That is part of the price of doing business; however, after a while you will get the feel for when you should walk away if it looks like there could be problems.

:drink: Yes it is . . .

 

[WranglerX]

So you under cut all the competing bidders, use equipment with faulty tires and some how a "hazard" in work environment is customers fault.... Sound like poor business model..... Dig deep in pockets and put new tires on front, if any change left over buy a 6 pack and sit on porch and dream of better day tomorrow...

I been working my five acres for almost 10 years now, and still find stuff left behind by previous owners.... "Stuff" happens....

Dale