I want to strangle this customer. Please advise.

[boxofrocks]

I'll make this as short as possible.

Did Senior Portraits for a lady with Twins. She's been kind of bipolar with me since the process started. Gave her a discount on the sitting fee, and a discount on the package, just because I'm a nice guy.

After some difficulty, scheduled a proofing appt. She and her kids selected prints, and she paid 1/2 down (total was $375 plus tax). She stood me up on scheduled times to pick up the retouched prints, but finally came this week to pick them up, and said they looked wonderful. Gave me the other 1/2 of the payment in a check. (first one already cleared).

She calls me the next day saying after she got them home she didn't like them, especially the 11x14. Wanted to choose new ones. I've never had that problem, so in the interest of goodwill, I told her I'd let her pick new ones and replace them once for free--one time only.

Hadn't heard back on the new images, so today I email her to let her know I'm sending in another order to the lab, and did she have her new selections ready?

Here's the reply I just received:

I haven’t had time to email you. I’m just going to return the print. We didn’t like any of the other pictures of them together. Please let me know what the print cost & I’ll write you another check and exchange it for the one I gave you the other day. Will you be home this evening?

I assume she just meant one of the prints--the 11x14. I gave her a substantial discount on that, and I think I charged her about $80 for it.

What would you do?

[sbug_adam]

strangle her LOL JK, kinda

I would try to make her as happy as possible. Your reputation is on the line. tell her "i'll make an exception, i'll do this for you once, etc" but be cheerful about it.

[ggeen]

I would do two things, cash her check, and offer a refund on the 11x14 like Adam said. In the state of Texas, it is a felony to stop payment on a check unless both parties agree. This puts you in the drivers seat which might lead to a sale. Well, you already paid for it... Offering her a refund out of your own pocket now seams like a bigger gesture at this point.

[boxofrocks]

Update: Her check is not any good. Not a stop payment, just no funds available.

Originally Posted by ggeen

In the state of Texas, it is a felony to stop payment on a check unless both parties agree.

Do you know where I can find information supporting this? Two banks have told me that's not the case.

boxofrocks added 5 Minutes and 2 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by sbug_adam

strangle her LOL JK, kinda

I would try to make her as happy as possible. Your reputation is on the line. tell her "i'll make an exception, i'll do this for you once, etc" but be cheerful about it.

I've already made several exceptions for her, such as discounts and offering to print new photos for her because she decided she didn't like the poses she already approved.

After having dealt with her on this since last September, I'm not sure I want the kind of customers that would listen to her opinion about anyting.

[Cornbread]

She wants to return the prints and pay you for the lower amount because she doesn't have any money.

She probably likes the pictures, she just needs an excuse so that she doesn't have to tell you she is broke.

[kenmyers70]

Originally Posted by Cornbread

She wants to return the prints and pay you for the lower amount because she doesn't have any money.

She probably likes the pictures, she just needs an excuse so that she doesn't have to tell you she is broke.

Either that or she already scanned them.

[L Stegall]

Is it the check for the 11x14 that bounced? If so, can you just get the print back and call it even and chalk this off to a bad deal all around? I'm sure you had charges for the bad check.

It does sound like due to whatever financial issues, she's having second thoughts about what she spent rather than the images.

If she won't return the print, there are ways to file charges on the bad check.

[boxofrocks]

Originally Posted by Cornbread

She wants to return the prints and pay you for the lower amount because she doesn't have any money.

She probably likes the pictures, she just needs an excuse so that she doesn't have to tell you she is broke.

Yeah, being the Dick Tracy I am, I figured that part out already.

The question is, how should respond?

By the way, she pulled up in a new convertible yesterday--still had the dealer plates on it--she was bragging about it to me.

[gardener]

Think I'd let her know that she has 5 business days to pay the funds by certified check or you'll drop her bouncy check off at the DA's office and let them collect it for you...
Reputation aside, she's not/wasn't going to pay you anyway so anything you collect from this point on is just a bonus.

[boxofrocks]

Originally Posted by L Stegall

Is it the check for the 11x14 that bounced? If so, can you just get the print back and call it even and chalk this off to a bad deal all around? I'm sure you had charges for the bad check.

It does sound like due to whatever financial issues, she's having second thoughts about what she spent rather than the images.

If she won't return the print, there are ways to file charges on the bad check.

The check that bounced was for more than half of the entire deal.

Not sure I can file charges for a bad check if she stops payment on it. Or that I want to go to the trouble of that.

Speaking of suing people, she coincidentally works for one of those ambulance chasing lawyers you see commercials for on daytime TV.

Nice.

boxofrocks added 2 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by gardener

Think I'd let her know that she has 5 business days to pay the funds by certified check or you'll drop her bouncy check off at the DA's office and let them collect it for you...
Reputation aside, she's not/wasn't going to pay you anyway so anything you collect from this point on is just a bonus.

You're probably right. At least I covered my hard costs (not including my time).

I think I'm going to ignore her and just carry the check around in my wallet. Every so often I'll stop into a branch of the issuing bank and see if there's finds in it yet.

Hopefully she won't take the time to put a stop payment on it, but I expect she probably will.

[carrbowl]

OOOHHH I detest these kind of people...NOTHING will make them happy...not even free prints. I have learned to spot them from a mile away...

[hooligan]

Once you provided the service, i.e. the prints, she can not stop payment on the check with out it becoming a criminal matter. I would let her know you have the option of contacting the DA's office and if no action, then turn it over to them and let them handle it.

[Cornbread]

Originally Posted by gardener

Think I'd let her know that she has 5 business days to pay the funds by certified check or you'll drop her bouncy check off at the DA's office and let them collect it for you...
Reputation aside, she's not/wasn't going to pay you anyway so anything you collect from this point on is just a bonus.

I didn't even think of the fact that she might have scanned the photos and completely ripped you off. Take it to the DA!

[L Stegall]

Originally Posted by boxofrocks

The check that bounced was for more than half of the entire deal.

Not sure I can file charges for a bad check if she stops payment on it. Or that I want to go to the trouble of that.

Speaking of suing people, she coincidentally works for one of those ambulance chasing lawyers you see commercials for on daytime TV.

Nice.

boxofrocks added 2 Minutes and 32 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below



You're probably right. At least I covered my hard costs (not including my time).

I think I'm going to ignore her and just carry the check around in my wallet. Every so often I'll stop into a branch of the issuing bank and see if there's finds in it yet.

Hopefully she won't take the time to put a stop payment on it, but I expect she probably will.

It is totally aggravating to have someone do this. I had a young guy that had an emergency legal issue several years ago and he gave me a check on an account he closed. I gave him ample opportunity to make good and he blew me off. I did pursue it and got a judgment that I abstracted and filed in the deed records.

She may be counting on you not doing anything, but if she got something out of it .... and she did - good AND services, then I think you may have a basis to pursue it. She may not think you will go to the trouble, but even if it is a small judgment, if you abstract it (filing in the deed records), one day it will show up when she doesn't want it to (like when she sells her house or buys a house, etc.) and she'll end up paying. It's been so long since I've had to look at this - you might look to see if the DA has anything on the website re bad checks and follow what they say.

It's one thing for someone to make an honest accounting mistake and accidentally bounce a check, but it doesn't sound like it here.

[ngoduyviet]

Originally Posted by kenmyers70

Either that or she already scanned them.

This, sadly, is what I was thinking. Sorry to hear about your problem, if you need a helping hand to strangle, lemme know