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Post by Fox on Sept 23, 2011 12:12:59 GMT -5
I set up an 8 AM appointment to fix a scooter over at UCLA (45 minute drive) this morning and I arrived a little early and I couldn't find the address so I called the guy. Got his voice mail left message telling him I'm early and if I didn't hear from him by 8 AM I was going home. Well, 8 AM rolls around and I call him and tell him I don't like flakes and to not call me again etc...
I get home and about 9:30 he calls telling me he texted me last night that he wasn't going to be there on time. I call him and inform him I don't have text messaging on my phone and he says: "That's your problem! I mean who doesn't have texting now anyway? I wasn't going to call you at 10 o'clock last night." I started to say, "I don't have text because it's a waste of time and energy because talking is way faster, and I was getting 10-20 spam texts a week running up my bill so I had it disabled" but he hung up on me.
Anyway, I figure he's the one with the problem cause he's the one with a scooter that don't run so he's walking and bumming rides.
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Post by ososlow on Sept 23, 2011 12:33:45 GMT -5
what a dick! only 13 year old girls text anymore...... around here any ways
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Post by coloradorockieride on Sept 23, 2011 12:55:07 GMT -5
you're right but thank you ... to be 13 again, what a treat
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Post by lshigham on Sept 23, 2011 13:08:55 GMT -5
Do you guys get charged for receiving texts? Seems a little harsh considering you can't help it if someone decides to spam you.
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Post by 90GTVert on Sept 23, 2011 13:59:07 GMT -5
Depends what plan you're on. I pay $0.10 per text if I send or receive it, $0.25 per pic msg. I had to disable texting myself for most of one summer, because a friend got into a circle of folks that fwd every stupid pic and limerick etc... and it was enough to be about an extra $0.50 - $1 per day. I prefer to pay as little as possible for a cell so that's too much for a bunch of crap I didn't care about. There are plenty of unlimited text, calling, data plans out there... but on prepaid, paying only days I turn the phone on, I pay somewhere around $15-20 per month. I'd pay less, but the money expires if not used in X amount of time.
To me, texting is for friends to communicate a quick idea, not for business or long conversations. I'm old fashioned though judging by all the folks around me walking around staring down at phones and swerving around in traffic because the almighty cell phone beckons.
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Post by Fox on Sept 23, 2011 14:03:14 GMT -5
Yeah I have a crappy Sprint plan so I was getting charged $45 cents or something like that per text and most of them were spam so I called and disabled it a long time ago. I thought that anyone sending me a text would get a message saying "unable to send" or whatever but I guess not.
Anyway, I had a feeling the guy was going to be flaky cause when I initially set up the appointment he was talking like he could fix it himself if he had an impact and he was trying to low-ball me.
Texting is for times when it's inappropriate to make a voice call but it should never be used for business IMO. It's simply cumbersome and time consuming. I type enough on my Mac.
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Post by 90GTVert on Sept 23, 2011 14:09:41 GMT -5
Sometimes the worst customers are the ones that know a little about what they need. I liked the folks that brought the scoot and said it does this and that's all the input they had. If they were capable of fixing it we wouldn't be talking. Don't get me wrong, I didn't mind explaining things or answering questions but you get the "all you have to do is..." folks that make it sound like everything is a 2 minute job and a child could do it if you just gave it the tools.
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Post by 1quikvento on Sept 23, 2011 15:40:43 GMT -5
People DO suck ! And a lot of the time. I know I have my moments, but I know when to be a dick and when to be conservative. With every year that passes, I find myself becoming more and more anti-social. Ive never been on tweeter, or myspace, and just only recently joined face book since I moved to SC. Only For the sake of trying to get in touch with my old friends back in NJ tho.
I agree with the text thing. Doing business is a face to face thing. I text my family majorly, and if Im busy or got a lenthy job to complete,i'll text the service writer if the car Im working on needs additional work. Theyre always on the phone or doing paperwork, or talking with someone, so instead of waiting 20 minutes or so for them to finish a conversation, Ill send a text so I can get back to work and they can get my memo at their next chance.
When your getting paid flat-rate labor, speed is important.
And hagglers.... oooh they get under my skin. I dont ever low ball anyone. If the price is good and Im comfortable paying it, then I do. But this song and dance to try and save 5 or 10.00 or whatever...is obsurd. You dont like it then move along.
From a business standpoint- theres always going to be hagglers, and low ballers, and thrifty,sneaky, coniving people. Some times its part of the territory.
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Post by speedy1125 on Sept 23, 2011 17:04:12 GMT -5
my middle name is misanthrope.
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Post by jmkjr72 on Sept 23, 2011 19:30:57 GMT -5
yeah i agree people suck
and there are a lot of flakes when it comes to working on scoots
just about every call i have had this year was some one trying to lowball then you get there give them the best price you can then they say well i can take it here or here
and i have to tell them well i work for less then 1/2 there price and i know for a fact they wont work on your scoot
being one of the shops they mention belong to a friend that often sends all the clone bike work to me
i wont work on a brand they sell unless they say its fine and they are too busy then normaly i charge what they qouted them not my rates
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Post by Goosey on Sept 23, 2011 20:30:19 GMT -5
Yes people suck sometimes. Some of my worst customers to wait on are cell phone snobs. It's the reason many places are banning the things in the order line. Had one today snap at me for interupting her phone call to ask what she wanted on her sandwhich  My 13 year olds cell is a pay-per-minute. She changed her number because some girls couldn't understand when she told them each text cost her paid minutes to run down. This guy "is" a 13 year old girl, LOL :rofl: |
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Post by stepthrutuner on Sept 23, 2011 22:52:26 GMT -5
If you're going to do business in this modern environment you've got to work all the channels. Texting and twittering are huge and popular modes of interaction at this time and regardless of your individual plan or phone contract it is just the way things are currently. If you don't operate in this mode with your scooter repair business I'm sure someone else does. It's a free country and you can run your business any way you like. It costs nothing to bitch at 49ccScoot though.
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Post by Fox on Sept 24, 2011 20:02:46 GMT -5
I think people who are staring at their cell phone texting constantly have a mental problem. I also think if you are driving down the freeway at 65-75 mph and you are texting someone, you have a mental problem. I think if someone prefers to text rather than talk to a person directly, they have a mental problem.
Most of all, I think if you commit to an 8 AM appointment at 4 in the afternoon then decide at 10 o'clock that night you are going to stay up late and get hammered then you should still keep your appointment. It's unprofessional to text someone that late in the game after they loaded up all their tools and stuff in their work van and didn't get hammered because they have a job to do the next day.
Lastly, I think texting is stupid. I mean they come out with a new gizmo every few months and everyone runs out and gets it so they can walk/drive down the street looking like a fool staring at the gizmo. Friggin' drones! I saw a lady walk into a sign post because she was staring at her smart phone. Personally I think they should make the inside of a car a cell phone dead spot unless the engine is off.
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Post by Goosey on Sept 25, 2011 17:00:32 GMT -5
Texting has its place. I can't take a phone call while waiting on a customer, but my kid can text me a quick messege that I can check later. Checking voice mail takes longer, and a call back may not be possible. If it's too late for a phone call, it's too late for a text though. I have seen some people with texting problems, two people come in together, and one sits texting across the table from their company who sits ignored....the people who text away while I take their order, I asked this person 2 times "toasted or warmed" and she apparently answered while looking down at her phone tapping away both times, then complained that I didn't hear her at the cash register till the 3rd time when she looked at me and spoke up. That was my fault  And the one who has 15 people behind them and doesn't know if their friend wants pickles, and tells me they are just going to send a message and get back to me on that :bfg: Texting or talking, cell phones are handy, but abused in public. If I could grab it out of a customers hands and throw it at a wall I would. |
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Post by Fox on Sept 25, 2011 18:25:19 GMT -5
I guess I'm just a grumpy old sh*thead. lol
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My 13 year olds cell is a pay-per-minute. She changed her number because some girls couldn't understand when she told them each text cost her paid minutes to run down. This guy "is" a 13 year old girl, LOL :rofl: 
And the one who has 15 people behind them and doesn't know if their friend wants pickles, and tells me they are just going to send a message and get back to me on that :bfg: Texting or talking, cell phones are handy, but abused in public. If I could grab it out of a customers hands and throw it at a wall I would.