Is There a 'Jungle Telgraph' Where You Are ?

[SurferShane]

Originally Posted by Chief Engineer

There are a number of Boaters that have gained that reputation around here...namely (some) Attorneys....and anyone with a PhD that insists on being addressed as "Doctor".

And don’t they just loath it when you actually excel in a subject whereas their impenetrable brains are trying to find another dark corner in a myriad of obvious truths?

(Wow, wonder what that mouthful looks like after a month of Chinese whispers?)

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by FrankZ

I don't see anything wrong with a consumer being armed with the information that a business might try a scam. It would have been more cost effective for the business to mention a restitching was going to be needed rather than doing the work and trying to trick someone into paying.

If the customer tried to claim after the fact they should get the restitching for free, after agreeing to a written (or verbal) estimate, that would be completely different.

Maybe if more customers get free work done the vendor will start being upfront, or at least updating the estimate prior to doing work.

I had a problem with a tire a couple weeks ago. Took it in, they were able to plug it. They also tried to sell me a "throttle body cleaning" as well. They charge $99, the dealer would "charge me over $200". Had they gone ahead and done the work without asking first they wouldn't have gotten paid. They didn't BTW as I declined the work.

What the tire guys did is "try" to sell you a throttle body cleaning at half of what the dealer charges and about five times what a can of throttle cleaner costs to do it yourself. You had three ligitimate choices. It's not the same as Bashs example of his dock mates.

What I don't understand is why in the world anyone would do business with a company they know might try to scam them in the first place. If armed with this info as Bashs dock neighbor was and you give your sail that needs restitching to a loft and tell them to just clean it with the belief you might get a free restitching then in my book you're not much different then those you choose to deal with. The proper way to deal with a business like this is not to do business with them at all. I understand the frustration of Bash as he was the first to realize the scam and his extra billing was properly dropped. His dock neighbor took this information and rolled the dice, played a game to perhaps get some extra work done at no charge. Again I wonder as to the wisdom of giving the work to a known scammer because the dock mate thinks he will get a deal on re-stitching. Being in the Marine industry I do see this type of thing happen too often. The scammer gets the work for a little cheap stitching and the honest guy looses another job to a sailor whose looking to get something for nothing and willing to deal with a nefarious businesses to get it. Just my interpretation, I'm sure others will see it differently.

[mintyspilot]

Originally Posted by Tellie

I was with you all the way until the last sentence. Perhaps it was just the way I read and interpreted it, but it read to me like one good scam deserves another.

I may not be in the marine business, but I am in business. The sail loft had no business stitching anyone's sail without prior permission and expecting payment for it. If the sail was bad they should have picked up the phone and said that it needed repair, quoted a price and obtained authorisation.

We always get written authorisation for any variation in work we do. Even a text message or email will suffice for us.

[RiverRat]

I'm not sure if it's a Jungle Telegraph, but everyone knows everyone else. Last year we moved into a local waterfront community and had some work done on the house. Apparently all the workers (electrical, plumbing, carpenter, dock builder, etc) know each other. When one worker sees we just had some other stuff done, he asks who did it and sure enough he knows them.

[IdoraKeeper]

The jungle telegraph should cover both good and bad. I have seen both in the last year. In this economy folks in the boat service business are frequently under stress. It's difficult when you don't know when your next job is coming. I think we have reached the point where it is necessary to be very clear and detailed when hiring a job done and perhaps offer performance/time related incentives to avoid the temptation to stretch things out. Fishing boat and tug owners have always operated this way.

Todd

[jackiepitts]

Originally Posted by mintyspilot

I may not be in the marine business, but I am in business. The sail loft had no business stitching anyone's sail without prior permission and expecting payment for it. If the sail was bad they should have picked up the phone and said that it needed repair, quoted a price and obtained authorisation.

We always get written authorisation for any variation in work we do. Even a text message or email will suffice for us.

This is the way business SHOULD be done. Unfortunately in the marine business all too often the work is performed without any notification and then the "surprise" bill comes at the end. Seems people just deal with this most of the time which continues the cycle.