Becky Says...

December 19, 2000

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Followup

Remember the bit about the young man who wanted files converted from a dedicated word processor format into a DOS format? I first told you about him in mid-September. Yes, it's been over three months since I got the last call from him.

I hadn't heard from him again, after that September call, until today. Yes, this is December 19, just a few days before Christmas. I am finishing up some Christmas things, and dealing with other stuff that I need to do for myself. If he were one of my good clients, I might be happy to rearrange my plans to do some work for him. But he isn't.

Today's call was answered by the machine. Seems he's now decided that the right thing to do is have the documents in the word processor files printed, rather than have me convert them. He babbled on about how he could scan them after they were printed (true).

But the kicker for me is that he offered to pay me "a few dollars" for printing the pages for him.

No, he won't. If I print them, it will cost him at least an hour's fee, which has increased slightly since he first called last spring. It may not take me the whole hour to print the things. But I had quoted a flat fee that amounted to two hours' fee for the job (even if I ran over the time), and he wants to change the terms.

I will now be charging him for the time I've spent on the phone dealing with him. And the charge will cover the time it will take me to get out the word processor and set it up. That will cover my paper and ink costs, and keep me from feeling quite so much resentment at his attitude toward me.

As I told a friend, I didn't bother to call the fellow back today, even though I was free before the business day was over. I figure he's waited this long, he can wait a little longer, or until hell freezes over.

Text © copyright 2000 Becky