"What are you doing?!"
She screamed wide eyed and ghost faced at me while the chipper was running. "Oh shit" I thought, while I'm looking to see if some foreign matter is getting sucked through the chipper...
"Why are you cutting down trees?", now I'm thinking I'm at the wrong house/wrong lady.
I was there a month ago, taking down a lightening struck tree. She asked about clearing the front row of saplings along the edge, because her grass cutter said it would be nice to have more light there. So I wrote down on my little pad, "Clear front row of trees for grass from porch to back corner". Well, that's what I thought she wanted at least.
So I do about 30' this morning, solo. Nice cool morning, along the woods, pretty. Going super quick, milking it, even though it's priced below the minimum I try to go by. I'm thinking this is coming out nice, I see all the extra light already. She'll love it!
NOPE!
She wanted me to "trim" a few lower branches on each sapling along the property line. I certainty thought different, as I know that generally doesn't do jack shit for light penetration through the canopy.
So she's pretty heated, mad, sad, looks like she saw a ghost. We pick out the limbs on the remaining 20', I suggest to take out a couple because this is going to do nothing. But no, she loves the black knot infested choke cherry sapling poking out into the porch. Ok, whatever, I'll trim the rest of the branches like she wants. I apologize over and over for the misunderstanding, but she doesn't want to have it really.
So I finished, dump chips, hook up, ready to roll. She comes to the door all pissy, mopey, like I killed her cat or something.
She mumbles something about how I'm charging her to cut down the trees she didn't want cut. I'm pumping, as I hate to disappoint people, but yet I'm not good on getting my point across under pressure. Typically I get mouthy, (bad trait
), but I just said the bill was well under the minimum charge already, what would you like me to do?
She goes writes the check, brings it back with that feel sorry for me you suck face.
I guess I'm writing this because it does bother me. I can't remember the last time I sorta irked someone,this much about something really moot.
Deep down I want to cash the check, I spent some hours there this morning, almost three. She won't ever call me back anyways from the look on her face.
On the other token, being the generally nice, fair, honest guy, (re: last time moved all the logs for her further back into the woods so she didn't have to see them, No Charge) I'm not sure if I should just rip it up, and take it as a loss...
So now I'm bothered, headed out to move stump grindings for one of my favorite, and best customers.
