I'm tired of telling customers that I don't "pad" invoices so they can profit more from their mark up.

I'm tired of telling customers that I can't fake an invoice for an insurance claim so they can pocket the money. 

I'm tired of turning down accounts because I won't (and don't) give kick backs to the owners for the work I do in the form of a percentage back in cash straight in their pockets.

I'm tired of explaining to customers that I cannot (and will not) re-write a ticket to make it look like a "company" purchase when they placed a personal order.

I didn't tell these people that I just reminded one of my customers that did a job for me that I still owed them $400.00 even though it was marked paid in their books.

I don't double the price of a pinstripe quote when a customer says "Is that for both sides?" knowing you just slit your throat on your price.

I don't tell these people that I've given away hundreds of dollars worth of work because on one job I felt like I charged maybe 5 to 10 dollars too much and that was my way of giving back to my customers.

I want to say I sleep good at night and I do if I were to only think about trying to do the right thing.  What looses me sleep is the fact that I loose good accounts or I'm put in an awkward position when I tell people that I don't "roll" like that. I would like to keep some of the work out of these accounts because I deal with many different people on different projects.  But it usually comes down to now "the" person feels uncomfortable with me in the picture and don't want to deal with me or have his/her "peers" deal with me.

Am I going to call his/her boss and say....by the way assh*le so and so just happens to be ripping you off?  Of course not.  Can I look assh*le's boss in the eyes when we see eachother, you bet because I don't have to worry about trying to take advantage of him/her.  I'm smart enough to realize it's common practice today in many companies, I just don't want to be a part of that.  I have a bigger picture in life............

I don't want to come to the end of my time here on this earth, stand before my maker and pay sh*t for trying to accomadate some assh*le that is ripping off someone who is good enough to give these jerks a frickin job!

That's my rant for today...............................looks like I just ate that job.  Score one for the "other" side.

Good for you RaceAngel, you have morals and stick to them. I have always found that doing good honest work does pay off in the long run.

I learned a long time ago....... What goes around, comes around. Guess it's kind of a Karma thing. If you do good things, good things will happen to you. You do bad things..... well, you get the picture.

every invoice i wrote, for every repair i did, had a 1% deduct from the bottom line, every invoice. no matter cash, or 30 day account. because i appreciated the business

Karma is huge in my world, i always here of other contractors doing this or that and i just shake my head because its me who has to look at my face in the am when i shave. Also ilove the saying what goes around comes around.

I have to agree completely with the comments above...good for you!

Better to sleep nights than have to look over your shoulder...

That is the way I run my business (computer repair), I found that honesty is the best policy for business & life. Stick to your guns and things will come around.

Can't put a price on character - good for you!

Good for you RA. Stick to your principles .. you'll be the better person for it.

Thanks for all the support.

My parents taught me right from wrong and liers, cheaters and thieves are among my most disliked characteristics. As a matter of fact, I have asked (or told) a few individuals over the years to leave my property, that they were at the wrong place as I do not like liers, cheaters or thieves. Some were surprised, some cried, some pissed but in the end, all left. Usually after my hubby told them they didn't want me to get up out of my chair (especially after a "few" cold ones). I usually gave them 3 minutes.....no more.

O.K. so this little incident only cost me $75.00 so far. And maybe a good account but I think your right a good nights sleep is worth the money. I keep waiting for good things to happen as reward for my "good choices" but so far I think God thinks I'm much stronger than I am. Yet in the end I do have faith, hope and look forward to what the future brings. Sometimes I am so consumed with frustration I forget to thank God for all my blessings.

Perhaps now is a good time for that.......

Good for you! Morals in a biz -- well lets face it, not a lot of people care about the other person OR have a lot of biz morals in this world (i'm now in a position of loosing my job because of crap in the work place and I'm NOT backing down!!) SO YEAH!!!!!!! Keep it up

Good luck on not backing down.

I am usually the one that (if we are in agreement) is elected to stand up for the "group". Mainly because most don't want the backlash of standing for what is right especially when it's not a popular thing to do. And I'm by far the most out spoken of most around me. But that's O.K. I've been in that position for a long time even when I was in grade school. My mom always let me state my opinion, didn't mean I got my way not even out of the ass whoopin I was about to get just an opportunity for my voice to be heard.

I do catch a lot of reprecussions but hey if you want to fire me for being honest....well, I think I can live with that.

I'm one who lets it all roll off my back,,,always have --- being I was never allowed to stand up for anything growing up or during my 11 year extremely abusive marriage. I have been walked on, grabbed on, etc.... and just keep doing my job... believe it or not just working at the "orange box" store UHG BUT now I'm being singled out for FINALLY standing up for myself and being set up for a walk out (or being fired how ever you want to put it)... I'm NOT letting them have any satisfaction of letting them see it bugging me or how upset I am over it all. I work my rear off on my own job plus fill in in other depts AND the past few months have been working the job myself that takes at least 2 (we are suppose to have 3) BUT guess they are going to do what they are going to do ..... Praying that I can get into a few classes this wonter quarter and get my cert for CNA then on to TMA and go back into the home health care again --- LOVED working with the elderly and always seemed to get the rebellious ones haahaa --- made it so fun!! SO just hoping it all works out but am forcing them to remove me -- I'm NOT going to walk out!! NOPE they can pay for my schooling if they do This all over dishonest people and others who want what some one else has ... so lets tear apart some ones life to achieve it etc....... sick of it all UHG
THANKFUL for people out there like you who hold standards of right and wrong!!

Been there, done that. At one store I worked in for a while, people were coming back asking for me a year after I left. Just cause I always tried to steer them straight, etc. and not rip them off like others in that store.

Honesty is EVERYTHING.....I stand and... you...and...you....and... you...

RandyJoe...Ride Strong...

do good things and good things will happen but dont keep looking for them or expecting them to come around, as soon as you do, it wont happen. its like OK God or karma or who ever I just gave this bum 5 bucks make something good happen for me

you didn't lose a good account if they were asking you to do something wrong.....you've got the right idea....good for you

OK here is Night Dragons weird throught for the day.......Ever wonder what this world would be like today if money and guns had never been invented? A friend of mind had even a weirder throught once.....what if we woke up one morning and found us and everything around us being poured out of a test tube, with this deep voice saying ...well that didn't work. Sounds like something John Lennon would have said.
Night Dragon

Just last night, my daughter dropped her cell phone in the toilet! I asked her if the insurance took care of that, so she looked it up. It does not cover that kind of damage, but it is covered for theft she said. We then looked at each other for a moment and she paused, then said, " that would be stealing wouldn't it dad?" It made me feel so proud of her, and made me feel that I have taught her right from wrong. You can NEVER go wrong, by doing RIGHT!

The annoying thing I find is that trying to get money out of people.

It is always the ones who are scraping to pay for things pay up are grateful, where as the ones who have loads of money tend to be the tightest when it comes to paying for work done and then expect a huge discount because they graced you with there presence.

The more I get to know people the more I get to like motorcycles!

So you've met my customers? You are soooooo right!

Believe it or not it works.  My step-daughter dropped hers in the same place.  Remove the battery, wipe dry  and pack it in rice for a couple of days.  Install the battery after 2 days and give it a try.   The rice is a cheep drier and like she said, "I didnt care for rice until now".  It is still working 2 yrs later.


    You can throw the rice away if you want after one use.... 

RaceAngel, I have learned through the years, that the Customer Is NOT Always Right, unless you are the customer, of course.

RaceAngel - Bigjack from Australia (not Austria -which is in Europe). I reckon your approach to customers and life is spot on. There are some grifters and chisselers and straight out dishonest people and occassionally we can get caught out by them but most people are honest. I don't even worry about what goes round comes round type of thinking. I don't worry about Karma type thinking. I think its more to do with our internal compass; our internal stance about how we deal with life/ people/ events etc and if you are listening and rolling with your internal voice you are on a good deep level which gives you strength, resilience, quality of life, meaning etc,
Roll on!