HandySeniors has a very strict policy regarding abusive language and behavior. This customer was verbally abusive to everyone she spoke to. After the work was completed, she argued about her chargeable hours with the HandySenior who provided her services. The HandySenior attempted to charge her two of the three hours spent working for her, but settled for one hour in order to continue with his day. She later requested additional work from us after our good will gesture. We declined her request in the interest of both parties. She said “That’s unfortunate.” Experience levels of HandySeniors assigned to service call. Dave, who took the initial phone call, is a retired electrical engineer. Jack is a retired telecommunications installer and switch programmer who has designed and built his own house. Both HandySeniors have been installing residential electrical circuits, switches, and outlets for well over forty-five years and lately for HandySeniors. Events prior to the HandySenior arriving at the customer’s house. This customer called HandySeniors for three jobs. 1) Replace a light switch which she identified as a single pole, single throw, beige light switch 2) Replace a window sash because she broke a window to get in her house when she locked herself out (she said she had the replacement sash) 3) Install two curtain rods. The customer instructed Dave (the HandySenior who answered the phone) to tell the HandySenior to “go to the back door” when he arrived. Dave forgot to tell Jack to go to the back door when he arrived. The day before going to the job, Jack, the HandySenior, called the customer to confirm that he would arrive on time (a HandySenior Policy) and to make sure he was going to bring the appropriate materials. The customer was uncooperative and responded in an irritated manner when Jack asked her about the light switch type and the window sash. She gave him no information that clarified anything that she had told Dave on the phone. After he talked to the customer, Jack, called me, Brian (the rebuttal author and principal owner of HandySeniors), and said he was uncomfortable going to the house because during the course of the conversation she was less than cordial and kept telling him he was “A guy.” It was the same terminology she had used while speaking to Dave on the phone during his initial conversation with her. Both Dave and Jack said her reference seem to carry no humor or endearing quality. I told Jack she probably did not mean anything by it and to do the job if he wasn’t sure what she meant. He said “okay,” and agreed to do the job. When Jack arrived at the customer’s house, he went to the front door. He was greeted with “I told [Dave] to tell you to come to the back door. Go to the back door.” Jack did so without question and did not have a problem with doing so. The work was in the front living area. Events during the course of the work. 1) Jack found the light switch to be a single pole, double throw, with a two toggle switches, not a single pole, single toggle switch as both Dave and Jack had been informed on the phone and Jack had brought with him. The switches controlled a fan and a light. Something she had never communicated to either Dave or Jack. A new switch would have to be purchased. He offered to let her go to Home Depot to get the switch while he installed the curtain rods. She said she wanted him to go get the switch. 2) Jack found that the window sash was not a sash replacement, but a window glass replacement in the sash. HandySeniors does not do aluminum framed window glass replacements. Again, her request was for a sash replacement so we were unaware of what the real job was until Jack arrived at the customer’s house. The customer had completely removed the pane prior to his arrival so there was no glass in the sash when he arrived. The customer gave Jack a piece of glass that was extremely thin and that was two inches too small to replace the broken pane. It was not window pane glass. It is unknown by us whether she specifically purchased the glass as a replacement pane or not. When he picked it up by the edge to show her it was too small for the window, the piece of glass snapped because of how thin it was. He recommended a glass company do the replacement and offered to take the sash to the glass company. Jack took the window sash out at her request so it could be taken to a glass company. Jack did not break the original window or the window sash. 3) Jack installed two curtain rods and curtains. During the course of the installation he held the curtain rod up to double check with the customer to ensure they were hung where she wanted them. Her reply was a curt “I already you told you that…” 4) Jack took the window sash to the glass company and went to Home Depot to get the right kind of switch to replace the light switch. 5) Jack returned to the customer’s house and installed the light switch and discussed the next steps on the window sash. She said she would pick it up and install it herself and did not expect him back. 6) Jack spent approximately three hours on the job between the window sash, the switch, the curtain rods and curtain, taking the window sash to the glass company and going to Home Depot to pick up the correct switch. 7) After all jobs and trips were completed in a three hour time frame, Jack told her she would be charged for two hours of labor total. She argued with him to the point where he finally relinquished and charged her for only one hour of labor ($50), a pickup charge for materials ($10), and the actual cost of the switch ($8.35). Events after the HandySenior left the customer’s home. 1) Jack called Dave and Brian and told them what happened and how he was treated. He said he would not go back to the customer’s house due to her treatment of him throughout the job and her argumentative manner at the end of the job. 2) The customer was sent a bill for $69.85 on Thursday, 03/08/2012, which included a mandatory Pennsylvania Sales tax on installing the curtains (personal tangible property). 3) The customer left a voicemail on Saturday stating she would like to pay her bill and schedule Jack to come back and install the window sash because she was having trouble getting it back in. Also, she would like Jack to install another curtain rod upstairs. 4) Brian (the author of the rebuttal) called the customer on Sunday, 03/11/2012. I asked her if the reason for her voicemail was because she wanted to pay her bill by credit card. She said “Yes, if that’s okay.” I responded, “Yes, we prefer checks, but we accept credit cards.” She said she would send a check. I responded, “That’s okay, I’ll just take the credit card.” She said “You’re such a guy. I guess I already told you that.” Again there was no humor or endearment in her tone, but quite the opposite. I responded “No, I have never talked to you, but you have said the same thing to everyone else in my organization.” She said, “Only to the men.” She paid her bill by credit card and made no mention of any other discrepancies. I told her Dave would call her Monday to discuss the other work she wanted us to do. There was no other dialog. 5) Dave, Brian, and Jack as well as two other disinterested parties discussed the interactions and all agreed we should not do further business with this customer. 6) The customer called HandySeniors on Monday afternoon, 03/12/2012, and specifically requested Jack to come back and install the window sash and another curtain rod upstairs. 7) Dave had a long conversation with the customer regarding the work she had originally requested, the materials she described and her interactions with Jack and HandySeniors. He stated he was surprised she would be calling us for more work considering her apparent displeasure and actions as described by Jack. She again used her favorite catch phrases “You’re such a guy…” and “You’re a guy,” during the course of the conversation a number of times. She argued with Dave about the light switch (she insisted she told him the right type of switch) and the broken glass (she said she wanted to be compensated for the glass, apparently $50 off her bill was not enough for a piece of glass). She also claimed that Jack broke the glass in the window sash, to which Dave replied, “You called us to replace a window sash that had a broken window in it that you broke when you locked yourself out of the house.” She denied the window was ever broken until Jack took it out. Brian was in the room at the time of the conversation and heard all of Dave's responses and so can verify exactly what Dave said and how he said it. 8) The customer told Dave that she had given HandySeniors a “5 Star Rating” on Angie’s List. 9) Dave informed her that we thought it best not to conduct any further business with her. She said, “That’s unfortunate.” Dave said “Good-bye,” and hung up the phone. 10) There have been no other communications with this customer. HandySeniors will not do further business with this customer nor will we compensate her further than we already have. HandySeniors will not offer any further rebuttals. In our opinion, this customer will alter her story to fit her complaints regardless of the facts.