100% Disabled Veteran, made no difference to this cat.
The sad part is, this guy promotes himself as the "good guy" who will save you from all of the scammers in our tourist town. he says everyone else will rip you off...but he won't. I even saw a write up on him in the local paper. I wanted to believe...
...and no sooner than he thought he had my trust...he tried to rip me off.
Simplest job you can imagine. I had put LED lights in my truck a few years back, and they have given me trouble ever since. The job: Pop out the LED lights, pop in OEM bulbs. If you cannot do that job in less than an hour, there is something wrong with you. But this guy, he quotes me:
"I get $130 per hour, and it will take 2-3 hours. But I'll give you a 20% discount for being a Vet."
He obviously did not know I was a jet engine mechanic in the Navy. Of COURSE I know that job won't take 2-3 hours. But he's a kid, and I like helping kids who want to work out where I can. So I said" I'll tell you what. [as ridiculous as that time estimate is] I am going to let you charge me for three full hours. The 20% discount on that comes to $78.00. So just keep that, I will pay you the full $390, but you bring the bulbs.
I may as well be Santa Claus here. I can do the job myself in 30 minutes. But I am a disabled Vet with a broken back, and I thought I could help a kid start a business here. He is delighted with the offer, as he should be. The problem: He mistook my goodwill for stupidity. He came to the conclusion that my offer to overpay him came too easy. So the next day:
"Hey man, I can't do it for less than $478.00."
I was really TRYING to be nice to this kid.
It's EIGHT bulbs. They pop out, the new ones pop right in. I HAVE done it myself. It takes 30 minutes. I was going to pay this little bandit $390 to do it...and he decided to try and milk me for more, AFTER agreeing to the price in the first place.
No good deed goes unpunished, and you do not need businesses like this in your life.
Not only do I know my way around an engine, but I was a small business owner my entire career before my service injuries took me down. I know better that to tolerate this behavior on BOTH levels. So now I will hop around on my broken back and do this little job myself.
Regular scammers are one thing. You can see them coming. But the ones that show up with halos taped to their horns, promoting themselves as honest men...those are the ones that are dangerous. If you do not know anything about engines...this is EXACTLY the guy who will get you.
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