I'd like to share something that happened to me about a month ago. I had an old wrist watch

[demosincebirth]

that was kind of an heirloom. I wanted it fixed, so I took it the the local Sears store, which has an independent jewelry and watch repair person. He took my watch in the back to examine it and came back in about 5 minutes. He quoted me a price of 80 dollars for the repair. I had previously had made up my mind to have it repaired regardless of the cost, so I said Ok. Long story short, the next day I got a call from the watch repair person and I immediately thought, oh crap, he found something else wrong with it that would cost more. He called to tell me that the repair would only cost me 15 dollars. He said on second examination he noticed that some of the parts were not worn and did not need to be replaced. I was shocked and stunned to silence for a short period of time. He said that I could pick up the watch that evening if I wanted. I picked up the my watch that evening and thanked him profusely for his honesty and gave him a tip double of what he charged me.

The reason I wanted to share this is because I have never, in my life, has this happened to me with any repair person whether auto shop, plumber, carpenter, etc.

The watch repairman is in the Sears store in Newark, Ca. Don't know if I should have posted the store, but fuck it... let 'em delete it

[mahina]

1. Nice, but

make sure they replace the gasket when they put the crystal back. They didn't do so for mine and it was ruined as a result. I learned that not all watch repairs do so any longer.

Just a heads up, but happy to hear of your good experience! Nice to know of an honest dealer out there.

[roguevalley]

27. Sears is a good store. I had a roto rooter man come and work

on a drain for me that took three days in a howling blizzard at -30. He only charged me 115$. I was thunderstruck. I still am. Roto rooter, awesomeness.

[mahina]

39. What a cutie!

Your pup, not the rotorooter man :)

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. It's happened once or twice to me with auto repair (surprise!) and

and I have also been shocked.

[demosincebirth]

4. That is a surprise. Auto shops?

[Liberal_in_LA]

10. An experience my friend had - with an auto shop decades ago

The auto repair guy diagnosed a leaky radiator hose, knowing they didn't have much money, took off his boot, cut a piece off and patched the hose at no charge. They said that patch lasted the rest of the car's life.

I've had a few surprise moments at auto shops. it's rare, but it does happen.

[demosincebirth]

15. I hate to say it, but very rare at auto repair shops, unless you have one

that you've been going to for years and you know him/them personally.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. yep. That's why I go to my neighborhood one. 20/20 showed how

auto repair shops rip off strangers. if they know you and you are local, they are less likely to do so.

[MedicalAdmin]

26. My auto mechanic always come in under estimate.

And by that I mean that he also consistently charges less than other places too. Thankfully people are noticing and he is busy and is hiring. He is one of the 99% and has a sticker on his window proclaiming that for everyone who walks in to see.

The other part of his building is a therapeutic massage practice that his sister manages.

And I just had some cement work repaired around my house and the job came in under estimate, ahead of time and it looks great.



Not everyone is a thief. I wonder if the current economic doldrums are weeding out the crappy tradespeople? Any opinions on that?

[Arugula Latte]

35. Same here. There is a little shop in Portland that is like something out of the 50s.

The guys there made a simple repair of a hose and didn't charge us anything. We brought them a plate of homemade brownies. The next day the owner called to thank us for the brownies. Needless to say, they have customers for life in us.

[Birdiesmom]

3. Yay for honesty and good craftsmanship.

And the little warm fuzzies in life. :applause:

[demosincebirth]

5. I wanted to give him a hug, but he wasn't the huggy type.

[Tippy]

6. There are some honest people in our world today and

when you find them you should acknowlege them in some way.....well done

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. That happened with the mirror replacement

It was 70 bucks less than quoted.

[snagglepuss]

8. I have a similiar story about a Sears watch repair in Toronto. My brother

had a Timex from the 70s which was nice but not valuable. He had said it could be about $25 to $80 to repair but he had to open it up. I came back thinking I was going to get a quote but he had repaired it. I was about to let out a tirade becasue I thought I would be handed a $80 repair bill which I hadn't authorized so I was stunned when he said it would be only $20 because it simply needed a new battery and light cleaning. Like yourself I was stunned by this person's honesty. I wouldn't have had the repair done for $80 but I expected to pay at least $50.

[demosincebirth]

13. Hurrah for honest repairmen...may they prosper.

[REP]

9. Not a repair shop, but an orchid greenhouse

I had ordered 4 species zygopetalums and a couple other species orchids. When my order arrived, there was 5 species zygopetalums and the rest of my order, along with a note saying that the zygos were cheaper when 5 or more were ordered, and that I had been charged the lower amount. All of the plants were (and are) super healthy. It was Oak Hill Gardens in Illinois.

[demosincebirth]

20. I guess find honest small businesses every where

[REP]

34. Most orchid sellers are pretty decent - will replace damaged plants, etc

That was the first (but not the last!) order I'd placed with Oak Hill, and I wrote to let them know I appreciated them taking the time to make sure I got the best deal and most plants for my buck.

Another grower I buy from often - Andy's Orchids - calls a few weeks after the plants are received to make sure they were received in good shape and to see if there's any problems or questions. The one time out of many, many purchases there was a problem with a plant, I got a call within 24 hours of emailing! And of course the issue was resolved immediately.

[spinbaby]

37. Oooh, I love zygopetalums

I have one that I got from a person at work who'd gotten it from a vendor or something. It blooms reliably every autumn and its fragrance fills the house for a couple of weeks. Lovely plant, wish I had room for more.

[REP]

38. Here's a Zygopabstia Blue Birds

[Motown_Johnny]

11. I do repairs for less than our bid on a regular basis

I also have repairs run over bid sometimes, and the company ends up eating that extra cost as often as not.


An estimate is just that, an estimate. Your best guess given the information at hand.



Sometimes things go easily and work you thought would take 4 man hours only takes 2.5 or 3. The customer then gets a bill lower than the estimate (assuming all the parts were estimated accurately).





I'm glad you had a good experience but it isn't as rare as you seem to think.






Context: I work for a landscape company and most of our repairs are to automatic irrigation/sprinkler systems.

[onethatcares]

18. I'm a carpenter/fix it guy and I do the same

hell, it's not like 5 bucks or even 20 is gonna break me. It also makes for nice referrals and big smiles.

I figure we gotta live together on this big ball and if someones' day is made, that's all right with me.

Peace

[RoccoR5955]

12. There are plenty of honest tinkerers

I'm one of them. I do it with computers. People often go to a big box store, and then ask me what I might charge. Though I do have a full time job, on occasion I take on a side job, and the people are amazed when I fix stuff for free, that only takes a couple of minutes to do.

[demosincebirth]

49. Tlhis gentleman was not a tinkerer, he has a business in watch and jewelery repair.. Not

a big money making shop, but probably just, barely, enough to support his family.

[guitar man]

14. The auto repair shop I use

Gary Strickland Automotive in Tulsa, has treated me like that. I've been taking cars to his shop for almost 20 years for that very reason. :thumbsup:

[demosincebirth]

16. Find an honest good one...stick with 'em. I haven't yet.

[Booster]

19. I have a Hyundai & it wouldn't start last Sunday so I took it into

the dealer to have it's regular oil change, etc. I told the guy about the battery being dead on Sunday. After waiting for just an hour for the service to be completed I went to the cashier to pay, expecting at least to have to pay for a new battery (I'm an old lady who knows zilch about cars which makes this even more amazing). The cashier said the total was $28 and that the battery checked out ok. I told everyone in that place how impressed I was with all of them cause they could have really taken me to the cleaners and they didn't. On my last service it was also just $32 so it wasn't a fluke. I love those guys.

[demosincebirth]

24. Pretty good for going to a dealer. When I take my '07 cts to have it

serviced at the local dealer I usually don't get out with less than a $600 bill. Oh well, at least they have a shuttle service.

[in_cog_ni_to]

21. Isn't it sad that this story is an exception to the rule in business ethics?

It use to be the other way around. If you were dishonest, you lost business and suffered for it. Today dishonest business practices are just the way of the world.

Kudos to the repairman!

[demosincebirth]

23. So true.

[bluestate10]

46. I don't agree with you. There are plenty of honest business people around.

The problem is that the honest ones don't get recognized and singled out for more business. I read frequent complaints on DU about how bad business people are, that complaint is myopic. There are plenty of corrupt, horrible business people, but many of the people on DU complaining reward those people with purchases. The complainers are their own worst enemies.

[dtexdem]

22. Yeah, it happens on occasion.

Consider, if they don't have management looking over their shoulders, many workers will take pride in their skills and competence and consequently will exercise them in very positive ways. Part of that can include taking pride in what they discovered about a job.

[Scuba]

25. I once had a lawyer send back the unused portion of his retainer....

... I'm still in shock!

[demosincebirth]

29. You, surely, must be kidding. Never in my 55 years have I heard off such a thing.

[Scuba]

31. Nope, it really happened. But NOBODY believes me. n/t

[demosincebirth]

32. People would believe you more if you said you seen a flying saucer...

I do believe you.

[Pacifist Patriot]

40. LOL! I believe you. I had it happen to me.

Not surprisingly I've recommended this lawyer to everyone who has ever so much as hinted they needed one. I'm convinced integrity, while valuable in its own right, is also good business practice for the bottom line.

[demosincebirth]

41. I agree. Where's he practice?

[Pacifist Patriot]

43. Central Florida

[Boojatta]

42. I believe it. I believe it.

You believe what?

My wife. She says, "Darling, you won't believe it, but I found the most adorable baby on our doorstep and I've decided to keep it for our very own. Now, you won't believe it, but it's got exactly my eyes and nose." Why does she keep saying I won't believe it? I believe it. I believe it. I believe it.

From Stalag 17

[JanMichael]

44. so have we

wonderful lady in Portland Oregon

[bluestate10]

47. I had an accountant that I had never met look over a tax issue that I had.

The guy had agreed to come into his office to meet me and go over the paperwork. He looked over the paperwork, gave me advice and did not charge me one single dime. The accountant has been the person that takes care of my tax activities since that day, his ethics have not wavered during that time.

[mfcorey1]

28. Went into Firestone for a basic auto check. Salesman said that I needed a battery and the coming

fall weather would accelerate the current life of my battery. I ignored him and thought he was just trying to make a sale. Weather changed two weeks later and left the store to find that my car would not start. Needed a battery. Sometimes they are honest.

[demosincebirth]

30. When I go to a Firestone store, I have to tell them exaclty what I want and nothing more.

[Morning Dew]

50. My neighborhood Firestone tried to pull a fast one on me.

Several years ago, my Blazer crapped out on me and I had it towed to my local Firestone ( closest auto repair shop to my home).

Bad news !

"Ma'am, your engine is blown. We can get you a replacement for 3 grand."

My car was about 100 miles out of warranty so I got the dealer on the phone and they agreed to take a look at it.

Had it towed across town to the dealership where they checked it out and discovered that my serpentine belt had broken. That was it - nothing else wrong.


Even then, Firestone had the nerve to try to bill me for the tow to their shop.

I'm wary of car repair shops.

[ScreamingMeemie]

33. My electrician is like that.

Power went out on my new-ish (3 years) house. The warranty was up 6 months ago. He came out right away-this was 6 PM on a Friday-estimated $300 for a master switch replacement. The bill came in at $200. I cross checked this and he was way under other electricians (John Moore and the yahoo who replaced my cousin's). Plus, it was done in 2 hours. Back in (power) business.

[musette_sf]

36. then that would be the only good place left

at Newpark Mall.

I stopped going there when the crash and grab robberies at Macy's started getting out of hand. Smash display case full of higher-end accessories, grab 'em all.

[bluestate10]

45. I once gave a shop keeper a $50 bill to pay for an item that cost just a few bucks.

I was so distracted by other affairs that I then just walked away and went to my car. The shopkeeper asked another customer to catch me before I left and give me the exact change that I would have gotten had I not walked away. I met two honest people that day. I have met many honest people throughout my life. The majority of human beings are honest.

[seabeyond]

48. i got a check back from insurance co for 288. cause i over paid, and i didnt know

i over paid.

thru out life, i get corrections in my favor.

i dont run into dishonest regularly. mostly the other way around.

[Obamanaut]

51. Sometimes it happens. Several years ago I recommended a mechanic to my

sister when her car wouldn't start.

She called him, and he sent a man out. It was not the battery, so the guy towed it back to the shop. They called her with an estimate, and returned her car to her the next day for less than the estimate.

And they fixed the broken air conditioner and didn't charge her for it, because, they said, it wasn't on the estimate and she had not requested that to be fixed. Leak in a line repaired, and system recharged.

He has a lot of business via word of mouth advertising.