Just a whine

[Deathwish]

So I love Samsung s3 mobiles and repair a few now and again to the point I have a stock of them here. I give them to people who help me out by shopping for me etc. I have one pleb who I gave one too that thinks throwing it around then bringing it back to me because he has broken the screen ( already replaced once before I gave it to him ) and torn the case up as if I have a duty to repair it for him free of charge.

Tells me it has not been dropped or anything but there is a big chunk missing out of the top of the case and the case is as I said shredded.

Why do these people exist in life, they know you know it has been dropped etc yet still say " It hasnt been dropped " and want you to repair it for free. Arghhhhhh 

[GreyWoolfe]

Remember, no good deed goes unpunished.  There will always be people who will game the system to cover their own stupidity.  One that sticks in my mind, many moons ago, I worked for Sears selling lawn and garden equipment.  A customer bought a lawn mower in the morning and returned it in the afternoon.  I went to inspect it and found a large hole in the side of the engine block.  I checked the dip stick and it was bone dry and I told him no refund because there was no oil in it.  He swore he put the oil in and screamed loud enough and my manager refunded his money.  When we talked about it after he left, she said it simply wasn't worth arguing with him and it was easier to give his money back.  Thanks to that pervading attitude, Sears ended up getting bought by K-Mart and both are slowing sliding down the chute.

That's why I limit computer work I do for people.  I don't want to be married to computers owned by idiots and my wife says I can't take their computer away from them.  Besides, most of the people who get sent my way can't afford my rates so I end up practically giving away my services out of the kindness of my heart .  Thank God I have a real job, otherwise I would go broke!  Try to do better than I do and learn to say no.  No, I am not fixing it again for free.  No, I am not fixing it at all, go spend money on a phone yourself.  Just say no.

[SeanB]

You get them all over. If it is "free" it will be abused. Make them pay for the screen and case, and suddenly they realise that that "free" phone costs a lot of money. One of the reasons that there is a push to make the upfront cost a full disclosure.

Think in vehicle finance, where here now the adverts are forced to disclose all the costs, from initial purchase price, cost of finance, cost of the residual ( no way you are going to pay off a $20 000 vehicle at $200 per month in 60 months at any interest rate, the balloon payment is often 80% of the value, and the vehicle might not be worth even half that value in 5 years in most cases) in all cases.

Kind of covers the dealers and the buyers as they cannot say that it was not disclosed. At work the supplied kettle and stuff is always abused and broken, as it is "somebody else’s problem" ( mine as I have to fill in the paperwork), and then you get to the "keyboard not working, no I did not spill water in it" with the keyboard still dripping water out the bottom.

[Deathwish]

I can get a screen for about £28 , but I intend to show him the price of a genuine one ... wait for the scream from him. Cost up front and no pay no play.

[Cubdriver]

Well, in his defense perhaps he's telling the truth (literally) and really didn't drop it.  Maybe he has a temper and threw it.     You say there's a chunk missing from the case... 

Either way, you should definitely NOT fix it for free.  As others have said, sadly many people seem to place little or no value on things that didn't cost them anything.  If he invests some of his own cash into fixing it, perhaps he'll treat it with more care in the future.

Goo luck with him!

-Pat

[rdl]

Yep, that's the thing to do. Tell him you'll fix it free as long as he brings you the parts.