experience with a shady customer

[catman305]

Not sure where to post this but here goes

Had a customer call me to bury their horse, normally don't do that sort of thing but hey, not rocket science right? I ask the woman where is the horse and mention I will need to have locates done so It will be a couple days.. she starts tearing up on the phone saying "I just want him to be properly buried and don't want him just laying there any longer" :crying, and she states the horse is lying in the middle of an open field pasture... Ok mam I can take care of it this afternoon. I show up (after being lied too about where she lived, which was actually 45 minutes further out).. whatever, lets get it done, as I can't be having an unburied dead horse on my conscience....So I arrive, :Banghead finally, look in her yard and would'nt ya know her (now very bloated:throwup) horse isn't in the pasture but has been clearly dragged out behind her house? Hmmm that's strange? So she starts getting all misty eyed :crying up again and says "O just bury him right here"... Hmm? I take a look around. Trying to be polite I say "mam your horse is lying on top of your septic field"..
she responds straight faced "there's no septic field here"!!
after a bit more conversation which was going nowhere and realizing what she was trying pull.
I politely respond, I'll be right back, walk to my truck and unfortunately had to leave her standing there next to her very dead :deadhorse very bloated :deadhorse and very unburied horse :deadhorse

 

[roddyo]

You have got to give the woman credit for one thing. When life handed her a lemon,she tried awfully hard to make lemonade

 

[dirtmonkey]

Lol. Welcome to the Redneck horse mortician club ! Had a horse farm that called me all the time to bury a horse. My friends rib me about being a mortician. Seriously though , i won't bury horses any more. Too many people think you should do it for nothing and the famous " Oh ,there's nothing there ".
Well , now you know you're not alone !

 

[maddog]

I'm confused, maybe just not seeing the obvious? ointhead

Not sure where to post this but here goes

Had a customer call me to bury their horse, normally don't do that sort of thing but hey, not rocket science right? I ask the woman where is the horse and mention I will need to have locates done so It will be a couple days.. she starts tearing up on the phone saying "I just want him to be properly buried and don't want him just laying there any longer" , and she states the horse is lying in the middle of an open field pasture... Ok mam I can take care of it this afternoon. I show up (after being lied too about where she lived, which was actually 45 minutes further out)..

If she lied about the address how did you find it? Or was it just a miss communication on destination. I have given my address before and had folks show up mad because they thought I lied but later found out google maps was giving the wrong address. I've even told folks ole style directions to have them cut me off and say I'll find it....:Banghead

whatever, lets get it done, as I can't be having an unburied dead horse on my conscience....So I arrive, :Banghead finally, look in her yard and would'nt ya know her (now very bloated:throwup) horse isn't in the pasture but has been clearly dragged out behind her house? Hmmm that's strange?

Not sure why this would be strange, not many folks want a loved dead pet sitting in there front yard(in this case out in the open), did she have it moved so she didn't have to see it? Was she covering up something?

So she starts getting all misty eyed :crying up again and says "O just bury him right here"... Hmm? I take a look around. Trying to be polite I say "mam your horse is lying on top of your septic field"..

Not doubting your knowledge, but how did you know it was her septic field? Did you install or talk with the installer? Did she show proof it wasn't? Did she offer another location for burial?

she responds straight faced "there's no septic field here"!!

She is the owner, did she know this or just guess at it? Did she have a map of the system, I always tell folks to find out about their system and at the very least draw up a rough map.

after a bit more conversation which was going nowhere and realizing what she was trying pull.

Here is where I am confused, what was she trying to pull? You leave a lot to be questioned, not disagreeing with you but your whole post is blank statements.

I politely respond, I'll be right back, walk to my truck and unfortunately had to leave her standing there next to her very dead very bloated deadhorse and very unburied horse

How was this polite?

You were there none of us were, and I'm probably missing something but your post doesn't really show where she was shady.


Catman 305: I am not disrespecting your post just trying to understand. There is always two sides to a story, but you mention nothing here about how she was being "shady" just that she was very upset, then you say you left her standing there

 

[roddyo]

In dryer parts of the country a septic system sticks out like a postage stamp. That might be how he recognized it.

If he "accidently" dug into it he would probably feel some obligation to fix it or do it at a lower rate as a horse burial would have a lower price expectation than a septic repair.

The lesson here is you have to be careful with every job. The little old lady that brings you homemade pie is capable of bending you over and telling you to squeal like a pig.

That's my interpretation.....

 

[old-iron-habit]

I have been called twice by the same horse person to drag a dead horse out of the paddock and put by the edge of the woods for bait so he could shoot wolves over it. Recycling is in.

 

[dirtmonkey]

Experience teaches you a lot. He may have been there to bury a horse but smelled bull***t instead. Some times you can just read people if you've seen it enough.

 

[Trashman]

The way I read it....she needed a new septic field and was going to get it by having 305 dig it up "accidentally" of course.

 

[catman305]

she told me on the phone she lived right in town and she when I got close to give her a call and she would give me directions to her house (because It was really tricky to find) ... she lived 45 minutes further out into the country and wasn't hard to find at all but not even close the the city she said she lived in.. On the phone she said she wanted the horse buried out in the pasture, but when I showed up it was clear somebody had dragged the horse to right behind the house. So now I've been lied to twice.

The way she straightened up and told me that there was nothing there let me know she was hiding something. It was obvious where the septic field was.
on the phone she asked if we where licensed and INSURED..
Some people spot that huge insurance policy and will take your ass for a courtroom ride. I've had people pull right in front of me on the expressway (twice now) in the far right lane and lock up there brakes for no reason whatsoever. I've heard my share of horror stories from fellow contractors what people will do for money.

 

[Trashman]

You were wise to move on.....she definitely had an agenda that involved more than just burying her dead horse.

 

[dirtmonkey]

You were wise to move on.....she definitely had an agenda that involved more than just burying her dead horse.

Yup ^^

 

[Outasite]

That's why the horse was bloated!!!!! Maybe you you were not the first one to say "I'll be right back":notworthyGood call!

 

[clintm]

when the hair on the back of your neck stands up you had better listen to it because it hardly ever lies to you. every time I don't listen to it I always regret it

 

[.RC.]

I have not smelt anything worse then a decomposing horse...

 

[51kw]

Reminds me of a story a good friend told me. Him and his guys were all partying on a sunday afternoon. One of the guys brother calls up and needs them to bring the tractor hoe and bury his wifes horse before she gets home. She goes away for the weekend and her horse dies. Any way they are pretty full but say ok, its only 5 miles down the road. Get there and dig the hole. Just as they were finishing it blows a line. Now it is dead. They guy says he will push the horse in the hole with his skidloader. He pushes the horse in and the hole isnt big enough,the head is still out. They figure in their drunken mentality that it is easiest to just fire up the chainsaw and cut the head off. That way they can throw the head in the hole and push the dirt in. All good in theory..... but half way thru the amputation the wife pulls up. I guess it was a long time till the wife cooled off!

 

[FSERVICE]

when the hair on the back of your neck stands up you had better listen to it because it hardly ever lies to you. every time I don't listen to it I always regret it

I agree fully!!! you done the right thing by getting in the truck & leaving making sure not to get off the drive or leave a mark on anything!!! shame there is not a web page where these people can have their names placed & what they tried to pull... before somebody else falls for it!!!!

 

[02Dmax]

Catman I think you're wise for peeling out of there and I heard everything you were saying right through your words. When something smells fishy, there's a fish somewhere.

 

[maddog]

she told me on the phone she lived right in town and she when I got close to give her a call and she would give me directions to her house (because It was really tricky to find) ... she lived 45 minutes further out into the country and wasn't hard to find at all but not even close the the city she said she lived in.. On the phone she said she wanted the horse buried out in the pasture, but when I showed up it was clear somebody had dragged the horse to right behind the house. So now I've been lied to twice.

The way she straightened up and told me that there was nothing there let me know she was hiding something. It was obvious where the septic field was.
on the phone she asked if we where licensed and INSURED..
Some people spot that huge insurance policy and will take your ass for a courtroom ride. I've had people pull right in front of me on the expressway (twice now) in the far right lane and lock up there brakes for no reason whatsoever. I've heard my share of horror stories from fellow contractors what people will do for money.

Thanks Catman305; Like I wrote, your post didn't explain much. I completely understand what people are capable of, I'm up there in years, and drove tractor trailer for many of them, even moved furniture for a while. I've been in every state except Alaska and Hawaii and even a few different countries while in the military. The stuff people would try and pull when I was over the road was crazy. I've also done many excavation jobs and even buried a black bear once(won't go into that deal). At the same time people are people and believe it or not, there are shady ground movers looking to make a quick buck off uneducated home owners.

 

[overworked]

I wonder how the horse died. Maybe she needed some bacteria in there to open up a clog.

 

[CM1995]

Reminds me of a story a good friend told me. Him and his guys were all partying on a sunday afternoon. One of the guys brother calls up and needs them to bring the tractor hoe and bury his wifes horse before she gets home. She goes away for the weekend and her horse dies. Any way they are pretty full but say ok, its only 5 miles down the road. Get there and dig the hole. Just as they were finishing it blows a line. Now it is dead. They guy says he will push the horse in the hole with his skidloader. He pushes the horse in and the hole isnt big enough,the head is still out. They figure in their drunken mentality that it is easiest to just fire up the chainsaw and cut the head off. That way they can throw the head in the hole and push the dirt in. All good in theory..... but half way thru the amputation the wife pulls up. I guess it was a long time till the wife cooled off!

I know a few get'er done type of country boys but I think this story takes the case!