Long story,
Try to keep it reasonable.
Two years ago a guy called and said he got my name through the grapevine at the saw shop. He wanted to pick up 2 cord of seasoned on the weekend. Saturday morning he showed up with his 10 to 12 year old son to help load. Very nice guy. The truck had a 6-1/2 foot bed so he was planning on making 2 loads Saturday and 2 on Sunday. He told me his wife was going to the bank that morning and he would pay for the 2 cord when he came back after lunch for the second load. I had no problem with that, so he and his son loaded up and off they went. On the return, the guy apologized multiple times stating he and his wife missed each other and he would pay me on Sunday morning. Okay, I've been married for 24 years and know how that works so no biggie. They loaded up, said see you in the morning and left. That was the last I saw of him.
I tried calling, leaving voicemails, and texting for a week to no avail. The guy simply wasn't responding and I knew I'd been had. All I had was a cell number and his and his son's first names, no way to track them down. So I'm out $175. As my wife advised, I decided to just forget it. The fact I nor 95 percent of my customers would never do anything like that is why I was an easy mark. The idea I was being set up never entered my head. Wasn't happy, but wait, there's more.
A month later, I was talking to a friend and told him the story. he suggested I call the number, hoping the guy would have forgotten mine and pick up, providing he hadn't blocked me. I called, and low and behold a woman answered. I asked for the guy, she said she was his wife and he wasn't there. She was answering his phone because he forgot it and someone was to call about a car they were selling. I politely told the woman who I was and the reason for my call. After I explained, there was dead silence on the other end for what seemed like 10 seconds. When she spoke I could tell she was ticked off and she said. So he picked up wood, never paid you, and had our son with him. Yes ma'am. But I gave him the money at lunch time, and he didn't go back because he said you only had one cord available. As politely as I could I told her that's not what happened. To shorten the rest of the conversation where she rather nastily discussed his lineage she finally asked for my name, address, and how much was owed saying she would send a check the next day. Two days later a check arrived in the mail with a very nice note stating how sorry she was that this had happened.
So the story ends, my final thought is simply, for the hell that guy went through after I talked to his wife, I'm more than willing to bet he now really, really wishes he had paid and not pocketed the cash as it would have been a lot less grief in the long run.
Something to that Karma stuff I guess.
Take Care
