HereForTheBeer: Drove 22 hours home the last couple days, from south Texas to Up Nort'. In a rented cargo truck. A bit tired but the drive wasn't bad, especially considering that the holidays can really bring out the worst in drivers. Must be that the travel rush hasn't started yet.
In bed a little after 10 last night and my brain turned on at 4am. Sleep didn't return so I got up at 5. Kinda tired of that crap. Finally get home to a comfortable bed and <click!> the brain screws up the whole enjoyment of it.
The wife and I went down there for a machine salvage job. Someone has a machine they're getting rid of, they call me, I offer them a bit of money to take any and all parts I want, and they scrap the leftovers. They end up with a lot more money than if they scrapped the whole thing, since I don't remove much overall weight from it - it's mostly smaller parts and not enormous structural pieces.
Spent the week staying at the in-laws house on a bed that should have been replaced before it was purchased. Not much sleep there, either, but I figure the tossing and turning all night long made for a good aerobic workout.
Anyway, the machine owner contacted me a month or so back to see if I wanted it. Sure. They sent a bunch of photos - it was already disassembled into its major assemblies, sitting inside a relatively open and well-lit building. I gave them a bit more money than normal because the machine being disassembled was going to save me some time and hassle. They asked for a deposit so I sent them a check. I also issued a Purchase Order, had them sign and return it, and arranged to come down there last week.
We show up and the machine is now sitting outside. A week or so prior they moved it to make room for who-cares-what, and then part of it was covered by tarps and other parts were left uncovered. And then it rained hard for a couple days. I started pointing out the rust and the main guy, Jim, said it was only out there for a short while and the water wasn't a big deal. No? Well, I can't sell this part and I can't sell that part, and that one will take a lot more time and effort to refurbish... In my head, I'm watching dollar signs and labor time just fly away.
The wife and I spend a couple days getting the parts I wanted - minus the now-screwed-up stuff. While organizing the rest we found that one hollow air-flotation table had water pouring out of it when we flipped it over. Great. Removed the top and it's a sloppy mess inside. Rusty, with water-soaked sawdust. Completely useless without spending more time and money than I'll be able to get out of it. 3 other tables were similar, but not quite as bad. Similar story with several other items.
Wednesday morning, I meet with another guy to pay the remaining balance I owed. Told him that, based on the damage, I needed a discount from the original amount. He calls Jim, and Jim and I 'discuss' the matter. He starts off by telling me, "We have a handshake agreement. We don't do business that way. [talking about asking for a discount after the fact]." Jim, I have over a dozen photos from you, showing the machine cozy and dry inside. I have a signed Purchase Order where you agreed to "as-is, where-is", and where is states payment will be made after the machine is evaluated to ensure that it matches the description. When you decided on your own to deviate from the agreed-upon where-is, it caused a change in the condition of the as-is. Your action removed value from the product that I originally agreed to purchase. You did this after I paid the deposit, and you did it without notifying me beforehand. He started to go on about how I didn't say I was going to take those parts, and that's why they were not covered. "Jim, the Purchase Order lists the goods as 'the machine'. That means every part whether or not you think I want it. The PO and our emails laid all this out, and I certainly did not tell you I would not be taking those particular items." After further disparagement of me and "the way I do business", we hung up and I talked with the other guy (who was listening in but otherwise keeping out of it) along with my wife. My wife said, "Well that certainly was uncomfortable." Haha. No kidding. "Yeah, honey, I don't appreciate it when someone tries to tell me that I'm the bad guy for asking for a discount, when the conversation would not be occurring if he hadn't caused the problem in the first place. Especially when I have documentation of the original condition and a signed agreement. Unbelievable." "It sure is."
Wrote them a smaller check and went on my pissed-off way. What a jackass. We have a signed agreement along with photographs to back it up, I sent the deposit you insisted on even though you say you work by 'handshake', before I even show up you fucked-up the stuff I bought, and now you tell me - the customer - that I'm the shithead?
On the upside, this was a lesson to be learned and I'm now going to be a lot more formal with the used-machine purchase process. There are more people like him out there: with good intentions, to be sure, but who will not own up to their mistakes and make things right for the customer. Wouldn't have bothered me if he had simply agreed that a mistake was made, that it lessened the value of the product he agreed to sell, and that there is a monetary amount attached to that. Maybe the dumbest thing is that he was giving me a ration of shit for a whopping $300. Guessing they spent more in labor costs to move the thing outside.
tl:dr: accept the responsibilities for - and consequences of - your mistakes.
The finale to your accumulated stress is most likely going to have a hilarious ending. Please promise to be filming when it happens, and upload it so your pals at gog can have a laugh.
