Any tips for dealing with a crazy person?

[GiveMeAVowel]

Originally Posted By: rsylvstr

Ummmmm call the cops.

What I would do is make sure that another customer is in the customer area and when she starts in excuse yourself and call the police. This idiot is NOT your problem and your boss is being UNreasonable to his employees by allowing her to continue business dealings there.

 

[Nick1994]

Refuse service to her. Make something up. Tell her California law prohibits you to work on her vehicle until the debt is paid in full. Go throw a piece of garbage in the parking lot so she won't come in. The above about air freshener sounds like a good idea.

 

[JHZR2]

I'd demand payment on the debt and increase the estimate on the follow on work to make it less palatable. I'd also demand 50% up front and cash. You can then reduce the bill to what is flight and be relatively sure of being made whole. You've tried. You can't be a saint for all people. It's her turn to at least make back bills right. And be ready to call the police. Camera/recording, including of any work done is prudent if you do any follow on. I'm afraid you will be blamed for something at some point and you can't win. So cya.

 

[KzMitch]

Demand payment for services rendered. If she doesn't come back, consider the debt money well spent. Every now and then it's ok to send a customer to your competition. A good rule of business that has served me well is to simply not let crazy in the building.

 

[RooflessVW]

Refuse service. If she won't leave, call the police. Works every time. Living in Fayetteville, this is something I actually have plenty of experience in.

 

[dernp]

I read it completely. Did you read mine? You've misinterpreted what I have said. I know she has told him everything and the fact he knows this information is concerning.

 

[Andy636]

After two pages and nobody is asking how come this bat s**t crazy women is allowed to drive a car ???

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: Andy636

After two pages and nobody is asking how come this bat s**t crazy women is allowed to drive a car ???

I'm just not surprised. Government tries to stay as far away from mental problems as possible.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

She talks for hours. Tells the complete story. Like what streets she took today. How many ambulances she saw on the way over. The color of the dress the lady at the store had and that she had 16 items in the express lane.

That's interesting right there; especially the part about counting the other customer's items.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: spasm3

Originally Posted By: Chris142

Ideas?

Don't. When that are that bat crazy, they are not worth your time. It seems she likes control. Making you do her crazy bidding, like picking up trash or she won't get out the the truck. Its a form of controlling those around her. Simply tell her you don't have time for this , and she needs to pay her bill, then let her sit in the truck and look at the offending trash item.

I knew one of these types. Attention wore. There was a ferry boat I helped load/unload for a summer job. It ran on time. She gabbed with other women who made the mistake of associating with her, 100 yard from the ferry landing, and missed the boat. She came running down the ramp pointing at her watch saying everyone else's clocks were wrong. The boat captain actually turned around once and took her on, but instantly regretted it. (Maybe he thought she had a medical emergency etc and needed the boat ride.) She loved the attention and doubled down on this routine. Never again. The shunning he gave her was epic, and she ran around telling everyone how mean he was. She used to be a psycotherapist (!) but wound up living in a Section 8 trailer park. Instant karma takes years sometimes. As for your case, crazy lady thinks you're her "friend" and is stalking you. Demand payment-- sometimes they have more money than you think. Just come up with a legal looking letter that says you put a mechanic's lien on her car and she has to pay to get it back. Block her in for 1/2 an hour, put the fear of god in her, then "let" her leave.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: dernp

I know she has told him everything and the fact he knows this information is concerning.

Why? She made it public knowledge by disclosing it in a public place. Please enlighten us.

 

[Chris142]

She will mozi up to the counter and blab everything for 30 minutes before i can get a word in. She tells every thing in 100% detail and raves about how bad she was treated.

 

[Garak]

Start rattling off a bunch of jargon about motor oils, and show her that OCD works both ways. We are experts on the topics here, aren't we, OCD and oil (OCD about oil, specifically)? Explain to her in excruciating detail the issue that may or may not exist with Purolator media tears or non-standard oil testing. Maybe she'll have an interesting opinion!

 

[Andrew1972]

Sad stuff. You can refuse service but at the same time be as kind as you can at the same time.

 

[Driz]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime

Tell her she owes you money and you demand full payment right now. If she refuses tell her to leave and never come back. If she comes back, have the police trespass her from the property. If she returns, call the police and have her arrested. Don't let these kinds of idiots create stress in your life. It's simple really. Nothing wrong with firing a "customer". Acting nice to her is not doing you any favors. Take the kid gloves off and handle the problem.

That's the answer right there. Cut her loose and be done or you will just be on the hook working for free evermore. I have dealt with people like this forever and believe me this is the best answer for you. This type will just keep coming back and take whatever they can get and they lost any sense of shame they had long ago. They know two things only,what they need and where to try to get it. Of course they have no real sense of need vs. want and will always buy senseless [censored] then go begging for what they need to live. They always have "PROBLEMS" and you will feel sorry for them possibly for a bit until you get to know them better . Then you see the pattern of self destructive behavior and recurring problems over and over again. If you start doing favors for them you can be sure of one thing, they will be back for more until they burn that bridge and then they move on to someone else who feels sorry for them. I dealt with a HUD woman for around 10 years in a rental situation. Same sort of thing. Always short of cash for the pittance that she owed herself. At the same time she managed a bigger screen computer then a big screen tv than I had while I was making good money. Cell phones, Satellite tv, cable (grab the deal then disconnect for non payment) and all the rest. She always managed to nickle and dime me so I missed a couple hundred / year and so it went. You get the picture. It never changes. When I finally got rid of her I took 7 pickup loads of busted toy, old magazines and general trash away. In the end your best bet I have found is treat them like a bad kid because that is what they are. If you are overly nice to them then their problems slowly become your problems until you end it. Don't wast your time and expense trying collections on this one as you simply can't get blood from a stone and you will never see a dime and just have to pay the county to file the paperwork. Next time she comes in begging show her a copy of the bill she didn't pay and tell her you can't do anything more until she settles up, PERIOD. If she hangs around and babbles(and she will) at you as this type often do make an excuse you are busy and go do something to get away. If she starts getting uppity get the boss, [censored] he ought to be handling this stuff anyways. There is no solution for people like this and eventually she will end up a bag lady pushing a shopping cart around if she lives that long and its not you problem. In California just like NY these folks have plenty of help if they go look for it but either way it's not your problem unless you make it your problem. Let her go beg from someone else and never look back.

 

[Donald]

I would just tell her that you cannot do any additional work until the prior repair is paid off. If it never gets paid off, lesson learned. I would not involve the police unless she causes a scene that effects other customers.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Chris142

i dont know what i can say to make her understand what im telling her.i answer 1 question and she has 10 more that are the samw just worded differently.

Hook her up with Engineer20.

 

[demarpaint]

No new work until the old work is paid for, call it a new policy for the new year. If she pulls the locking herself in the bathroom stunt or anything else troublesome call the police. A great way to discourage difficult customers is to quote an off the wall price before starting any work and have her sign off on it. Or tell her you'd rather not do her work anymore. There is no law on the books stating you have to do work for someone you don't want to work for. The easiest thing to do is just tell her you don't want to work for her anymore, done deal. Just be ready to call the police.....

 

[DuckRyder]

One: Do not lie to her about any "laws" or anything else. Lying makes you a lier Two: Do not inflate the bill to run her off. - See one. You have two basic issues. She needs to pay her old bill and you can't fix the car on her schedule. Deal with those - everything else is noise. As far as her issues with talking a lot and needed certain things to enter the parking lot or building. Your business (your bosses business?) can either accommodate her or not - someone needs to decide. If you decide to accommodate her, remain professional and polite and accommodate her, while explaining that she needs to pay her bill. Tell her what you can do, not what you can't do. I find it somewhat ironic that people around here are calling someone with OCD "crazy".

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: Driz

Originally Posted By: bubbatime

Tell her she owes you money and you demand full payment right now. If she refuses tell her to leave and never come back. If she comes back, have the police trespass her from the property. If she returns, call the police and have her arrested. Don't let these kinds of idiots create stress in your life. It's simple really. Nothing wrong with firing a "customer". Acting nice to her is not doing you any favors. Take the kid gloves off and handle the problem.

That's the answer right there. Cut her loose and be done or you will just be on the hook working for free evermore. I have dealt with people like this forever and believe me this is the best answer for you. This type will just keep coming back and take whatever they can get and they lost any sense of shame they had long ago. They know two things only,what they need and where to try to get it. Of course they have no real sense of need vs. want and will always buy senseless [censored] then go begging for what they need to live. They always have "PROBLEMS" and you will feel sorry for them possibly for a bit until you get to know them better . Then you see the pattern of self destructive behavior and recurring problems over and over again. If you start doing favors for them you can be sure of one thing, they will be back for more until they burn that bridge and then they move on to someone else who feels sorry for them. I dealt with a HUD woman for around 10 years in a rental situation. Same sort of thing. Always short of cash for the pittance that she owed herself. At the same time she managed a bigger screen computer then a big screen tv than I had while I was making good money. Cell phones, Satellite tv, cable (grab the deal then disconnect for non payment) and all the rest. She always managed to nickle and dime me so I missed a couple hundred / year and so it went. You get the picture. It never changes. When I finally got rid of her I took 7 pickup loads of busted toy, old magazines and general trash away. In the end your best bet I have found is treat them like a bad kid because that is what they are. If you are overly nice to them then their problems slowly become your problems until you end it. Don't wast your time and expense trying collections on this one as you simply can't get blood from a stone and you will never see a dime and just have to pay the county to file the paperwork. Next time she comes in begging show her a copy of the bill she didn't pay and tell her you can't do anything more until she settles up, PERIOD. If she hangs around and babbles(and she will) at you as this type often do make an excuse you are busy and go do something to get away. If she starts getting uppity get the boss, [censored] he ought to be handling this stuff anyways. There is no solution for people like this and eventually she will end up a bag lady pushing a shopping cart around if she lives that long and its not you problem. In California just like NY these folks have plenty of help if they go look for it but either way it's not your problem unless you make it your problem. Let her go beg from someone else and never look back.

Your whole reply rings true- your HUD woman is nearly verbatim like a family member of ours. However, sadly, I've bolded that one sentence because ultimately, you're right and I think that it's important for Chris and others to know. I had suggested calling in a welfare check, but really that only shifts the problems to someone else. Hopefully to someone who is better equipped to handle it and help keep out of the way so to speak. She will never get "better".