Moral issue with older client that is losing his memory

[kwest]

I will try to keep this short.

Elders son contacted me to fix his dads computer. When I was done I was to have contact with only his son and give him updates. The son also sent the checks.

The older guys last tech went to his house once a week for the last two years. Son took over finances and stopped that guy.

I have been out six times and the son keeps asking me to go out again. Last time I was there I held his iPad for twenty minutes while he typed out an email. I feel bad for the guy but I think he is unable to use pcs and iPads anymore. His son keeps calling me to go out to his dads house. I finally told the son they would be better off finding a college student at 20 per hour than paying a lot more for such basic help.

Question

Have you ever had to cut a customer off because of their ability.

 

[Xander]

Not yet. I've got one customer, a couple, and the wife is developing Alzheimer's. She's fairly low maintenance so far. Somehow, they keep having a 'stuck' email in their Outbox so I wrote a batch file to flush.... she keeps forgetting the shortcut is on the desktop so I get an email about once a month. Oddly, I've tried emailing to him to remind him that it's there but he never writes back.

As for your case, I think you've done the right thing. There's business.. and then there's taking advantage of someone's disadvantage.

 

[oldtech]

I was in that exact same position several years back. (before moving to b2b only model)

I did not cut off the client after having a few discussions with his sons and daughters who all lived remotely, and I did reduce the rate somewhat. The client passed away not more than 6 months later.

My reasoning went along these lines.

A. You will never find a more flexible customer regarding schedule - those calls can easily be used as filler.

B. The rate was reduced because I considered this to be spare time that probably otherwise would have gone unpaid.

C. Karma - My own kids were growing up - still in high school - middle school at the time. It was clear from career choice (military) though that it was unlikely they would ever live in same city as mom and pop again.

I'd like to recommend you stick with this client but you have to let your own situation guide you.

 

[DirtyDanno]

I was in that exact same position several years back. (before moving to b2b only model)

I did not cut off the client after having a few discussions with his sons and daughters who all lived remotely, and I did reduce the rate somewhat. The client passed away not more than 6 months later.

My reasoning went along these lines.

A. You will never find a more flexible customer regarding schedule - those calls can easily be used as filler.

B. The rate was reduced because I considered this to be spare time that probably otherwise would have gone unpaid.

C. Karma - My own kids were growing up - still in high school - middle school at the time. It was clear from career choice (military) though that it was unlikely they would ever live in same city as mom and pop again.

I'd like to recommend you stick with this client but you have to let your own situation guide you.

I have a few clients that are very similar. They have paid very well and I get calls requesting me to come by when I get a chance to check this or fix that.

I have to admit I don't always charge them as sometimes its on my way home.
Other times when I give them the total I get "Are you sure that's all?, sounds low". In addition to that they tip and tip quite well. I finally quit saying I wont take the tip money. They insist.
So although WE may always have the best intentions, I sometimes feel as though I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't.
In any case they call US whether its themselves or family, trust/comfort is involved, they feel they are getting there money's worth.

I agree with Oldtech wholeheartedly.
A Discounted rate is a good move, if you can afford it, that's great.
Don't feel guilty, yes it's menial at times but you can only hope that someone will extend the same type of thoughtfulness to your family in the event you are not available.
Whatever your decision may be I am sure it will be the right one, or you would never have given this situation that much thought.

Good Luck!
Danno

 

[AlaDes]

I actually had one of my favorite clients who passed away just a few days ago that would fit this scenario. He was one of our town's most loved icons and legends of all time. He was, at one time, the world's fastest quick draw. He was also one of the most loved meteorologists of the state. Off topic, but I love sharing this...I remember in Jr. high school (yep, over 20 years ago that's what they called it), he performed in our gymnasium and fired off 3 shots from his revolver and it only sounded like 2! He also cracked a whip on a friend of ours and never left a mark on him.

He was the most flexible of all of my clients when it came to time management, however, if you gave him a time you had better be punctual lol. He always had such great stories to tell that I felt guilty about charging him anything at all; Besides, I lived less that a block from him. He always paid me more than I told him he owed me, which made him even more special. Then again, clients like this make it well worth living in a small town like I do, even if it is a struggle to stay in business

West (By God) Virginia will miss you Stan!

 

[ZenTree]

Whilst it can be tricky the good thing about your situation is that the son is the one paying the bills. He obviously thinks it is worth it for his dad and is looking at it as something that is helping him keep happy. You're offering a valuable service for him, as well as his dad.

That being said, if you feel it is going to be a regular occurance, I would look at drawing up some sort of support package where they pay a standard monthly fee and get X amount of hours per month from that. Any further work can be done at a discounted rate as well perhaps, depending on the circumstances.

That way you can lower the cost a bit for them whilst having one more guaranteed income coming in per month.

 

[red12049]

This happens with some frequency here, due to the population demographics. Best you can do is treat them the way you'd like to be treated. If we're lucky, we will get to be in their shoes some day.

Rick

 

[kwest]

If he was close I would have no problem helping at a discounts rate but he is 20 minutes away and I don't usually go that far without a higher rate.

I am talking to the sin to buy ten one hour sessions at a discounted rate. I still feel like he is not retaining what I am showing him.

 

[oldtech]

LOL @ 20 min away - I have to travel 30-45 min just to go 12 miles to the office and reinse repeat for the ride home... btw at an advanced age with obvious mental capacity issues he's not going to retain anything. That isn't really the point of the time you spend with him.

Just based on what you've posted I think you should find someone to refer this customer to..I don't think you have the mindset for supporting the guy correctly.

 

[mr m]

I have a couple of old timers that I help out and give price breaks to. I have one dude who keeps calling because his home page keeps getting switched. It takes 1 minute on the phone but then this guy keeps talking for 15 more minutes. I've noticed a lot of my older clients are lonely and just need some human interaction. Help them out because one day it's our turn fumbling around with the simplest of tasks and what goes around...

One day an 84 year old woman is on the phone with a MAC issue. I told her I couldn't help her as I know 0 about Apple or Unix. She was crying, yes, crying that her computer guy charges her a fortune yet doesn't help her.

I go to her house and find a used Apple server. I Googled it and it was around 4 years old. This prick sold her the used pc for $2K and an additional $2K to set it up and install apps like Office. Yes, four thousand dollars!

Somehow I fixed her issues without having a clue about what I was doing. I called this clown twice and both times was hung up on. I called Apple to report him (I was so ******) but he wasn't a partner or whatever they call it so they had no recourse. I tried to get her to call the Attorney General but she just wants to see the pics of her Grandkids and doesn't want to be bothered.

If you are the azzhole who ripped her off how the hell do you sleep at night?

 

[pc-quebec]

My neighbor is a little bit like that, she is only 65 but don't want to learn how to use her computer. My 10 years old son go once or twice a week to show her thing , and she give him $ 20 each time. Last time my son take picture of few place in the house and post it on the facebook of the woman, she was so happy.

 

[kwest]

LOL @ 20 min away - I have to travel 30-45 min just to go 12 miles to the office and reinse repeat for the ride home... btw at an advanced age with obvious mental capacity issues he's not going to retain anything. That isn't really the point of the time you spend with him.

Just based on what you've posted I think you should find someone to refer this customer to..I don't think you have the mindset for supporting the guy correctly.

Curious what you mean by my mindset. I have lots of older clients and enjoy helping them with simple issues and treat them with respect and patients.