Consultant Billing Question

[SurfaceUnits]

So I'm called out last week to install a Cisco router for a national pizza chain. The store had been down two days. I had to reschedule one customer a day and had to postpone another for 6 hours. I bought a pizza for the one I postponed. Do I bill the pizza chain's IT company for the $15.00 for the pizza? After all, I did make the postponed client not hate their pizza client so much.

[cameraman]

I wouldn't.

[racer2c]

I would eat the pizza.:)

[Insomniac]

Doesn't seem right. I would've expected them to pay more to jump ahead of other scheduled customers. Then use that to keep them happy.

If not, then I'd hope if the other customers had similar problems they would get to jump ahead and you let them know that.

[TravelGal]

Agreed on all counts. Your priority scheduling fee should cover the postponed people's pizza AND yours. Build it all in the front end and don't nickel and dime them out the back. Happier clients in the long run. Usually. :cool:

[nrc]

I could see billing them something for priority service, but technically that has nothing to do with the pizza that you purchased for the other company. That was just a gift that gave them to help maintain their goodwill during the delay.

[Andrew Longman]

As a consultant myself, I would not bill them for the pizza.

I very well might have charged them for priority service, but only if that was the understanding going in to the service call.

I very well too might have asked the client to help out another client by donating the pizza. I would not do that in an "extorting" way, but more as a suggested voluntary contribution to the "community" in gratitude for allowing them to cut in line. There may actually be some benefit in getting them to think of themselves as part of a community with you at the hub keeping it all going.

Depending on the nature of your clients, that might not fit or work, but it could actually benefit you by creating a bit more loyalty and benefit your clients through more cooperation and sharing in general.

[SurfaceUnits]

So that means if I get bacon pizza for the OC community, it is on my dime