Let's try it once and simple so most folks don't need to read further.

Edit:  This easily comes off a bit meaner than  I intended.

 Please try to read it as an attempt to be humorous by being overboard..

We do the work and whoever arranges to have the work done pays for the work.

We ask for nothing up front and 100% of the money is due the instant we decide we are finished.

We and our customers have jobs

We do boat repair. Our customers get money ready for that instant.

When our customers cannot be at the shop or marina the instant we finish, advance arrangements need to be made so we can be paid on time.

ANOTHER VERY SERIOUS CONSIDERATION

Or why we sometime 's oughta raise your bill by $1000 at the very last minute...but never do.

Fred is a nice guy and he truly cares about you and how you use your boat and whether you understand your boat.

When we all get together on launch day, Many people love to take advantage of the opportunity to ask Fred about various things and generally

 get a seamanship lesson from a fellow who has been racing sailboats since the 1950s.

 If the discussions are brief and happen while we are going about our business of rigging and launching

and we don't spend any of Fred's time by having these discussions, the shared opportunity is wonderful for all and can be freely given by us.

However, sometimes, the planned two hour rig and launch task morphs into an  endless process of fixing things

we all just discovered and chatting about various rigging options and talking about how the boat is used

and tuning for special conditions and teaching how the tuning process works and chatting about teak maintenance

 and discussing motor maintenance and discussing life in general and before we know it an entire work day has passed and we have a decision to make.

Do we:

a. Lose a work day  Infuriate customers who thought their work was scheduled for that day.

Pay some bills late or borrow money from savings because Fred took an unpaid  vacation day

0r

b. Remind the customer that Fred just consumed an entire work day on what was sold as a launch

and rig day and add $500 to the bill ( or $1000 if Alfonso was standing around trying to get us out of there)

General Clarification FAQ

1. Do you want a deposit.  NO

2. Do you ask for money part way through the job. Not unless the job is huge and will use too much of our operating capital. For jobs we intend to finish within a week or so we do not ask for any partial payments.

3. Do you take credit cards?  Yes!! As of sometime in the summer of 2020, we are set up to take credit card payments. We also use Apple Pay, and if anybody wants to figure out how to use it and talk me through the transaction,  the folks at Chase bank say I have something we  can use called Chase Pay. 

4. My friend is paying for the work because he hit my boat.  Your friend may or may not be paying you. You are paying for the repairs the instant we finish.

5. My insurance company is paying for the repair. No Your insurance company may or may not be paying money to you according to some contract you have with them. You are paying us the instant we finish your boat.

6. You took six month to get to my boat. I should wait to pay you.  No. The fact that we have more customers than we can care for simply says we might be better at what we do than those who have no waiting list. Payment is due the instant we finish your boat.

7. You took way longer doing my boat than you said you would. Why shouldn't I take longer to pay? If we took longer than we expected, and ESPECIALLY if we stuck to our original price, we have already done much more than was originally agreed upon. When a job takes too much time Fred still has to pay the staff and all the utilities, taxes and other ongoing fixed costs. Usually jobs that take too long also consume extra materials. When a job takes longer than predicted, we are stuck to either do a half assed sloppy job or suck up and work for little or no money. In fact, sometimes, we lose money on a job that goes over time. If fixing your boat takes longer than Fred thought or takes more materials than Fred thought, you should be thanking us or even offering to pay for that extra special treatment. Withholding payment because we did more than planned is just plain indecent.

8. I will be out of town when you finish.  Leave a check with us so we can cash it when we finish.

9. I need to move funds from account x to account y so this check will be good would you hold my check until Monday? Fun internet style non face to face answer>>>> What possible reason could you have for asking such a  question? Unless this was an emergency repair and unless you warned us in advance that you had no money, this question could not possibly be asked unless you screwed off while we did our part of the job.

10. Can I come out Thursday and pay you?  ...Here I go again>>> You mean pay us a second time? Unless we are finishing the job Thursday, I cannot imagine why anyone would ask such a question. Instants don't take days to happen.

11. Can I make payments? Your payment is due the instant we finish. If you miss that payment date, your Schroth Fiberglass brand credit report says, "This person has a serious delinquency" Who would loan money to somebody with a bad credit report??

12. I get off work late Friday and have to make it to a regatta this weekend. Can I pick up the boat, make the race,  and pay you when I get back? I have never seen a vehicle that was capable of towing a boat but incapable of carrying a checkbook or wad of cash. Even if no one is at the shop, we can make arrangements to leave your payment somewhere. Also, you can leave your payment with us when we begin the repair and prevent this problem before it becomes a problem.

13. I wasn't expecting you to finish and I don't have the money yet. What? Did I call you and ask to fix your boat?  Do you order pizza and then tell the delivery guy you are broke? Generally it takes weeks or even months from the time you call us about services to get to the point where we ask for payment. You ought to have the money ready when you originally say, "Do it."  If we call and tell you we are finally ready to start and you do not yet have your payment ready, you need to stop us before you screw us over by letting us finish a job for which you cannot pay.

14. You raised the price half way through the job and I don't have that much money. We don't do that! Sometimes we find unexpected additional problems that sometimes cost a lot of money to solve. We do NOT go ahead and do that work until we have discussed that work and its cost with you. If you do not have enough money to maintain your toy, you need to tell us before we continue, not after we have already done the work.

15. My boat was parked and some kid came by and smashed into it. His father has agreed to pay for the damages. That is an unfortunate story but it sounds like the kid's dad is going to help you out. You are paying for the repairs the instant we finish.

16. My boat partner is out of town. You get to pay both halves of the bill and maybe your boat partner will pay you back sometime.

During the last few months we have had customers who did no know, or care to admit,  the obvious answers to the above questions. In a world where other boat shops operate with policies such as signed work orders, No Cash No Splash, huge deposits before work begins, no entry to the shop without a credit card number on file, and other adversarial relationship tools, we are a unique friendly neighborhood shop where we actually do value your friendship as well as your business. Most of our customers are good people who do not take advantage of our fraternal treatment and trust.

Please do not make me institute big city impersonal rules for everybody because you need them.