Rant: Customer watched me repair their bumper and then argued about the price

Had a guy at my shop in Portland last Tuesday literally stand 3 feet away while I sanded, filled, and painted a crack on his 2018 Civic bumper. After 2 hours of work he said $150 was too much because it looked like I just 'wiped some goop on it.' Has anyone else had people watch you work then try to haggle like you didn't just save them from buying a whole new bumper?

2 comments

2 Comments

julia_miller241mo ago

and then they stand there breathing down your neck the whole time like they're inspecting a bomb defusal, right? honestly at that point you should have charged him extra for the audience participation fee. $150 for a bumper repair that actually looks good after two hours is basically stealing, he should be thanking you. people have no clue what body shop labor actually costs and they think our time is just free because they watched us do it. next time tell him he can watch you put the price up too.

rose_cooper1mo ago

@julia_miller24 nailed it. Same thing happens with mechanics and even dentists these days.