Ten years ago you hired a person. Now you often hire a dispatcher who hires a person. Here is how to sort the upkeep jobs worth paying for, and who you are really paying.
Continue reading Paying Someone to Clean the Gutters? Find Out Who Is Actually Coming First
A first consultation on an abuse claim is usually free, but the preparation still costs you something. Here is what to assemble, what it takes, and what drives the money later.
Continue reading Before You Call About an Abuse Claim, Two Evenings of Prep Change the First Meeting
A summary statement, an itemized statement and an explanation of benefits are not versions of the same page. Here is what each one can prove, and which to request first.
Continue reading First Hospital Bill? Three Documents That Look Alike and Answer Different Questions
Winter fingers, holiday bench queues and the stamp inside the shank all change what a jewelry repair costs and what protections apply when you hand the piece over.
Small jobs carry almost the same fixed costs as big ones. Here is how hourly, minimum-plus-hourly, and flat-rate pricing each handle that, and which one holds up.
Continue reading Pricing a Two Hour Repair Call Three Ways, and Which One Stops Losing Money
Utilities and big landlords handle overhanging limbs and disputed lines hundreds of times a year. The habits that make that work are mostly free to copy.
Continue reading Your Neighbor's Tree, Your Roof. The File a Utility Opens Before It Touches a Limb