DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: I'm a massage therapist, and recently I raised my fee for a one-hour massage from $70 to $80. When a few of my old clients complained, I agreed to continue to charge them the old rate. But I need to make up the discount I'm giving these folks, so when a new customer, "Grace," came in, and I could see that she could afford to pay more, I charged her $85. Well, Grace found out that my normal rate is $80, and now she wants a $5 refund. To me, this is ridiculous. As far as I'm concerned, if I want to charge some people a little less for my services and others a little more, that's up to me. Moreover, the amount involved here -- $5 -- is so small that I think she's being pretty petty to care. Is there any reason why I should give her a refund?
-- T.M.
Dear T.M.: Who says there's no inflation?
Kidding aside, if it's "petty" to care about $5, then how are you any less petty than Grace? You are, after all, disagreeing over the same five bucks. At least Grace can stand on principle; you appear to just want her money.
So to answer your question, yes, you definitely should refund the money, and apologize when you do. Plus, consider offering Grace half off her next massage. Look, it's not as if you're selling one-of-a-kind works of art; you're in a business that customarily has set prices for the services offered (indeed, you've said yourself that your price for an hour-long massage is $80). For this reason, Grace had every right to expect to be charged your standard fee. If you want to offer a discount to your longtime clients, that's up to you. But telling a new client who happens to make the mistake of, say, wearing a nice sweater on her first visit that your fee is $85 when in fact it's $80 is lying, plain and simple. We suggest you make things right with Grace before she tells others in your community that that's what you do.
DEAR JEANNE & LEONARD: My husband's grandmother passed away six months ago. I know my husband is a beneficiary of her trust, but his parents, who are the trustees, keep things very close to the vest and are not easy to talk to. When and how do you recommend asking them about what he's inherited?
-- Janet
DEAR JANET: Now is the time, and the best thing for your husband to do is to be direct. We know: That won't be easy. But his parents should be hard pressed to refuse a straightforward request from their son for information -- a request along the lines of "As a beneficiary of Grandma's trust, I'd appreciate knowing how much I'll be inheriting and about when I'll be receiving the money."
P.S. They wouldn't, however, be wrong to deny you an answer. So, should your husband drag his feet, focus on developing his backbone, and don't even think about speaking to his parents yourself.
Jeanne Fleming and Leonard Schwarz are the authors of Isn't It Their Turn to Pick up the Check? Dealing With All of the Trickiest Money Problems Between Family and Friends (Free Press, 2008). Email them at
Questions@MoneyManners.net
Family on 11/18/2015