Mouse motor...

I hear you Jim. I got burnt for $2200 late summer last year from a douchebag that is a nephew of friends I've had for 20 years. He joked about me being the trusting type when he gave me $200 on a $2400 bill and I let him take the car. Full disclosure - there were a couple issues he had with what I did but I thought we had worked it out to a mutually acceptable arrangement. So I let him take it because it was a paint deal and with my outside cats that car would have gotten trashed waiting for payment. So much for worrying about others' stuff and taking a man at his word. Some years ago I got burnt for $1000+ by a professed "man of God". Shortly after that I got burnt for $900 by a guy I'd known since high school and done two cars for. I'm not perfect. Nor are other people. I take it as a good thing that the vast majority of my customers are satisfied. In some cases they've had to be understanding about issues be they mine or parts failures. But all in all, with a few exceptions, they're great people with honest expectations. Sometimes the disappointment has to come at the beginning, to avoid it in the end.
Edit - I almost forgot the Asshole from this board that took my $$$ and ran for the early A 4sp shift bezel...