Professional Fees...

Last year I had the dubious distinction of receiving a letter from a well known Attorney in Jamestown, NY. and an equally well known Dentist in North East, PA. Upon opening the containing envelopes, I was dismayed to see that they were both enclosing... bills! There is really nothing worse than to receive an 'unexpected' bill in the mail. It took me a while to recall, but my attorney fee was for $100, which was for a phone call to his secretary. The dental visit was for the two and a half hours that I anxiously spent in his chair awaiting his decision on a problematic tooth.

This is the kicker. In both cases, I did not receive any services. The attorney situation was handled in one minute, by his secretary looking up some records, while I waited on the telephone. The Dentist kept popping in to tell me that he was very busy with a 'problem patient' in the next room, and finally came in to tell me that he didn't have the time to see me that day.

Now, if I spend time with a customer in the store here at 'Dry Gulch' (which I often do), and that customer talks my ear off for an hour, but departs without making a purchase; am I ethically permitted to send them an invoice for the time factor of: "Professional Fees"?

As John Stossel would say on the Fox News... "Give me a break"!