Unnecessary service calls? What to do?

[Adam Shelley]

Hello! A tenant texted me and said the electrical outlets in her walls were making a "clicking noise." She included a screen-shot from her phone that said clicking sounds from an outlet could be faulty wiring and were a fire hazard. She said the breaker kept kicking off so she turned them off for safety. The words "fire hazard" got me concerned so I called an electrician who went out the same day to look at it.

After looking at the problem, the electrician called me and said that the "clicking noise" she heard was the sound of the compressor kicking on in a dorm sized refrigerator she had. Additionally, she had 4 space heaters running in the apartment. Every time the compressor kicked on it overloaded the circuit and blew the breaker. The electrician charged $90.00.

Here's my question -- how can I avoid things like this in the future? I can't go over there every time something like this happens, because I work full-time and live an hour away from the property. I don't want to be negligent and NOT send out somebody when the situation warrants, but I also don't want to pay for unnecessary service trips.  I just want to know what you all would do if (when) a similar situation happens again? 

Thank you!

[Jacob Sampson]

Something I notice a lot of property owners don't do or don't do very well is having a reasonable conversation with the tenant about concerns.  In this case, simply explain your concern.  Discuss the current example and let her know that you want to be responsive and take care of the property but that if there continue to be unnecessary expenses, she will need to cover the cost.

Is this the only example or does this tenant have a history of these sorts of issues?  I think that probably informs how you handle this tenant, as well.