Stroppy Customer

[sparky paul]

Went to look at a cu change today as arranged with the man of the house yesterday

When i gets there his mrs and daughter are both in the open garage waiting for me,three boards ,one old E7 board and two rewirables.

Looking at the cabling i would say about 25 /30 years old T & E.

Checks the gas meter ,no bonding at all,so checks the water and yes no bonding

Starts to explain what needs doing regarding a full test prior to cu change and the bonding to gas and water and the woman flies right off the handle calling me a robbing so and so and saying im making the job bigger to make more off it.

I kept my cool and stayed calm(was a struggle)and explained i would speak to her husband this evening.

I realy am thinking of giving this job a wide berth due to the way the woman over reacts and the daughter was just as bad ,i can just imagine what she would be like if i did change the board and they had a problem she would be out for my blood.

What would any of you do in this situation and how do you all deal with mega stroppy customers.

 

[Mark.W]

I walk away from them, I can't be dealing with it all. Probably won't pay when the work is done anyway!

 

[1shortcircuit]

I'm not a sparky but I have had many years experience in dealing with customers and I personally would give it a wide birth.

Imagine if unforeseen circumstances meant that you had to charge extra due to no fault of your own, (I guess it happens in the electrical trade too?) I bet she would want your guts for garters

Is the man of the house really the man of the house

Good Luck

 

[sparky paul]

The so called MAN OF THE HOUSE rang me earlier,so i explained the situation to him and he was very apologetic about his wifes conduct ,he reckons she suffers with her nerves which to be honest i sort of realised.

I have told him to get another couple of quotes just so he can see im not pulling a fast one ,with the work the way it is i dont like to walk away from jobs but think it best in this instance.


Think i will be doing more commercial as opposed to domestic in future

 

[nadger]

my next door neighbour is a builder...

he is always saying "our jobs would be great, if it wasn't for the customers!!!"

 

[Phil Mumford]

Got a little story for you...........

I am going through one of these at the moment. Customer wanted some new sockets/circuits installed and stated that he would want a periodic carried out AFTER the work was completed. Visual revealed the CU was an old rewireable board with no mains bonding.

Quoted to replace the CU, install the bonding, install new wiring for additional sockets and suggested upgrade from TT to PME. Noted in the quote that if any old circuits caused tripping problems it would be extra to sort it out.

Happy days - got the job and the supply arrangements were upgraded. Changed the CU, installed the bonding and new circuits (and a few extras at no extra cost) and surprise, surprise the old circuit(s) were tripping the RCD. Removed one of the RCD's as a temporary measure to keep power on the old circuit (neutral/earth fault) and it got left like it - this was partly my fault through pressure of work. Not good but not dangerous.

Customer called in another NIC contractor to do a periodic and it all went downhill from there - my work was slated (some of the faults that were present on the old wiring were initially attributed to MY wiring - it was later admitted by the other contractor to be an error on his part) and the customer rang the NIC to complain, unsurprisingly. The NIC didn't help as they told the customer that I should have carried out a periodic inspection before the CU change - as I had advised.

I attended an NIC seminar a few weeks previously where the question about 'how far do you go' before conducting a CU change was poised and the advice was that a thorough visual was adequate (bonding etc) and the customer advised of the required work before the CU change was sufficient. Then they give contradictory advice to members of the public? Nice. Thanks for the support.

Returned and put the RCD back in and disconnected the faulty old radial. Customer not happy because he has several sockets not working and thinks the faults on the old wiring should be put right at no cost to himself.

This is unresolved as yet but the other NIC contractor phoned me recently, basically to apologise as he had been slightly enthusiastic in criticising my work and he has since advised the customer that I have carried out the work I have quoted for, that the faults lie with old circuitry and my work is of an acceptable standard.

OK, shaggy dog story over but this goes to show how easily things can turn into a mess.

Steer clear of customers who know better than you what should be done - on a budget or otherwise.

For the record this is the first dissatisfied customer I have had in the last 10 years.

Want to know the price? A mere £500 plus VAT. Not a penny of it paid

 

[Oli]

I had a customer exactly like this, I was walking away from the job, and for some reason decided to go against my better judgement and did the job.

Now im persuing her through the courts for over 1k owed. So is the plumber, spark and central heating company, I later found out that she'd done the same to the conservatory fitter and plasterer.

I hope they have a long bench in court, there all chasing her, they'd need to get the spare xmas chairs out if we all end up going together...lol

Stick with your instinct and walk away IMO, but then again I have had my fingers burnt.

 

[tigerstar]

I had a customer exactly like this, I was walking away from the job, and for some reason decided to go against my better judgement and did the job.

Now im persuing her through the courts for over 1k owed. So is the plumber, spark and central heating company, I later found out that she'd done the same to the conservatory fitter and plasterer.

I hope they have a long bench in court, there all chasing her, they'd need to get the spare xmas chairs out if we all end up going together...lol

Stick with your instinct and walk away IMO, but then again I have had my fingers burnt.

Mate ive took one customer to small claims court its biggest waste of time going take my advice dont bother
there are so many loop holes for not paying ive started with dodgy customers getting them to sign a letter giving me the right to re entry the property and remove goods if not paid for and ive had to go to a customers who said they had no money to pay with a pair of very large SWA cutters these were put on the tails ( he paid immediately with cash ) I take great pride in my work and the company that i run is as professional as possible these type of people only react to simialr treatment if you know what i mean.... works though

 

[sparky paul]

The guy as phoned me back about an hour ago and wants a full periodic done and if alls ok then go ahead with the cu and bonding.

Still dont know weather or not to do this one though.

 

[Oli]

Mate ive took one customer to small claims court its biggest waste of time going take my advice dont bother
there are so many loop holes for not paying ive started with dodgy customers getting them to sign a letter giving me the right to re entry the property and remove goods if not paid for and ive had to go to a customers who said they had no money to pay with a pair of very large SWA cutters these were put on the tails ( he paid immediately with cash ) I take great pride in my work and the company that i run is as professional as possible these type of people only react to simialr treatment if you know what i mean.... works though

I wouldnt normally bother but i'm onto a winner this time as she actually paid twice by cheque, and bounced them both times, bill of exchange act comes into play and i should (fingers crossed) get a default judgement.

 

[empress]

I wouldnt normally bother but i'm onto a winner this time as she actually paid twice by cheque, and bounced them both times, bill of exchange act comes into play and i should (fingers crossed) get a default judgement.

i've had the old bouncing cheque routine , everytime it came back "reffered to draw" kept putting it back in as it costs the them everytime think it was £30 a pop then.
sister use to work in the bank and told me that the staff will try and fob you off after 2 goes but stand yer ground and demand they do it.
after 5 goes it went thru, was a very expensive lesson for that scum bag.
slightest hint of any nonsense now and i'm off, let someone else to get stiffed.
elfyn

 

[kung]

I have a nice 1000v IR tester that also works on tv aerials as one non paying scum found out !
Just before the school summer holidays ! ouch !

 

[Guest123]

Theres nothing worse than a non-paying customer.

More often than not a solicitors letter is enough for most small parties...the bigger companies are a different story.

Round my way if a customer starts playing games with a tradesman then everyone gets to know about it. Getting treated like a leper in chapel on a Sunday and the shame is ususally enough to make em cough up. Plus we all know to steer clear in future.

 

[m4tty]

If they dont pay send the boys round simples. intimidation normally works.

I like your style Kung, how did you connect the megger up out of interest/for future non payers. Is it connected to the outside aeriel and can it blow plasmas/lcd's up too if connected lol cheers

 

[ian.settle1]

Your not there to be verbally abused by the customer, tell him if you do the job then the shedevil and junior shedevil are not to be in the house when you do it or you will walk.

 

[Firebucket]

Hi Paul

I'd leave it alone if I where you (although could do with the cash at the mo, bloody Xmas!!) Always trust your gut instinct it's rarely wrong?

I worked for a large German car manufacture for a long time (before becoming a newly qualified Spark,Hello forum) as a customer liason manager, basically if you bought a new car that was duff, I kept you in it and did my utmost not to give you anything, Yea yea I'm going to burn in hell!
I avoided most agro by going with the old gut instinct, If it felt like is was going to be a pain in the --- from the off, it innevertably was.


Cheers
Duncan

 

[drywax]

LOL These stories make me chuckle were still chasing 30K from a greedy b**ch who thought she'd have a gamble at property development and just as she completed her properties the market crashed. We will get our money as were taking her name to court not the company but as tigerstar get them to sign a sheet with T&C's included I'm going to add the re-entering the property to collect equipment that hasn't been paid for thats a good one

If someone gets mad I tend to laugh and walk away this winds them up even more

similary if someone road rages me I blow them a kiss and smile now that really winds them up

 

[Christech]

Give your cutsomer a contact number for a Manufacturers Technical Support ,they will back you 100%

 

[kung]

If they dont pay send the boys round simples. intimidation normally works.

I like your style Kung, how did you connect the megger up out of interest/for future non payers. Is it connected to the outside aeriel and can it blow plasmas/lcd's up too if connected lol cheers

Worked for me just strip off small amount of sleeving from coax as it enters the house and splice through part of the braid and you have your connections ! mine was easy as it was an old ntl box outside so within 2mins id blown the upcon on the old general electric convertor box (used to be a electronic bench engineer for reading aerials repair centre for convertors) also does in the modem
Dont get caught ! its so cunning you can stick a tail on it and call it a fox ! but as said dont get caught !
knocks out the aerial intake pcb in the tv same as a lightning strike on the aerial but wont melt the pcb. also can take out the video depending on whats connected ! 500v works but 1000v is better ! as tvs have over 300 parts inside that can be damaged it will take a tech with lots of good diagnosis equipment & skills to repair the damage if indeed its not a B.E.R. (beyond economical repair) i did rub it in a bit as when they got back i was watching a portible tv in my van ! if they play the non paying part i make em pay some how.

 

[hotXbun]

I would make one more effort. I always ask client to get at least one more quote so I can show I'm competitive. I also give them a chance to speak to a referee. I never take anything for granted even with established customers. I always go back to explain what I'm doing and to agree a start date and I make sure I receive a deposit and an agreement that if job is more than couple thousand, a stage payment is agreed towards the end with balance to be paid on completion. Since 1986 I've only had 3 or 4 customers stitch me up, always for around £500 and as my Accountant advised me never to seek remuneration via the courts for anything under £500, I took his advice and just used my nose to guide me away from the stitchy ones

Mind you, I'm not complaining ... most customers are balanced and happy so though it hurts when you get ripped off at least you know to avoid them in future. And don't forget you can claim the unpaid amount against your profits.....

So, I would look upon the customer as a challenge. I would go back and try to remove the mistrust whilst coming away with deposit.... if you don't get trust and cheque then I would walk away and mark it up as another successful ending

 

[Gravid]

I completely agree with Tigerstar and m4tty, small claims is a waste of time, I know two lads who have both won in court and still not received a penny, infact they've ended up paying more for baliffs who are tied down by regs as well.
" oh they weren't in, we can't break the door down, we'll try again next month "
Our justice system is screwed in my eye's and has been for years, and generally favours the criminal due to the human rights act.
Intimidation, "the boys", or a good old fashioned head lock is the only way to get money out of these ___ts.

 

[m4tty]

He who laughs last ..... laughs the longest