Call-back

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EEC

Senior Member
Location
Maryland
Customer says light fixture they supplied is not working properly. This complaint came a few weeks after installation. What is the contractor (me) to do about it?
 

stickboy1375

Senior Member
Location
Litchfield, CT
EEC said:
Customer says light fixture they supplied is not working properly. This complaint came a few weeks after installation. What is the contractor (me) to do about it?


Sounds like a trouble-call, bill accordingly, unless of course you find your helper screwed up the connection... :grin:
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
If you installed it, you should at least go look at it to determine where the problem is.

If you caused it, chalk it up to experience.

If it's the fixture, bill accordingly.
 

LarryFine

Master Electrician Electric Contractor Richmond VA
Location
Henrico County, VA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
First, ask them to try a bulb they've seen work in another fixture.

Treat it as a troubleshoot, with the understanding that only an installation error circumvents the service fee.

If there's any doubt, ask them to watch you discover the problem.


Added: Looks like we're all in agreement.
 

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
I would let them know beforehand, that if it was not a problem with my installation, that it would be a service call because they supplied the fixture.
 

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
EEC said:
Customer says light fixture they supplied is not working properly. This complaint came a few weeks after installation. What is the contractor (me) to do about it?
A better question is how does it make you feel ?

QA it.

Service and Bill...
or
Service and Walk...
 

satcom

Senior Member
ultramegabob said:
I would let them know beforehand, that if it was not a problem with my installation, that it would be a service call because they supplied the fixture.

That is the best way, we let the customer know, they supplied the fixture, so unless there is a problem with the installation, we will charge for a service call.
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
EEC said:
Customer says light fixture they supplied is not working properly. This complaint came a few weeks after installation. What is the contractor (me) to do about it?
One thing's for sure, if you do nothing, your name is Mud. Let them know you'll be glad to look at it, but always mention that if it's a fixture issue, they're getting a bill. If it's your fault, you'll fix it under your normal warranty.
 

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
I would bill at least an hour if it were a fixture issue but I would be willing to bet it is a bad splice in the fixture without looking at it. I used to get 4% screwups in the field from my crews at fixtures
 

quogueelectric

Senior Member
Location
new york
Yes not a big deal unless you left the jobsite but I used to take note of doing an office area every 100 fixtures we used to get 4 probs. Usually 1or2 bad splices and a couple of bad ballasts or lamps. I would go in with the shop rockets and fix the probs in a couple of minutes and get to shame the offending electricians. Boss never wants to hear about do-overs. My saying was always never enough time to do it right but always enough time to do it twice.
 

jrannis

Senior Member
EEC said:
Customer says light fixture they supplied is not working properly. This complaint came a few weeks after installation. What is the contractor (me) to do about it?

Dont keep us in suspense. We will be expecting to hear what happened. Big cliff hanger!!
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
mdshunk said:
One thing's for sure, if you do nothing, your name is Mud. Let them know you'll be glad to look at it, but always mention that if it's a fixture issue, they're getting a bill. If it's your fault, you'll fix it under your normal warranty.

I fully agree. The first things that a contractor needs to make sure of is that the warranty is very clear that only items furnished by the contractor are cover by warranty. Never give any kind of unlimited warranty on a job. Restrictions on warranty should be clearly stated.

People are really impressed by a contractor that will cheerfully honor his warranty so it's a good time to win over long term customers and get referrals.

Edit: I almost forgot the most important thing. Make sure the warranty does not cover any items that have been tampered with. Homeowners like to play with things or have the handyman take down fixtures for the painter or add dimmers. Make sure there is a good void clause in there.
 
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cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
quogueelectric said:
...
I would go in with the shop rockets and fix the probs in a couple of minutes and get to shame the offending electricians. ...

I'm sure thats a "crew of beautiful's", too :D

Where can I sign up for that Crew ? ?
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
I've got a better call back scenario.
(This was not your install)
What if you get a call that the kitchen light(s) are not working.
When you get their you find they are on a afci breaker and marked bedroom in the panel.
The bedroom lights are fine.
So you turn all the kitchen lights switches to the off position. Then reset the breaker. Then turn one light on at a time.
When you turn the weird looking dinning room light on it trips the breaker.
Turn that off, reset the breaker and every thing works fine.
So you unscrew the bulbs in the fixture. Reset the breaker and turn the switch on to the light and the breaker stays.
I told her a blown bulb filament may have been arcing causing the breaker to trip. Because the breaker is not tripping when the bulbs are unscrewed.
So you charge and collect for an hour and hit the road. It's a holiday emergency call.
Next day you get a call saying when she turned on the outside flood light the breaker tripped again.

Do you charge for a call back, because you made the wrong diagnosis??
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
buckofdurham said:
Do you charge for a call back, because you made the wrong diagnosis??
Who knows. That's one strange scenario, and there's not nearly enough information to know if the service was done right or wrong. At first blush, it sure sounds like the first service call was incomplete. I've never heard of a blown filament 'arcing' continually, even after you have reset the breaker several times. I know that a filament can sometimes trip a heavily loaded breaker at the moment it blows. This is what makes me think the first call is incomplete.

There's really no way to know if the second call is billable or not until you run it and find out what the problem is.
 

ultramegabob

Senior Member
Location
Indiana
buckofdurham said:
I've got a better call back scenario.
(This was not your install)
What if you get a call that the kitchen light(s) are not working.
When you get their you find they are on a afci breaker and marked bedroom in the panel.
The bedroom lights are fine.
So you turn all the kitchen lights switches to the off position. Then reset the breaker. Then turn one light on at a time.
When you turn the weird looking dinning room light on it trips the breaker.
Turn that off, reset the breaker and every thing works fine.
So you unscrew the bulbs in the fixture. Reset the breaker and turn the switch on to the light and the breaker stays.
I told her a blown bulb filament may have been arcing causing the breaker to trip. Because the breaker is not tripping when the bulbs are unscrewed.
So you charge and collect for an hour and hit the road. It's a holiday emergency call.
Next day you get a call saying when she turned on the outside flood light the breaker tripped again.

Do you charge for a call back, because you made the wrong diagnosis??

I would return, open everything on the circuit, megger all wires until I found the issue, and deduct the price of the first service call from the bill...
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
That's what I thought.
A holiday call will make you try to get out of their in a hurry.
Esspecially when the dinning light cieling is 18 ft. cielings.
Now the flood light blows the breaker.
I'll probably take it off the afci. Find the bedroom circuit put the afci on it. Etc...
 

mdshunk

Senior Member
Location
Right here.
buckofdurham said:
I'll probably take it off the afci. Find the bedroom circuit put the afci on it. Etc...
Don't suppose fixing the real problem ever occurred to you? The '08 is going to require AFCI's on everything, so you really gotta get your practice now fixing these issues. When the customer is footing the bill is an ideal time to get your education.
 

Buck Parrish

Senior Member
Location
NC & IN
mdshunk said:
Don't suppose fixing the real problem ever occurred to you? The '08 is going to require AFCI's on everything, so you really gotta get your practice now fixing these issues. When the customer is footing the bill is an ideal time to get your education.

I don't have a megger
 
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