Service call charge

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wxstevens

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Cool Ridge, WV
I finished a service upgrade yesterday and am awaiting inspection scheduled tommorow. Tonight, after six, I get a call from the owner of the house (it's a rental) and he says the water heater doesn't work. I assumed it may be a bad breaker or I messed something up so I told him I would be right out. I get there, 23 miles away, only to find the renter turned the breaker off and couldn't figure how to reset it. I turned the breaker on and was done. How do you handle this? I am afraid I am going to be told I'll have to eat this one. Any advice is appreciated.
 
I personally think you should charge him. at least gas money. does he call a plumber after the turns the water on to turn it back on. You did nothing wrong on the install.
 
If the tennant admits to turning off the breaker then It's on the customer or tennants dime. You certanly could discount the price for good will. I have been in this situation before and it's not an easy one. The customer most likely called you because they felt that you had not done something. They probabley felt there would be no charge.

I'd charge something.
 
How much $$ did you clear on the changout??

If you eat the time , then you will have a repeat customer that will give recommendations.
If you charge out ,then will have a disgruntled customer that will blab accordingly.
 
rt66electric said:
How much $$ did you clear on the changout??

If you eat the time , then you will have a repeat customer that will give recommendations.
If you charge out ,then will have a disgruntled customer that will blab accordingly.
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so true so true. , I would talk to the owner before giving a bill on this. He may just offer to pay. Ya never know.
 
Something sounds amiss here. Why did the tenant turn off the breaker and if he did how could he possibly not know how to turn it back on?
 
Dennis Alwon said:
Something sounds amiss here. Why did the tenant turn off the breaker.
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Why did the tenant turn off this breaker? I would try to get a bit of information first off.

Does the tenant have a mental problem, drunk or stoned? Don't laugh folks, it happens.

The breaker being off is a symptom and the "Why" is the problem. When you know why they turned the breaker off you will know what the problem was.
 
I didn't think to ask why. I was relieved that it was something simple and just wanted to get home. I assumed curiosity on the kids part. It is a good looking panel!
 
wxstevens said:
I finished a service upgrade yesterday and am awaiting inspection scheduled tommorow. Tonight, after six, I get a call from the owner of the house (it's a rental) and he says the water heater doesn't work. I assumed it may be a bad breaker or I messed something up so I told him I would be right out. I get there, 23 miles away, only to find the renter turned the breaker off and couldn't figure how to reset it. I turned the breaker on and was done. How do you handle this? I am afraid I am going to be told I'll have to eat this one. Any advice is appreciated.
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Bill him for your standard service call and give a good discount like 10%:grin:
 
wxstevens said:
I assumed curiosity on the kids part. It is a good looking panel!
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If kids turned the breaker off I would take a few minutes to inform them (teach a 5 minute class ) on electrical safety. An electrical panel is not a toy and is not to be tampered with. I also make sure that adults know how to reset breakers if they need to and what not to remove ( like the front and start tampering ). A bit of a warning about a few electrical dangers.

Make sure the panel is properly marked. I would tell the owner that this one is on the house but that my warranty does not cover tampering so any future calls for this sort of thing will be billed as service calls.
 
I have had three calls over this last month like that.

2 of them offered right off the bat to give me something just for showing up promptly. I refused, they insisted. Okay, some lunch money.

1 did not.

Judgement call. Good PR for the future . . . ?

BTW - The two who paid I wouldn't have charged, the one who didn't I would have.
 
Two occasions that come to mind, both of them were charged for a full service call:

1. A regular customer, no heat call, gas fired boiler. His son hung a coat up in the basement stairs on a hook, which turned off the emergency switch to the boiler. I did not check that first, rather went thru the entire diagnostic procedure, and did not ask over the phone when the call was placed.

2. Another regular (PITA) customer, (doctor)...A.C. condensing unit kept shutting down, tripping breaker. It was an older American-Standard unit, which was open on the bottom, and there was an empty much bag that the customer put there. Condenser fan sucked it up, blocking air flow, which drove the refrigerant pressure up to a point where the compressor locked up. He was P.O'ed to say the least, and did not like the embarrasment.
 
wxstevens said:
I finished a service upgrade yesterday and am awaiting inspection scheduled tommorow. Tonight, after six, I get a call from the owner of the house (it's a rental) and he says the water heater doesn't work. I assumed it may be a bad breaker or I messed something up so I told him I would be right out. I get there, 23 miles away, only to find the renter turned the breaker off and couldn't figure how to reset it. I turned the breaker on and was done. How do you handle this? I am afraid I am going to be told I'll have to eat this one. Any advice is appreciated.
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480sparky said:
This was something you could have solved over the phone.:cool:
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I hate call backs, its part of the job.
480 was correct, You should always ask about re-setting breakers, not just looking at them.
Then I will always give my speech about warranty/call backs.
"I warrant all my work, however if its something out of my control, or something that a responsible Homeowner, landlord/tennant can do, then I will charge my minimun fee for the return trip" This will force most HO's to double check before letting you return.
Plus, unsolicited advice....23 mile radius from your place of operation is a long distance unless you have a fleet of trucks.

Bottom Line is you have to treat your customers fairly, & in return dont be afraid to charge fairly for your time.
 
wxstevens said:
How do you handle this?
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A couple of weeks ago, a past customer called on a Saturday morning and said they had no water, the well guy said the controller wasn't getting power, and that it wasn't the breaker.

I told them it would be $200, they said fine, I went (about 20 minutes each way), and found the 2p breaker in the generator panel I had installed had tripped. They forgot about that panel.

Oops! I only charged them $150. I also explained what might make a pump use more current as it ages, and suggested a call back to the well guy if it happens again. They were happy.

Added: Moral of the story: It's easier to charge less than an estimate that it is to charge more. Offer a discount, but don't do it free.
 
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iwire said:
That is nothing but a smart ass answer.

99% of us (except you) would have assumed it was a warranty issue and headed right out without bunch of questions.
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Here Here!
Many time people don't waant to reset a breaker. I don't blame them. I once had a problem where the customer reset the main after the main tripped when he shorted a wire while replacing a switch. The whole 100 amp panel flashed over. melted the buss and everything.

I can tell you how many time I have got a call that there is an outlet not working in the kitchen. Try to explain how to reset the GFCI. The customer tells me they don't have one. I have them wall the kitchen an look at every outlet. They cliam there is none. Well I know there is and tell them " my service call is xxx and if I come out and just reset the GFCI I am still going to charge you. I get out there and all I do is reset the GFCI the is in working order. I do charge for that. lots of time a reduced service call min.
 
The best answer is "it's your call"....if you want to do a freebie, it's up to you.
When I would get a service call, especially a no heat call, I tried to ask all of the right questions:

Do you have electric?
Do you have fuel?
Cash or credit card?
 
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