Customer blaming

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BSCelectric

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Recently I did a job for a customer and while I as there they asked me to replace a gfi they believed went bad, no paperwork nocharge I was there they had it so I out it in for em. 3-4 weeks later I get a call the breaker will not stop tripping. I came to troubleshoot the problem and while I was outside honing wires I over heard the customer blaming me for this issue over the phone and telling the they hoped I lied to em about what was wrong because I was supposedly suppose to had corrected this in the first place. Yet no one has confronted me about it yet i know it's coming tomorrow after I finish fixing the problem causing this.
 
BSCelectric said:
Recently I did a job for a customer and while I as there they asked me to replace a gfi they believed went bad, no paperwork nocharge I was there they had it so I out it in for em. 3-4 weeks later I get a call the breaker will not stop tripping. I came to troubleshoot the problem and while I was outside honing wires I over heard the customer blaming me for this issue over the phone and telling the they hoped I lied to em about what was wrong because I was supposedly suppose to had corrected this in the first place. Yet no one has confronted me about it yet i know it's coming tomorrow after I finish fixing the problem causing this.
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And the problem is........?
So what if they bad mouth you to somebody you don't know- dealing with demanding, difficult, whiny, two faced blame assigning customers is part of the game. When your on the carpet tomorrow calmly explain what was causing the issue (any idea what it is??), get paid and leave. I doubt they are going to confront you/cop an attitude if they have been friendly thus far. If it really bothered you, call them on their overheard complaints politely and watch them deny and squirm.:lol:
 
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Welcome to the forum


BSCelectric said:
Recently I did a job for a customer and while I as there they asked me to replace a gfi they believed went bad, no paperwork nocharge I was there they had it so I out it in for em. 3-4 weeks later I get a call the breaker will not stop tripping. I came to troubleshoot the problem and while I was outside honing wires I over heard the customer blaming me for this issue over the phone and telling the they hoped I lied to em about what was wrong because I was supposedly suppose to had corrected this in the first place. Yet no one has confronted me about it yet i know it's coming tomorrow after I finish fixing the problem causing this.
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"While you are here..." - no. Unless you finished previously scheduled work well in advance of the time you allotted, always reschedule such last-moment requests, and get paid for them like all other work. While I, too, like to fulfill the customer's needs/wants, doing work for free isnt a viable business plan. Not only did you not get paid for that gfci, now you are fixing it, and I'll bet the customer wants that for free as well.

Please let us know what problem you find as well as how things go with the customer.
 
BSCelectric said:
Recently I did a job for a customer and while I as there they asked me to replace a gfi they believed went bad, no paperwork nocharge I was there they had it so I out it in for em. 3-4 weeks later I get a call the breaker will not stop tripping. I came to troubleshoot the problem and while I was outside honing wires I over heard the customer blaming me for this issue over the phone and telling the they hoped I lied to em about what was wrong because I was supposedly suppose to had corrected this in the first place. Yet no one has confronted me about it yet i know it's coming tomorrow after I finish fixing the problem causing this.
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Sounds like another "learn the hard way" scenario. The key in your post is "a gfi they believed went bad". Why did they believe that? Was it not working at all? If it was working when you changed it then you did nothing. Troubleshooting 101: If it works when I get there I probably can't fix it.
 
It is more than likely something they are plugging in that is causing the issue. If that is the case you should politely show them the issue and asked them if they would call back the people they bad mouthed you to and admit they were wrong about you. :happyyes::D
 
JFletcher said:
Welcome to the forum




"While you are here..." - no. Unless you finished previously scheduled work well in advance of the time you allotted, always reschedule such last-moment requests, and get paid for them like all other work. While I, too, like to fulfill the customer's needs/wants, doing work for free isnt a viable business plan. Not only did you not get paid for that gfci, now you are fixing it, and I'll bet the customer wants that for free as well.
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Even if the Gfci was put in for free as 5 min favor, "there was no paperwork on it, thus no implied warranty of any kind- so troubleshooting and repairing it isn't free"- the op can slip that little nugget in to his customers if they try to argue about not paying him- they will think he's an incredible jerk, but bear in mind the people he is dealing with. I agree w/ you though about watching the freebies.
 
This falls into the "No good deed goes unpunished" category. The best defense against this in the future is what JFletcher said in my opinion. Do it if you have EXTRA time, or schedule it as another job, but either way, document it and thoroughly investigate it just as you would any new job.

I once had a guy start bringing me small appliances and even light fixtures (with just burned out bulbs that he didn't know how to replace) to look at while I was wiring up his outdoor lighting. I obliged, thinking I was being paid by the hour, so why not? After I finished his outdoor lighting work he refused to pay me for the extra time, because I had given him a lump sum to do the lighting project. I thought about taking him to small claims, but a friend pointed out that I had nothing in writing saying that I had done the other work. Of course I never did anything for him again, but I learned my lesson for how I dealt with that from that point on. "When I'm done with this project, I'll take a look at it for you I'll let you know what it will cost." People got pissy about that sometimes, but I looked at that as a precursor to what would have happened if I had obliged them anyway, so no loss. When I changed to industrial work, I always maintained that stance, because it happens there too. People are people.
 
You won't be in this trade long until you hear those famous words, "while you are here could you look at "xxxx" for me"?:happyyes:
 
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I left out I checked the circuit before I just changed the gfi, I didn't just swap it without checking why, over the weekend something had to happen and well the ole infamous squirrel chewed the last run into on the circuit and caused the problem, he was in the insulation underneath. Took awhile to find it but when I finally did and explained to the home owner and gave them a price , they actually paid me well over what I asked . I take it they have been screwed by contractors before after talking with them this evening and thought that I was going to come up with a foreign language diagnosis to get more work.
 
BSCelectric said:
I left out I checked the circuit before I just changed the gfi, I didn't just swap it without checking why, over the weekend something had to happen and well the ole infamous squirrel chewed the last run into on the circuit and caused the problem, he was in the insulation underneath. Took awhile to find it but when I finally did and explained to the home owner and gave them a price , they actually paid me well over what I asked . I take it they have been screwed by contractors before after talking with them this evening and thought that I was going to come up with a foreign language diagnosis to get more work.
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Them being embittered by past experiences is likely what led to the phone tirade you over heard and if its any consolation the nice folks they were whining to are probably aware of that and thinks the complainers are at least slightly paranoid.:p Sometimes we can over think things to the nth degree, go nuts w/ the what ifs- important thing is to try to keep your cool.:)

Glad everything worked out for you- you made extra money and you have a happy customer.:thumbsup:
 
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BSCelectric said:
I left out I checked the circuit before I just changed the gfi, I didn't just swap it without checking why, over the weekend something had to happen and well the ole infamous squirrel chewed the last run into on the circuit and caused the problem, he was in the insulation underneath. Took awhile to find it but when I finally did and explained to the home owner and gave them a price , they actually paid me well over what I asked . I take it they have been screwed by contractors before after talking with them this evening and thought that I was going to come up with a foreign language diagnosis to get more work.
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Glad it worked out! :thumbsup:
 
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