Sunday Repairs

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frizbeedog said:
Thanks for the kudos, but Oregon is not seeing recession like other areas, and we are still busy. Not huring for work so no need to sell them on a full blown replacement. He's been a good customer in the past so no need to milk him. He did try to take the work in trade though. He has a Christmas tree farm, but I told him that since Christmas was so far away there would be considerable intrest on the debt. :cool:
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Im really not one to milk a customer either but especially a repeat customer but let me ask you this.... If you went on a service call to trouble shoot a bad Hid light would you troubleshoot it and maybe fix a problematic capatitor or would you just replace the whole system? And you know as well as I do that if you just replace the capacitor yea youll get it up and running for a few months but wouldnt it be bettter for you and the customer to really fix it and give him a few years on your service? In the long run you and the customer wil be better off. No?
 
tonyou812 said:
Im really not one to milk a customer either but especially a repeat customer but let me ask you this.... If you went on a service call to trouble shoot a bad Hid light would you troubleshoot it and maybe fix a problematic capatitor or would you just replace the whole system? And you know as well as I do that if you just replace the capacitor yea youll get it up and running for a few months but wouldnt it be bettter for you and the customer to really fix it and give him a few years on your service? In the long run you and the customer wil be better off. No?
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That's apples and oranges, compared to what we're lookin at here in the original picture. That said, anyone that doesn't replace the whole ballast kit and the lamp as a complete repair isn't helping anyone.
 
mdshunk said:
That's apples and oranges, compared to what we're lookin at here in the original picture. That said, anyone that doesn't replace the whole ballast kit and the lamp as a complete repair isn't helping anyone.
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Right. If I'm up on the lift truck servicing a street light to replace an ignighter (might need hooked on phonics for that one) for an HPS for example I will replace the lamp, clean the lens, mabey change the photo cell, give the customer full service since they have paid good money for me to come out for the repair.
 
nice work frizbee.

nice work frizbee.

I know, as well you know, that Christmas Tree farming is a feast or famine cut throat business with alot of pitfalls.

You provided true service to your customer, and it doesn't take much money to stretch these folks' budget to the breaking point.

There are givers and takers in life, and I see some contractors are predatory in the service biz.

We need to get more discount and economy rate contractors who have low overhead into the electrical service industry. This competition will provide better pricing for the average joe on the street. I think that Joe Blow needs to have his own version of Bid Day.
 
stevenj76 said:
I know, as well you know, that Christmas Tree farming is a feast or famine cut throat business with alot of pitfalls.

You provided true service to your customer, and it doesn't take much money to stretch these folks' budget to the breaking point.

There are givers and takers in life, and I see some contractors are predatory in the service biz.

We need to get more discount and economy rate contractors who have low overhead into the electrical service industry. This competition will provide better pricing for the average joe on the street. I think that Joe Blow needs to have his own version of Bid Day.
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your not a contractor are you?
 
stevenj76 said:
I know, as well you know, that Christmas Tree farming is a feast or famine cut throat business with alot of pitfalls.

You provided true service to your customer, and it doesn't take much money to stretch these folks' budget to the breaking point.
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Thanks.

Many folks around here who have extra land just use it as a supplement to their income. Many of these folks have full time jobs. But it is big businees here. Many of these trees are shipped overseas and the harvesting starts early in the season. Quite an operation. Helicopters used to haul trees from the fields to the packing and shipping areas nearby. I've even seen news helicopters hauling trees, so the money must be good.
 
stevenj76 said:
There are givers and takers in life, and I see some contractors are predatory in the service biz.
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Replacing a burned up meter socket is not predatory, it is the right thing to do.
 
iwire said:
Replacing a burned up meter socket is not predatory, it is the right thing to do.
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I disagree. The can was not damaged. One jaw was burned up. The repair will probably last longer than a new can replacement, which I see rusting in about 6-8 years depending on the enviroment.

If this was switchgear, would you replace the entire section? The buss bars?
 
stevenj76 said:
I know, as well you know, that Christmas Tree farming is a feast or famine cut throat business with alot of pitfalls.

You provided true service to your customer, and it doesn't take much money to stretch these folks' budget to the breaking point.

There are givers and takers in life, and I see some contractors are predatory in the service biz.

We need to get more discount and economy rate contractors who have low overhead into the electrical service industry. This competition will provide better pricing for the average joe on the street. I think that Joe Blow needs to have his own version of Bid Day.
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and the button is either pushed or we have another self loathing EC....not sure which one it is....
 
stevenj76 said:
I know, as well you know, that Christmas Tree farming is a feast or famine cut throat business with alot of pitfalls.

You provided true service to your customer, and it doesn't take much money to stretch these folks' budget to the breaking point.

There are givers and takers in life, and I see some contractors are predatory in the service biz.

We need to get more discount and economy rate contractors who have low overhead into the electrical service industry. This competition will provide better pricing for the average joe on the street. I think that Joe Blow needs to have his own version of Bid Day.
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Perhaps you should be the one to be so generous in your services. I'm sure that your area needs another "economy" electrical contractor. but wait....does this sound familiar?

stevenj76 said:
I suppose this is a bad time to bring up flat-rate again.

All this talk about flat-rate has me excited to find a good system for my side work.

Before I charged T&M for my side jobs. Now I want to get a bigger piece of the pie by going flat rate, busting my hump, and going home with an even bigger wad in my pocket.

After I've got this flat-rate thing nailed down to a science, maybe I'll go out on my own, legit and all.

Probably not, I get paid more than well enough in the large commercial end. There's lots of OT too, that puts a big damper on my side biz. But when the slow times come, I'm going to be equipped with my handy sidejob flat-rate book, that way I'm not just GIVING AWAY my work for cheap.
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So which is it?
 
a button pusher....and a bad one at that.....when pushing buttons, the goal is not to make people think you are an idiot, it's to just get a little rise....keep practicing...
 
LawnGuyLandSparky said:
I disagree. The can was not damaged. One jaw was burned up.
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Unless I had a brand new jaw for that meter socket, not a left over used piece from who knows what socket the whole meter socket would get replaced.

If this was switchgear, would you replace the entire section? The buss bars?
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We might.

If it was switchgear we would (and have) called in factory reps to decide what has to be replaced, repaired or reused.

It's a CYA world, guessing will not cut it if the stuff hits the fan.

If the customer wanted it done with used parts for peanuts he proably would have hired a side jobber. :wink:
 
iwire said:
Unless I had a brand new jaw for that meter socket, not a left over used piece from who knows what socket the whole meter socket would get replaced.
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If you had a leftover used piece you'd know where it came from. You save it because it was perfectly good.

We might.

If it was switchgear we would (and have) called in factory reps to decide what has to be replaced, repaired or reused.

It's a CYA world, guessing will not cut it if the stuff hits the fan.
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So replacing components is guessing now is it? Makes me wonder how people call themselves "professionals." Anyone can just replace it all with new, and claim CYA is the driving force behind a mindless decision. Perhaps hiring professionals is indeed not all it's cracked up to be. No wonder sidejobbers are doing so well...

If the customer wanted it done with used parts for peanuts he proably would have hired a side jobber. :wink:
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The customer wanted it fixed. Hired a professional. Got it fixed and all is right with the world. But because this misfortune wasn't turned into the largest most profitable job as it could have, the OP is practically branded a hack.

Unbelievable...
 
iwire said:
Unless I had a brand new jaw for that meter socket, not a left over used piece from who knows what socket the whole meter socket would get replaced.



We might.

If it was switchgear we would (and have) called in factory reps to decide what has to be replaced, repaired or reused.

It's a CYA world, guessing will not cut it if the stuff hits the fan.

If the customer wanted it done with used parts for peanuts he proably would have hired a side jobber. :wink:
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bob, i have to agree with you....i don't condemn frizbee and hope he has no problems (and he knows this)

but in this world, you have o CYA....
 
I don't think frizbeedog is bad guy, in fact I am sure he is a nice guy. I would have done the same thing at my own home and I would do the same for a friend as a freebie. :)

But when I am sent to a call by my employer I might take a short cut to get online until new parts are availble but in the end it will be replaced.

Lawnguy, spin it however you want, there is no good reason not to replace questionable parts.
 
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