Vent....

[e57]

If some lighting company I'll not name openly offers 'custom lengths'.... They should own a tape measure in the very least - right?

Or maybe check with someone who owns a tape measure before the ship them - Right? Maybe employ that person as a QC guy...

Maybe if you screw up one large expensive order, you might check the lengths before you try to correct it by over-night shipping wrong lengths again... And maybe the second time - maybe the third time??????

Maybe they should not offer 'custom lengths'?

Maybe they should also reimburse me happily for my time acting as QC from 3000' miles away????

 

[quogueelectric]

If some lighting company I'll not name openly offers 'custom lengths'.... They should own a tape measure in the very least - right?

Or maybe check with someone who owns a tape measure before the ship them - Right? Maybe employ that person as a QC guy...

Maybe if you screw up one large expensive order, you might check the lengths before you try to correct it by over-night shipping wrong lengths again... And maybe the second time - maybe the third time??????

Maybe they should not offer 'custom lengths'?

Maybe they should also reimburse me happily for my time acting as QC from 3000' miles away????

Makes you want to do everything yourself doesnt it??

 

[e57]

Makes you want to do everything yourself doesnt it??

If I had the time I would... I would not mind flying out there to show these people how to use a tape measure. It would cost less.

After shipment #3 on their dime - one would think - there's a problem - right? I know they're loosing money on it now... So are we, and the rep's may have to take our time out on them in back charges. Over 8 hours in packing and repacking this crap.... Not cheap stuff either. And I have really been SOOOooo nice about it until now. But it is testing the limits of professionalism and my patience.

 

[mivey]

Sounds like torture.

In my best Arthur Denton voice:
It's their professionalism I respect.

 

[hillbilly1]

You probaly need to give them the measurements in metric, they probaly don't understand inches.:grin:

 

[George Stolz]

Hmm... Neontrim?

 

[Cow]

So what kind of lengths are they cutting and how much are they off?

 

[e57]

They have decimilized (?) imperial measurements - so 72 3/8 is 72.375.... But will invariably show up as 71" ~ 72.25". And 101.875 (101 7/8") will show up as 100" or 101.125 but will all have the marking for the correct measurement right on them, and on the bag shipped in. So it is not as if the order got confused - its they just can not measure anything.

One rep after intially telling us they could give us exact measured items after me personally telling her we had a 1/16" tolorance, then recently back peddled and claimed a 1/8" tolorance. "Really - so could you explain why many of these are 1/4" ~ 1"+ off????" [silience]

 

[Sierrasparky]

what kind of lighting is this. Rope or LED.
These have a certain cutting point say every 6 inches?

 

[GUNNING]

Maybe if you shipped your tape measure you are using to them, or cut out pieces of wood the exact lengths. Is there a trend? Maybe you can figure out how they are cutting the or trimming the piece and change your measurement. Take pictures and send them a piece of your mind, it might not help you but I think they may need some optional brain material.

 

[mxslick]

I'm having a hard time imagining how the differences of an inch or so are so problematic, since most LED/Rope lights I've seen have the lamps at least 2-3' apart....if we're even talking LED/Rope Lights here.

 

[e57]

Were talking about a really expensive brand of 60A rated track. Rated at 60A completely unnecessarily for the purpose of a single family home - since it is most often used in museums and commercial settings.

Often this crap is exposed - but if that were the case on my job I would have returned the WHOLE ORDER as these dopes ship it with a single piece of paper between them - and I was not even paying attention to the paint finishes since for the most part they are hidden.

The application I have on my project required carpenters to build MDF boxes with recessed slots for the track to fit into. Since the feeding end of the track can not be field cut they needed to be cut to length at the factory so the joint between other tracks would be centered in the slot. And the track needed to be of a specific length so there would be no gaps at the ends, And since the twelve year old Architect gave dimensions to both ends (start and end) and aligning with the other 6 tracks in one room - mismatched lengths would be obvious.

Also - since this particular product is mounted from above the track in this MDF box/slot assembely it's a 3 trade operation to install them (Elec., Cab makers, and framers/labor), and a 5 trade operation (Add rock and paint) to extract them - so they have to be PERFRECT! (If I ever get this detail again I will flat out refuse - or insist it be bid T&M or for some very lofty sum.)

Salesperson claimed - 'Oh we can cut them at the factory to very specific lengths...' (Lie #1) This was later back peddled to an '1/8" tolorance...' - post defacto. Which did not explain the variance of 1/8" ~1"+ Or for that matter the factor installed feed conductors that came up 20'+ short.... Four of these things had to be shipped over-night twice, and they still didn't come right - I finally repaired a damaged one to get the pain over with.

 

[Sierrasparky]

Wow what a pain.

 

[Rockyd]

I think I'd shorten my 3/4" Bender with a three point saddle where I "educated" them with the business end it!

I don't suppose they have ever heard measure twice, cut once concept???...Naw, that would be too logical.

Good luck...

 

[PetrosA]

I understand your frustration perfectly. I recently ordered five 332 T8 flush mount troffers from SimKar. It took almost a month to get them (the factory is 45 minutes away). They had to have been the worst designed and worst made lights I've ever dealt with. During installation, which was longer than it needed to be since I had to screw the mounting clamps on myself and readjust each one so that the screw would turn the clamp out, five of the twenty clamps failed after the fixtures were in place due to the sheet metal which holds the adjustment screw bending out of shape. I was livid

I'm curious why you can't cut the track yourself. With this much wasted time, it would have paid to charge the customer for a high end chop saw and fine tooth blade and order longer lengths than you need to trim on location, but how could you have known that? I would be afraid that even 1/8" tolerance is too sloppy, since if I understand you correctly, the sections are to be joined together. Each section's sloppy tolerance will throw the next piece off and keep compounding. Are the joiners somehow molded into each length?

 

[e57]

Worse part was chucking 14 well planned days in the crapper - over and over again.

Two guys set for the delicate electrical portion, then 4 laborers courtesy of the GC to reassigned each day parts were delayed or arrived again wrong!!! The laborers had plenty to go to - but I was scraping up work to make really good looking rough at this point.... Still plenty to do but changing direction that many times is tedious at best.

 

[e57]

I'm curious why you can't cut the track yourself. With this much wasted time, it would have paid to charge the customer for a high end chop saw and fine tooth blade and order longer lengths than you need to trim on location, but how could you have known that? I would be afraid that even 1/8" tolerance is too sloppy, since if I understand you correctly, the sections are to be joined together. Each section's sloppy tolerance will throw the next piece off and keep compounding. Are the joiners somehow molded into each length?

The feeder section has the conductors factory installed - since the customer does not want a j-box right next to each one the conductors were to be various lengths of #12 12' ~ 60' long, these are factory soldered into this crap to maintain the UL listing supposedly. And those can not be field cut. The other extention of said crap can be field cut, but was assured that they culd cut the right lengths so why not have them cut the all.... If they have not cut them all at varied lengths too short - I could correct it, but.... Not the case, and could not send the next order correct, and the next after that....

 

[e57]

Maybe if you shipped your tape measure you are using to them, or cut out pieces of wood the exact lengths. Is there a trend? Maybe you can figure out how they are cutting the or trimming the piece and change your measurement.

Trend - nope... They only "one inched" one of them the rest were all over the place...

 

[e57]

I'm curious why you can't cut the track yourself. With this much wasted time, it would have paid to charge the customer for a high end chop saw and fine tooth blade and order longer lengths than you need to trim on location, but how could you have known that? I would be afraid that even 1/8" tolerance is too sloppy~

Yep an 1/8 short is a mile, a 1/16 over is a grinder, more is my band saw. I told them on shipment #3 that a 1/16th over to a mile over is great - too short is too bad... As for the saw - for what they charge for this "Custom Lengths" they can afford a really awesome saw with positive stops and digital read outs. They could afford this...

 

[PetrosA]

The feeder section has the conductors factory installed - since the customer does not want a j-box right next to each one the conductors were to be various lengths of #12 12' ~ 60' long, these are factory soldered into this crap to maintain the UL listing supposedly. And those can not be field cut. The other extention of said crap can be field cut, but was assured that they culd cut the right lengths so why not have them cut the all.... If they have not cut them all at varied lengths too short - I could correct it, but.... Not the case, and could not send the next order correct, and the next after that....

Ok, now I understand. I imagined you were T- or L- joining sections. It is hard to imagine that a company that specializes in a track lighting system for high end installations would only be able to promise a 1/8" tolerance and not even be able to deliver that...