What do you do? faulty parts

[Mule]

Installed a NRB enclosure with a QO220 today, worked with the bonding screw for a half hour trying to get the threads started. After dis-assembly all my connections and removing the neutral lug assembly, I find that the hole in the enclosure is not threaded and the green screw is not a thread starter type. So this is either going to cost me or the customer 1/2 hour.

So in general, What do you guys do, with situations like this, I've heard of manufacturers compensating contractors but Ive never done it...

My supplier showed me a piece of 500kcmil screw up the other day that was in the middle of a spool, the jacket just changed color from black to green and then back to black, it was all melted from something wrong in the extrusion. They paid the contractor lost time as it was a big wire pull.

 

[480sparky]

I'd eat the half hour. It'll cost you more than that to go after the manufacturer.

 

[Cow]

For big screwups, supply house should have to pay for it.

I'm just curious how you couldn't get a bonding screw into the can. I have Greenlee drilltaps and various sizes of machine screws and long 1/4-20 toggle bolts I can cut down as needed. With a green sharpie to mark the screw head, this should not be a big issue. One way or another, I'll get something to fit.:wink: If all else fails, I call the salesman, and tell him he has a prompt delivery to make. With a part that works.

The Siemens cans seemed like they had a problem a while back too where the bonding screw wasn't quite long enough to engage the threads in the back of the can.

 

[brantmacga]

just eat it. something that small is not worth going after, in my opinion.

as for reimbursement,

it does happen.


the company i used to work for was reimbursed by a lighting manufacturer because they assembled a fixture order with the wrong ballasts; if i remember correctly it was 120v ballasts on a 277v circuit.


i've had my supply house cover me for house brand cat5 wire that had overlaps in the cable.

also, i would've pulled out the tap after 10 seconds if the screw wouldn't start.

 

[ctmike]

tell your salesman I wouldnt go in yelling but just tell them there is or was a problem you corrected it and ask them to forward the info to the mfg. if you have a good relationship with the wholesaler down the road they might cut you a little better deal to make up for it and to keep your good will.

 

[Mule]

I fully plan on eating it, and it was my error that my tap set was not on the van....but my frustration is this stuff comes up all time.

I installed a T5 high bay fixture the other day, that was out over some machinery and was over 20ft in the air to the red iron. So the fixture had a bad ballast, didnt have one on the truck, So .. planning another down time of the production equipment and genie lift...bla bla.......cheap cheap china junk...

 

[ohm]

Mule, I toss all bad items in a basket in my truck and carry them back to the supplyhouse or HD, mostly for the principle. If we don't do that the manufacturer will keep sending us defective goods.

I've not had a rash of bad ballasts, but that can cost us big time in labor and there should be some form of reimbursment for parts AND labor.

 

[Mule]

Installed a NRB enclosure with a QO220 today, worked with the bonding screw for a half hour trying to get the threads started. After dis-assembly all my connections and removing the neutral lug assembly, I find that the hole in the enclosure is not threaded and the green screw is not a thread starter type. So this is either going to cost me or the customer 1/2 hour.

So in general, What do you guys do, with situations like this, I've heard of manufacturers compensating contractors but Ive never done it...

My supplier showed me a piece of 500kcmil screw up the other day that was in the middle of a spool, the jacket just changed color from black to green and then back to black, it was all melted from something wrong in the extrusion. They paid the contractor lost time as it was a big wire pull.

OOPs sorry it was a QO2200 not a 220

 

[don_resqcapt19]

I almost always place a call to the manufacturer to let them know they have a problem. A number of times they have sent me replacement products even when I didn't ask for anything. If I have the same problem again, I stop using the brand. One of the fitting manufacturers had a problem with their form 7 covers for a long time. On the small sizes you could not turn the screw. Every few months of so my supply house would send me some, but it took well over a year before they fixed the manufacturing problem.

 

[charlietuna]

"Win the battle ,but loose the war" -- petty issues happen all the time -- your relationship with your supplier is very important to your business. I always felt they were part of my business! When a big problem comes up i expect them to go to bat for me. But don't get labelled as a "whinner"! Don't get me wrong, i get upset at manufacturer's mistakes -- about ten percent of this stuff has problems that cost us labor dallers in the field -- ie: requiring additional labor to make things work. Just consider knockouts -- they either all fall out or require a hole saw!!! Things i have to replace,ballasts,etc i save and give to my salesman who goes back and pulls them out of stock--no paperwork!! Large manufacturing items like wrong voltage ballast - i call the owner of the supply house and they take the problem to the fixture rep! I once had to refuse a trailer truckload of very expensive, special order 1 x 4 fixtures because they were not packaged right and the lens were scratched. That was a major issue!

 

[Rewire]

I have a good relationship with my supply house the manager takes me to lunch every few months so we can discuss issues I have bad parts being one.Usually the compensation is a deeply discounted price on another order. That is the reason I like dealing with a supplier over the box stores.

 

[ohm]

I have a good relationship with my supply house the manager takes me to lunch every few months so we can discuss issues I have bad parts being one.Usually the compensation is a deeply discounted price on another order. That is the reason I like dealing with a supplier over the box stores.

Relationships are very important and they can be developed with the Boxes as well, but only in certain areas. At HD they ask " did you find everything you need" I often say no and they just reply "well have a nice day".

Even the store managers seem to have no influence over what gets ordered and often don't understand or even care.

 

[growler]

Installed a NRB enclosure with a QO220 today, worked with the bonding screw for a half hour trying to get the threads started. After dis-assembly all my connections and removing the neutral lug assembly, I find that the hole in the enclosure is not threaded and the green screw is not a thread starter type.

I keep all the bonding screws from installs where the neutral doesn't need to be bonded to the enclosure. At any one time I will have a couple dozen of those screws because they are expensive if you have to buy them.

If that doesn't work I'll just mount a ground bar and bond to that.

For residential where I can get to the back of the panel I keep a tap tool that goes up to 1/4" in the tool bag at all times. There are lots of bad threads out there ( old boxes and such ) and I may need to re-tap the threads. A tap tool just looks like a screw driver with 8 different thread sizes and will get me through simple jobs without having to break out the tap set. You should buy one today it really comes in handy( not expensive ).

 

[Fulthrotl]

Relationships are very important and they can be developed with the Boxes as well, but only in certain areas. At HD they ask " did you find everything you need" I often say no and they just reply "well have a nice day".

any response above that level would require them to actually care.
that isn't gonna happen. did i mention that i hate home dipsnit?

i can find, with a little patient effort, irratation in almost any human
interaction...... :smile: ..... but there is something i'm seeing a bunch,
and i'm gonna vent.... when eating out, the waitress comes by the table,
and without either breaking stride, or listening to the reply, asks
"how is your food?" sort of like a drive-by shooting... the window rolls down,
there is a burst of noise, and the car speeds away......

it happens often enough that i printed up some avery business cards with
this message, and leave one instead of a tip when i've had a drive by... it
goes like this.....
________________________________________________________
A tip is something that is left for good service, as an appreciation
for your effort. That you are reading this indicates that something
else happened, such as you walking by the table, tossing a "how is
everything?" over your shoulder, without listening or caring about
the answer. as that is what happend, here is your tip for the day:

if you actually care enough about someone or something besides
yourself to pay attention to them, your tips will triple in size, and
they will be green instead of little white cards with notes on them.
________________________________________________________

i've only used it a couple of times.... waitresses are busy folk, and
work a lot harder than i do for their money, so the card is used with
only the most annoying situations......

 

[ohm]

any response above that level would require them to actually care.
that isn't gonna happen. did i mention that i hate home dipsnit?

i can find, with a little patient effort, irratation in almost any human
interaction...... :smile: ..... but there is something i'm seeing a bunch,
and i'm gonna vent.... when eating out, the waitress comes by the table,
and without either breaking stride, or listening to the reply, asks
"how is your food?" sort of like a drive-by shooting... the window rolls down,
there is a burst of noise, and the car speeds away......

it happens often enough that i printed up some avery business cards with
this message, and leave one instead of a tip when i've had a drive by... it
goes like this.....
________________________________________________________
A tip is something that is left for good service, as an appreciation
for your effort. That you are reading this indicates that something
else happened, such as you walking by the table, tossing a "how is
everything?" over your shoulder, without listening or caring about
the answer. as that is what happend, here is your tip for the day:

if you actually care enough about someone or something besides
yourself to pay attention to them, your tips will triple in size, and
they will be green instead of little white cards with notes on them.
________________________________________________________

i've only used it a couple of times.... waitresses are busy folk, and
work a lot harder than i do for their money, so the card is used with
only the most annoying situations......

Good idea! I also stack about $20 in ones on the table, if I see this going badly, and each time this get worst I pick one out of the pile. After awhile tings usually improve. Laying a $100 bill on the table while you eat also does wonders!

 

[Rewire]

I keep all the bonding screws from installs where the neutral doesn't need to be bonded to the enclosure. At any one time I will have a couple dozen of those screws because they are expensive if you have to buy them.

If that doesn't work I'll just mount a ground bar and bond to that.

For residential where I can get to the back of the panel I keep a tap tool that goes up to 1/4" in the tool bag at all times. There are lots of bad threads out there ( old boxes and such ) and I may need to re-tap the threads. A tap tool just looks like a screw driver with 8 different thread sizes and will get me through simple jobs without having to break out the tap set. You should buy one today it really comes in handy( not expensive ).

Those are handy for trimouts to remove drywall mud from plaster rings

 

[ptonsparky]

Minor things I just eat. Other than the immediate aggravation it just isn't worth the time.

It was surprising, and fun, to watch a local CED manger come unglued one time when a mfg said they had to have the obviously faulty part back before they would send a replacement. I had the new part in hand by 10AM the next morning.

I see a sign on my suppliers counter from Advance stating the requirement for returned defective ballasts. Sixty percent of the ballasts they get back are not faulty and yes, they check them.

 

[sparky 134]

I did a preschool one time which had spec'd out 20amp tamper resistant devices, we used Hubbell. The staff complained of having a hard time plugging cords into the receps.

They called me, I called the supply house, they called the product rep. He went to the school, met the GC and principal, agreed the receps were too difficult to plug into and agreed to provide replacement devices, still made by Hubbell but the new ones would be their Hospital grade.

I asked the rep, "How do I submit for reimbursement ?"

"We're not charging you for the new devices."

"How very kind of you. Now about my reimbursement for replacing your defective devices ?"

So Hubbell sends me the new devices, we arrange to go to the school before class starts and change out the devices. I assumed he was sending all of the devices. No, he FORGOT to include the GFCI receptacles. So we have to schedule another return visit.
Rep says he will send out the new GFCI's. Guess what he forgot. He gave me a delivery date, we scheduled a return visit with the school and the GC. So I had to go purchase new GFCI's from another supply house (my typical supply house didn't have anything but Hubbell).

It took me 6 months and many phone calls but my supply house finally agreed to reimburse me for the labor, mileage and devices. We're talking around $1,100.00 dollars.

So, due to the lack of service provided to us by Hubbell we will never install their devices on a project. The architect called me and asked about the devices. He wanted to make sure he didn't spec them out on a future project.

 

[220/221]

What do you guys do, with situations like this

For something as simple and common as this, I'd suck it up and do a field repair.

I doubt it would take a 1/2 hour though. I wouldn't hesitate to use a self tapping screw. Holes often don't get tapped, threads often don't get cut. We deal with crap like this almost every single day.

In a high dollar situation my approach would likely be different.