When the customer isn't always right....

By : Forum Member
Published 10th June 2014 |
Read latest comment - 10th June 2014

A boiler manufacturer asked me to go and give a potential customer a quote for a new heating system and solar panels. The customer lives 40 miles away, of I go and visit him, carried out the heat loss calculations for him, told him the size of the boiler and emailed him a quotation based on what he wanted. Three months later he contacts the boiler manufacturer and asks where's the quotation? Having rechecked his email address I resent it, another 4 months later he contacts the boiler manufacturer again, by which time because I haven't heard anything have deleted the quote. I then get asked if I would revisit the property, not to pleased I agreed. I told him what we could fit with the space he had available.

I told him we could fit 3 panels and a 330ltr thermal storage unit, he then went away and did some research and came back and said he wanted 4 panels and a 450ltr thermal storage unit, I said it wouldn't fit, he said he'd doubled check the measurements and that it would. This boiler weighs empty 500kg so half a flipping ton and we're suppose to be fitting it in a 3 bed semi I kept telling him it's not going to fit, but he was adamant that it would. I then took a deposit of £8k before I placed the order with the manufacturers. They've now been paid and the order is ready for dispatch this Thursday, customer has now emailed me this evening and said he was reading the wrong information on the manufacturers website and it won't fit. So now I'm going to have to waste my time talking to the manufacturer to amend the order.... So if anyone wants half a ton of metal in their kitchen let me know as I know where one is going cheap....


Thanks,
Barney
Comments

Thats a flipping big boiler !!!!!

 


Clive

My awkward side would say the customer, tough, you were told it wouldn't fit, now cough up for the rest and then install it in the living room

Unfortunately the world is full of idiots...


Steve Richardson
Gaffer of My Local Services
My Local Services | Me on LinkedIn

The funny thing is, the customer is carefully wording emails now suggesting that should anything be wrong with the dimensions it will be down to me. But being one step ahead I never gave him any dimensions from the outset, I just gave him a copy of the manufacturers technical specification, unfortunately for him he decided to read the wrong product page even though he specified he wanted the top of the range product. It also gets better, because this is to do with new Green deal scheme, the customer has got it in his head that he'll be getting a cash payment form his energy company of around £900 per year, when I queried this with manufacturer they said he'll be lucky more like £150, in fact they were even more confused about what payments were realistic via the Green deal scheme. So if their confused how the heck is the installer suppose to provide accurate information? This is one of those jobs I wish I never got involved with.....


Thanks,
Barney

Oh dear - this sounds like its going to get sticky - hope you get it sorted!

Keep us posted


Clive

This Thread is now closed for comments