When to do a job right

It never ceases to amaze me what one comes across in this business, I try at all times to ensure that I do a good job for my customers for a fair charge. Today I go to a call where the client has had another firm out to repair their Hotpoint Intergrated dishwasher. The fault evidently was that the machine was not heating, fair enough, it was the Indesit version with the cylindrical heater element which often fails.

The other firm diagnose this correctly and subsequnently return to complete the repair. With this simple job done the client then explains that the engineer was there for THREE hours fitting this part ! after which he announces that the programmer is faulty ?

Of he goes and gets the client to obtain the programmer themselves ! once they have the part they then have complications getting him back to complete the repair. Finally the engineer returns and fits the new programmer announcing that the dishwasher now works fine.

The engineer charges the client £ 150.00 for this and off he goes, the client then finds that the appliance is just running all the time and wil not go through the cycles. They phone the engineer and explain all this and all he says is that he does not know too much about the programs and they will be better getting someone who knows !

Enter myself, I find that the drain pump is running continuously, removing the appliance reveals that the previous engineer has fitted the new element using cable ties to secure the hoses which are piddling water out all over the place. I advise the customer of this and all they say is that they just want it fixed, I explain that I am in a situation where I am folling up this sub standard work and that I need to get the proper clamps to remedy this issue. I also explain that I cannot guarantee that the appliance will operate correctly until I have made good this previous repair and that if there are further complications that they will need to pay me for any work and parts I fit. I have raised papework which outlines this arrangement which they have signed.

There is no way of knowing if the programmer was faulty and required replacmement but how someone can work to such poor standards is beyond me. They have had their £150.00 cash with no receipt and left the client with a still non working appliance.

If the previous engineer does not understand the programs or the principles why the hell is he doing this work in the first place. Meanwhile three hours to fit a part like this is laughable, and I could have done the job at a fraction of the cost in twenty minutes, the client is now faced with having paid out £ 150.00 plus my labour a extra parts all because someone cannot have the savy to use a secure method of accomplishing this basic task. God help us all !

I am also sure that there was a previous discussion on UKWG over recent weeks when someone was asking about the type of clamps Indesit/Hotpoint/Whirlpool use and if plastic ties would sufffice.

I reckon this scenario deals with that thread.

I just love my job: 🙂