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Hi all:
Being new to UKW I have read just about all the forums and enjoyed myself immensely, and having seen Kwat’s anecdotes I just wondered how many of you will come clean to the most expensive cock-up you have ever made?
Since I started it here’s mine:
When I was just a lad I was stuck working on Princesses or empresses doing the rollers, changing drive gears and seals, my mentor had gone for some parts so I decided to have a look at the twin tub he had brought in earlier in the day, I plugged it in and tried the wash and the spinner both seemed to work ok so I turned it on it’s side to observe it running from the bottom. Switching the machine on I tried the wash side and saw smoke coming from the motor so I thought that must be what it was in for.
Not having seen this machine from this vantage point before I tried the spinner and smoke was coming from that motor as well I just thought this must be scrap and how much time I had saved him stripping it down, I thought he would be pleased with my efforts not knowing anything about relays having to be upright and such I received a right royal telling off for my efforts and he made me pay for two new fields as well.
You live and learn 😳
Richard S
Re: The most expensive C**k up
RS wrote:I just wondered how many of you will come clean to the most expensive cock-up you have ever made?
Little chance of anyone owning up to that question here Richard 😆
All the lads here have never put a foot wrong or left any spanners behind either 8)
However ‘Expensive Cock-up’ business wise would be my only admission 😳 Buying a shop and getting an engineer to work for me back in 1982 was my most expensive cock-up 😳
I will never make that mistake again 😆
Martin
The most expensive cock up…
Being virtually reliant on a single manufacturer to put bread on the table and thinking we were safe.
Won’t make that mistake again either. 😉
K.
Re: The most expensive C**k up
RS wrote:Hi all:
Being new to UKW I have read just about all the forums and enjoyed myself immensely, and having seen Kwat’s anecdotes I just wondered how many of you will come clean to the most expensive cock-up you have ever made?
Since I started it here’s mine:
When I was just a lad I was stuck working on Princesses or empresses doing the rollers, changing drive gears and seals, my mentor had gone for some parts so I decided to have a look at the twin tub he had brought in earlier in the day, I plugged it in and tried the wash and the spinner both seemed to work ok so I turned it on it’s side to observe it running from the bottom. Switching the machine on I tried the wash side and saw smoke coming from the motor so I thought that must be what it was in for.
Not having seen this machine from this vantage point before I tried the spinner and smoke was coming from that motor as well I just thought this must be scrap and how much time I had saved him stripping it down, I thought he would be pleased with my efforts not knowing anything about relays having to be upright and such I received a right royal telling off for my efforts and he made me pay for two new fields as well.
You live and learn 😳
Richard S
Never done that myself, but had a shop customer who I sold belts too as “it was about time it had some” who decided to test it upside down after fitting them, it was only a minor conflagaration….. only 2 fire engines required.
Re: The most expensive C**k up
One springs to mind, possibly not the most expensive but fairly recent so it’s fresh on the old brain.
Instructing our delivery guys to install a new washing machine in a rented house, only to find they had done their normal job and removed the existing appliance and dumped it.
The one they removed was only 13 months old, belonged to the tenant’s sister and was on loan !
:lesson: Don’t assume anything !
Dave.
Re: The most expensive C**k up
That one tickled me dave.
I forgot the other one cost me 7s. 6p and i’m still paying for it 🙁
Richard sRe: The most expensive C**k up
Kitchen company on behalf of a customer phones up Summer 2003 complaining of rancid smells from a new cooker as well as smoke. They give us the model number of a built under oven, so we tell them as per the instructions to leave it set on full power for about 2 hours to let the insulation/newness burn off.
Next day we get a call to inspect a kitchen where the worktop surface had melted and the units above to the right & left as well as the cooker hood were discoloured etc.
The complaint the customer had the day before was the HOB (Solid plate) was smelling etc. Of course, that is what she put on for 2 hours at maximum setting on all 4 plates, to avoid the smell on a beautiful summers day she went out into the garden with a glass of wine.
The customer egged on by the kitchen company was trying to claim against us for all the damage. She tried giving me a hard time & I simply told her that she was the one who turned it on at full blast & left it unattended. I was having none of it as we were advised about a cooker, not an inset hob unit. Eventually all went quiet and I suppose it came off the insurance of the customer.
Alex
Re: The most expensive C**k up
two engineers i know built an aga in a 17th century house and didnt tighten up the oil coupling properly behind the cooker few weeks later complaint about smell of oil engineers had to go back dismatle the cooker and chase the plaster work and the flooring where the oil had saturated and then get a plasterer and floor layer in to match up the old style plaster etc become very expensive job! at least the other engineers in the company saw the funny side even if the fitters and managment didnt 😈 😈 😈
Re: The most expensive C**k up
We did go into a rented house after collecting the key from the agent to repair the Hotpoint there. Our guy found the bearings shot and a hole in the door seal but he did it ok. The front bearing being a bit of a swine that took ages to remove but all was done eventualy and he left.
In the morning the agent rang up to report that the Hotpoint dishwasher was still leaking just as bad as before we visited! 😳Re: The most expensive C**k up
Delivery man from a firm of I know,was left to bring an unpacked new style Hoover top loader into the house while the senior lad was disconnecting the old one. Pulls the old machine out and turns round 😯 😯 to find one top loader UPSIDE DOWN on the sack truck.
He lasted three days.
Tony C
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