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Bit of an awkward one this one,
Three and half months ago had a customer who called to say her built in Bosch washer dryer was making a noise. Customer lives 10 miles away = 20 mile round trip. Anyway we called out to investigate the problem, not in when I get there. She reckoned the machine was making a sort of clicking sound when the machine was on wash, she also reckoned the dryer was not working right, she also said that the machine was doing all kinds of weird things, and that the timer kept sticking, the clothes did not seem as clean, sometimes she thought the timer went backwards !
This customer continually talks without break and while your trying to work there;s kids screaming and her ranting on about everything. Personally I found it extremely difficult to make much logical sense of her reported problems especially considering that whn she booked the call she only mentioned that the machine was noisey.
Well I checked the pump and sump area for bra wires, motor carbons all of which can make clicking noises, nothing found there, tested the machine on wash, loaded and unloaded, tested rinse, spin, drain, still nothing. Still she babbled on and on and after an hour or so I decided to uplift the appliance to the workshop for testing.
This I did and off she went on two weeks holiday !, once in the workshop I could look at the machine in peace (aha ! )
Anyway only problem I could find was that there was a faulty dryer cutout stat causing no heat on the dryer, this bit she had right.
Anyway tested this machine over a period of two weeks working just great. I got a new user manual as she seemed unclear about the machine functions and I thought she may be confused.
Took machine back and refitted, the installation is a terrible job and it takes about an 40 mins to refit the thing.
That was three months ago, yesterday we get a call from her saying that the machine is noisey again? Call booked for today and out I go.
Get there and guess what? she’s out ! blast I thought, Anyway hung around a while then I telephone her, the phones ringing in the house I can hear it. Answer phone cuts in, I leave a message, I then card the Door and of I go. This was at 2.50pm, having got there at 2.30pm. I then ring the office and brief them on the matter. I then drive ten miles back to my normal service area.
So what have we, a twenty mile round trip, deisel, time, and a phone call, I have earnt nothing out if this little venture.
Finally I arrive back at the office at 5pm, I am informed that she has called in at 3.10pm saying she found the card, ( No mention of the Answerphone message) she says that she was at home from 2.10 waiting and that she wants to rebook us back out there.
So the situation is that, but should I go back ? is it reasonable that I charge a aborted call fee, bearing in mind that she was out previosuly and I made no charge then .If I make a appointment with my dentist and give him a no show he wants £25.00 and he does not even have to leave his premsies, can I charge her a fee for this plus a labour charge as well for the job, as I say this is one of those awkward situations but she is one of those customers who never seem to be in if you know what I mean.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Hi
Too right charge her £25. This is approx how much it costs to get an engineer to the door without considering the diesel.
She won’t be out the 3rd time 😉Greg
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
A 25p mobile phone call to see if your customer was home would have saved a lot of expense and inconvenience. 😉
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Martin wrote:A 25p mobile phone call to see if your customer was home would have saved a lot of expense and inconvenience. 😉
At ten calls a day that’s £2.50, or £600 a year…that sounds like a lot of expense Martin 😉
Yes, i’d have no hesitation charging a customer for an aborted call like that. We always give the benefit of the doubt the first time…and after that it would have to be an exceptional excuse to avoid a call out charge (emergency hospital visit, car accident etc)
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
when i get a no show when i arrive to a confirmed appointment and then the customer makes another appointment i always ring either befor i start out or when on the way, no answer or answering machine i don’t go. as you have had a previous no show and you took the machine away, this visit is the third, didyou get paid when you took it back? she at least owes you £25 and then the cost of the next visit..awkward i know but business is business. best of luck.
richardRe: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
I have had instances over the years where you can ring a customer to confirm the appointment only to find that the answerphone cuts in.
This however does not mean that the customer is out, I have had loads of such instances where the customer is home but perhaps painting the front of the house or even doing a bit if gardening.
Most customers are home beacuse that want the appliance repaired, its the odd flighty few that seem to think you can come back later in the day or another time that are the problem.
I did incidentially get paid for the first vist, but not the second, I got paid when I returned the machine the third time and here we are on a fourth call with a NAH and no payment as yet.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
I think the warning signs were there from the start with that job.A customer who waffles on about a load of unlikely sounding faults usually ends up being a pain in the a*se who cant be pleased. Some people think they own your soul if you earn a few quid from them..If in doubt,pass on the job.. the loons are not worth the grief.. :rolls:
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
I cannot believe the question!!! 😮
There is no doubt whatsoever that the customer should be charged. I would perhaps consider not charging if it was an emergency that caused her to be out.
Given the fact that she claims she was in and also offered no apology! I would probably demand the payment up front and then not turn up for the return appointment and say “now you know how it feels” Just joking of course but VERY tempting all the same 😆
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
squadman wrote:is it reasonable that I charge a aborted call fee, bearing in mind that she was out previosuly and I made no charge then
Moraly yes. Legally.. No. We had an instance like this and when we looked into it, we were advised by Trading Standards that yes, by all means we can charge for a broken appointment. However, the customer must be made aware of this at the point of booking the call. We have since written that into our t&c’s and all customers get told on the phone that if they break the appointment, they will be faced with a callout charge for that appointment. I would leave this one go, but before you book the next appointment, give her a warning of your intentions.
richardable wrote:ring either befor i start out or when on the way, no answer or answering machine i don’t go
What happens if at the end of the day, she calls in to see where you are and you tell her that you didn’t attend because she didn’t answer the phone? What if she were, lets say in the shower, or mowing the grass etc? Do you then get back in your van and attend as agreed? If not, could she look to charge you for his/her wasted time? There is two sides to a coin afterall 😉
Adrian.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Exactly . as for trotters confusion about the question I was in favour of imposing a aborted charge, the point of the question Trotter was to get a cross section of different opinions from this forum as to what is considered reasonble and thats exactly what has been posted as you can see.
I would also say that having had a previous relationship with this customer I was more than willing to attend but not willing to waste my time.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
How odd is this,
Its been nearly three weeks since I heard anymore from this customer, then I get a phone call from a relative saying that we went out and looked at the machine and was going to advise if we could get a spare part to repair it.
I inform this relative that although we did call we did not look at the appliance as the householder was out having made the appoinment. They were not aware of this, they then pleaded with us to go back and they would make sure that someone was home this time round.
This is an akward situation due to the fact that we have worked on this appliance and been paid. Having completed the repairs and extensively testing the appliance we were happy that it worked as it should.
Nearly three months later the customers back on the phone saying its the same as before, we call, their not there.
Now since then the time period being some three weeks we get this call.
We have now made a further appointment to go out to look at this appliance but I feel that although we were stood up as it was and the customers contacts have been so intermitant over some time that and that I pointed out to this relative that this was wasting our time and costing us money, I feel that we have been badly messed about but at the same time we are probably legally bound to investigate the claims that the appliance is exibiting the same faults as claimed at the very outset.
My plan is to ring this customer before calling and request that they pay our labour charge and that having done so we will then call back.
Whats the take on this ?
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
squadman wrote:
My plan is to ring this customer before calling and request that they pay our labour charge and that having done so we will then call back.
Whats the take on this ?
Don’t do this myself but someone I do S/C work for won’t book a call unless labour is paid up front by c/card.
Doesn’t get many no shows + won’t order spares unless paid for in advance.Most of my customers get same/next day service so no chance to forget I’m coming. 8)
Steve
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Reading back through it, it’s a tricky one IMO.
Is it a recall, isn’t it? Problem is you don’t know till you see it and, if you’re not given that chance, you don’t know whether to charge or not.
In the interests of peace and harmony I’d just do it, but that’s just me.
Usually we give them one shot at a no-access, maybe two, then we charge it. The distance is irrelevant as we operate only by postcodes, it’s either in the area or not.
If it were me I’d be tempted to explain clearly that, if it’s the same or related fault to our work we’d honour the warranty but, were it not, then there would be a charge and make sure that the customer understands that these are the terms. Once you know the score you can take a view on where to go with it next.
K.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Reading back through it, it’s a tricky one IMO.
Is it a recall, isn’t it? Problem is you don’t know till you see it and, if you’re not given that chance, you don’t know whether to charge or not.
In the interests of peace and harmony I’d just do it, but that’s just me.
Usually we give them one shot at a no-access, maybe two, then we charge it. The distance is irrelevant as we operate only by postcodes, it’s either in the area or not.
If it were me I’d be tempted to explain clearly that, if it’s the same or related fault to our work we’d honour the warranty but, were it not, then there would be a charge and make sure that the customer understands that these are the terms. Once you know the score you can take a view on where to go with it next.
K.
Of course you are right, it is one of those tricky ones, for we need to fully access the latest complaint and ascertain if indeed it is related to the fault reported and rectified at the outset.Of course the difficulty with such a situation is that this particular lady was complaing of all manner of faults which in essence opens up a can of worms as far as any future involvement with this appliance.
My plan is to call them the day that we are due to call, explaining that on the basis of what has already transpired with the Not At Home, the time lag in getting back i touch with us, and that bearing in mind we need to check the appliance to asecrtain IF this latest reported fault is due to THE repair that we done, then we shall be proceeding on a chargable basis. As far as I am concerned the faults that were claimed which we checked could not be PROVEN, only one fault and that is what was billed and charged for only and nothing else.
It is my intention to get rid of this one, one way or another as we do not need the hasle of being made the whipping boy every three months and then have to run here and there.
Its always negative to loose a customer but frankly customers that make me no money are not cundusive to our business.
Looks like this one’s got a few miles in it yet !
Oh Well, that’s life fellas, ( and Gals )
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
Well this so far is the upshot of this matter.
Finally we get this customer in, I decide to go myself, I am informed that the machine is noisey and not drying the clothes on the dry cycle, ( Bosch Washerdryer )
I am informed that the machine was like this since it was returned to the client three months ago ! Na Really I think, having seen this machine on test with and without a load over a week I knew that it was not. Anyway I am not there to argue but to find the facts.
During my inspection I open the drum door to remove three coins and a pen ! perhaps this is the noise I wonder. Anyway next up check the pump and filter for further obstructions . There is a five pence in the pump, remove that. Next up I remove the appliance from the unit to check if the dryer is functioning.
I find that it is not due to the overheat stat having triggered, mm strange I think, Further inspection locates that the cast metal dryer housing has fractured and is loose exibiting noise during the spin cycle. With the heat escaping from the air conveyor the whole top of the machine was becoming hot thus the overheat stats intervention.
Of course this was not like this whilst we had this appliance because had it have been we would have advised the client and attended to it.
I then explain to the client what I have found and that although it was not evident at the time of our work the air conveyor was the culprit and that parts would be required to fix it.The client tells me that they will need to consult and will let us know, I hear nothing for four days and then decided to call them. They then say that the appliance is under a five year warranty and that they will try and get Bosch to do the repair but will contact us should this not prove to be sucessful.
Now do I dance on the ceiling and thank the lord for our lucky escape or ask them for a labour charge for our further time and efforts ??????????
Remember we have had two aborted trips, and one call totalling an hour plus 20 mile round trip and have earnt nothing ?What would you do here ?
8)
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