Pressure Releif = disabled

[herefishy]

You had experience with the management company several years ago, and recall that on average they took 200 days to pay, and you had discontinued doing business with them due to their pay history. Since then, the management company had gone through bankruptcy (fortunately you didn't lose anything because you "bailed" before they tubed out) and re-organized as a new company (which you are fully aware of, because you received the apologetical letter to all the servicers they screwed and invited you to join them again).

______________________________________________

The service management company called on behalf of the (restaurant) for service on a walk-in cooler at 49degF (warm).

You've got a man free, and decide you'll "roll the dice" on the new bunch to see how it goes, and you arrive at the job within 35 minutes of the request (service at the speed of sound).

It is determined that the pressure relief safety "plug" on the refrigerant receiver outlet (6lb. capacity) of the condensing unit is leaking. The device is non-repairable (integral), and requires replacement of the entire receiver to maintain the integrity of the safety device.

While the tech is on the job, you locate the OEM part (receiver), get pricing, and call the mangement company for approval of replacement of the receiver. The walk-in is down, and to your surprise, "We've got to get approval"....!

You send a written estimate/quote. Several phone calls are made to you. The management company states, "We have to make sure that the price is Fair".

You are asked to provide the part number so that the management company can procure the part for you to install (and they will pay you 10% mark-up for "virtual profit" from the provision of the part). You indicate to the company, "I am providing the part, and that is the price".

A day passes, and you have not received approval, so you call the (restaurant) and ask the manager if they have been "taken care of". The manager responds, "Yes, the walk-in is fixed".

You then call the management comapany and inquire, "Whaasssuuuuup?"

The dispatcher pulls up the service history and and reads to you, "..........("Company X, Inc."), welded the leak tight, and recharged the system........".

AT THIS POINT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

[herefishy]

Well, the Poll is now closed. Boy, talk about voter apathy !!! LOL

[herefishy]

uuhhh..... this wasn't hypothetical.... it just happend to me...

[FreezerGeezer]

Well, I'd have reported him, but I'd also have billed him for my time, etc. And told the management, owner, and CEO. It's all about being profesional, and covering your back - just in case. Also, if the cretin that did this and his company were jailed / forced out of business, never to return to our trade, then so much the better!

[Dan]

Well, the Poll is now closed. Boy, talk about voter apathy !!! LOL

Talk about the polls closing early! I had a hanging chad that required a recount!

I just noticed this poll. I think it is a format that should be continued.


This poll pulls a lot of things together service organizations face - such as the need to make money, the need to grow, ethics, law, environmental and safety considerations, design and engineering, and customer service, to name a few.

My sorting process would be this:

Do I need this business (customer doesn't pay). I would answer "No."

But then if I had valued employees who would otherwise be unemployed because I had unanticipated loss of business... I would answer a sort of "Yes."

I would re-explore this customer, using one of the valued employees to attempt to get this work back within our needs. For all I know, this employee is me and I don't have any other valued employees. No matter. This thinking gets me to the following:

You've got a man free, and decide you'll "roll the dice" on the new bunch to see how it goes, and you arrive at the job within 35 minutes of the request (service at the speed of sound).

So we or I respond. Easy diagnosis and minor repair suggested and quoted. Or is that true? Couldn't I have accomplished this while on site and get the box repaired within an hour or so? Couldn't I have quoted a quick repair to get them back in business until I made the final repair? Do I have implied permission for this service call that can be taken advantage of to secure me or us making the repair?

You send a written estimate/quote. Several phone calls are made to you. The management company states, "We have to make sure that the price is Fair".

Crap! I say. I let this get out of the box or cage because I took too long to provide solutions. Now the management company is involved. What did I or we do wrong? Took too long to provide reassurance to the customer, I answer to myself or us.

The customer..... who is the customer?

Well, actually, I have two-in-one. The one I serve and the one that pays. Here is the rub:

I worried too much about the customer who pays and not enough about the customer who needed a cooler working:

A customer who might have been willing to pay for my repair because he or she just wants things up and running and can avoid the costs of waiting and storage and lost sales, which likely dwarf the cost of the repair.

The dispatcher pulls up the service history and and reads to you, "..........("Company X, Inc."), welded the leak tight, and recharged the system........".

I question just how integral the relief device was. Even on small receivers fused plugs are threaded devices, aren't they? Why did I assume that I needed an entire receiver? Did I miss something that my competitor did not? Should I assume that his or her repair was less than what I proposed?

-------------

I wake up after a difficult week at work. I lost business I wasn't sure I wanted, and I spent money doing it. Something is inherently wrong.

It is time to place blame solely where it belongs. Myself and us. But I don't think the us is with me on this.

1: I must have thought there was a reason to pursue this business. What was it?

2: I might be confused about who my customer is; can I do work directly for the owner up to a maximum dollar amount or on a credit card to immediately address their concerns?

3: Am I wasting precious resources only to deliver a price to a management company who will predictably shop me down and insert another contractor who benefits from the money I spent on diagnosis, etc?

4: If I go back to No. 1, am I any smarter now about how I conduct business?

5: What is my competitor that I am not?

Please pardon a ramble from a Florida-voter who was puzzled why refrigeration-engineer's touch-screen polls don't work on his home computer's monitor.

[superheat]

If you are required to do work that you conside to be dangerous in order to keep a costumer, that is not a costumer you want. Sooner or later that costumer is going to talk you into doing something that hurts somebody. They will deny any responsability, after all you are the professional here. Your insurance might not pay for the damage because it was intentional. You might lose your insurance carrier.

Is that chance worth it to keep a costumer that is going to price shop anyway? They are going to try to get you to cut more corners. Where do you stop cutting? You don't have to recover if nobody is looking? You don't have to pull a deep vacuum if you get most of it and install an oversized drier? How far will you end up going to get an extra buck?

The people that did not understand how dangerous their repair was will surely mess up in the future. The costumer will be calling you back then. Keep records so you can recover your previous lose.

Or it could be that the competition knows a safe way to fix the problem. Threaded relief valve is a good example

[bhrobin]

Cannot believe you did that to me. I just noticed this tonight. Boy, am I bummed out. Have had some experiences quite like this. Wonder if I could hit the receiver with a 30-06 from here.