|
|
Leland Stone Inner circle 1204 Posts |
This sucks, just sucks.
I install handicap bars and build access ramps, all of which biz comes from referrals thru medical supply stores. One such store called to complain of a customer who returned some bars, saying the customer said that I said the bars were of poor quality. Not true, and not good business. I explained that I tell ALL clients the following: "All commercially available grab bars are built in conformance with ADA guidelines, and their quality is not an issue. Purchase a grab bar -- preferably from the supply house where you got my card -- based on your taste and decore." I explained that the customer had garbled or misrepresented my statement. Store owner: "I just wanted to call and see if you thought that was a good way to do business." Click. I have no incentive to lie, but the customer who returned the bars did - the bars could not be used for his intended installation (on a thin wall housing a pocket door, to support a VERY heavy user), and the customer needed a plausible story to circumvent the medical supply store's no-returns policy. The owner has no incentive to believe a vendor over a paying customer. Upshot: A straight arrow boy scout of a contractor comes off looking like a crook. All right, rant's over. You were warned. |
Josh the Superfluous Inner circle The man of 1881 Posts |
I think it was a bad way for you to do business. You should be ashamed. Crook!
And I don't approve of you revealing personal information about my good friend Josh Riel.*
What do you want in a site? "Honesty, integrity and decency." -Mike Doogan
"I hate it, I hate my ironic lovechild. I didn't even have anything to do with it" Josh #2 |
Josh the Superfluous Inner circle The man of 1881 Posts |
*
What do you want in a site? "Honesty, integrity and decency." -Mike Doogan
"I hate it, I hate my ironic lovechild. I didn't even have anything to do with it" Josh #2 |
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
Question....how did the customer know they couldn't be used for the purpose intended unless told? If they all meet the same standards and he HAS to have these bars up why would he return it and clearly be in need of a higher level bar which the same supplier should be able to provide?
I think what likely happened was the guy asked if they were suitable for a purpose and you may have said, and even may not recall, something that a better bar is available (wouldn't the support and screws be more important than the bar?). He took it to extremes. That or he could be lying so he can pay for better bars. I hope it doesn't ruin your connection with the store though, it shouldn't because the store should have been able to upsale the item. |
EsnRedshirt Special user Newark, CA 895 Posts |
Sounds like someone didn't ask the right questions at the point of sale- either the customer or the store. They should have determined what type of materials would be needed. If it's the store's fault (or even if it isn't) they should exchange the bar for one more suitable.
I'm suprised- if this sort of thing happens frequently, wouldn't it be a good idea for someone to inspect the site before the customer even buys the equipment, to make sure they get something suitable for the installer to put in?
Self-proclaimed Jack-of-all-trades and google expert*.
* = Take any advice from this person with a grain of salt. |
gaddy Inner circle Agent of Chaos 3526 Posts |
Miscommunication is more common than we realize. Most of the time it doesn't impact us so personally, but it still happens quite frequently. Most of the time what we say is not even fully understood by the people we talk to, rather they just recall what they think we said...
Just ask a policeman who's ever collected eyewitness testimony!
*due to the editorial policies here, words on this site attributed to me cannot necessarily be held to be my own.*
|
Leland Stone Inner circle 1204 Posts |
Quote:
On 2008-07-21 22:22, MagicSanta wrote: No, the problem was not with the BARS, but rather with the house. The client asked me to install the bars on a structurally inadequate support (the "thin wall with a pocket door" about which I wrote). ADA compliant bars support a minimum of 300 lbs of shear loading; the intended wall could simply not accomodate that amount. (A pocket door slides into the wall, leaving a thin, flimsy shell; it was this shell that could not support the bars which the client bought and wanted installed.) The client only learned of this structural inadequacy -- with his HOUSE, not the bars -- upon calling me for installation services AFTER he'd already bought three, $65 bars; his choices were to learn an expensive lesson about residential construction or claim I'd told him the bars were sub-standard and thus badger the medical supply clerk into a refund. It is not possible for me to say or imply that one bar is higher-quality than another, simply because that is not my view. All bars from all manufacturers are of consistently high quality and the decision of one over another is purely a matter of taste. No matter what I tell the store owner, it's gonna sound to him like a fancy version of "the dog ate my homework." I was a fall guy, period, and had my business relationship with that medical supply store torpedoed over $195 plus tax. Meh, I blame Josh. No, not that one, I mean the board's token sociopath. |
ElectricBlue New user 90 Posts |
You should write the store a letter with basically what you said above.
Tell them what happened stressing that you do see their product as quality and would and do recommend them to your clients then maybe add some thing like 'sorry for any inconvenience this misunderstanding has caused'. I think if you let them know in a clear way what happened and that you would use them in the future then I think the will get over it quickly. Especially if they see any orders coming from you or you clients. |
Leland Stone Inner circle 1204 Posts |
Hm. You know, I been thinkin' about what you mooks have posted: "Miscommunication." "Misunderstanding." Prolly there was some of that, plus on top of that a distraught man dealing with the stress of an aged parent recuperating from a stroke. Hm.
Okay, I'm gonna put together a little handout, a flyer, showing correct installation as well as the more common problem installations. Not only will this help eliminate communication errors, but...the medical supply house can use the flyer as a sales tool to boost its own sales of bars and be more inclined to feed me work. I'll drop one off at the shop that got peeved with me, too. You guys are okay...I keep hangin' out around here, I might even pick up a lil' somethin' about Magic. Thanks |
Josh Riel Inner circle of hell 1995 Posts |
..Wait, are you using my name in vane? That's right I said "vane".
Since today, my name was drug into this, several days ago I will put in my spoke: The last person you want to offer information to, is the customer. They will always make you regret it. In fact, as a rule, I have found that the customer you try to inform the most, treat the best, will be the first to **** you. I have yet to go the extra mile, and not be thoroughly ass whooped. I still make the mistake now and then. * In my experience, the customer does not have the wherewithal to understand extraneous information, they only want what they paid for. If they want something that won't work, don't do it. If you do it, just do it and walk away. * They say the customer is always right, they are idiots. The customer is a dumb panicky animal, otherwise they would do it themselves. I would love to say I have found that at times this rule doesn't apply, but I have never those times. So yeah, you screwed up by assuming that the customer is a reasonable intelligent creature.
Magic is doing improbable things with odd items that, under normal circumstances, would be unnessecary and quite often undesirable.
|
MagicSanta Inner circle Northern Nevada 5841 Posts |
In a similar vein. I took the wife for a mini vacation and as she likes to do she ended up in the hospital the entire dang time (no kidding, she spent 15 total minutes at the hotel). She is fine but at the hospital they had these huge toilets in the rooms, I'm talking monster sized, the sides of the seat from the hole about a foot and a half to two feet wide. The base was more than three feet across, every room had 'em. When she was discharged I asked the nurse why they had these huge toilets and she told me that they were able to support over 600 pound people! I'm a big dude but dang, she told me that they had a woman in there once at 900 pounds and in order to avoid law suits they put in the biggest toilets possible. There you go, another item you can put in!
|
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Not very magical, still... » » Pointless Spleen Venting. (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.03 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |