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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 5,445
Likes: 2
Cat Servant
Member
Imagine the following situation:

You are operating a service business, and a lady calls, complaining that the receptacle in the bathroom does not work. You dispatch one of your guys.

Soon after, he returns, with an invoice charging the lady for a service call, a receptacle, and replacing the receptacle. Then your phone rings.

Seems the lady feels she was taken advantage of. She tells you the guy was there less than 15 minutes, pulled out the old receptacle, pushed a wire back into the old receptacle, wrapped it with some tape to keep the wire from popping back out, and left.

How would you handle this complaint?

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Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 174
B
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I would tell my employee to go back and replace the receptacle with a new one. I think a new one should of been replaced to begin with. Make something up like the old receptacle was defective. This probally would of made her feel alot better about the situation. Probally should of even taken his time, make it last a half hour.


Jesus may have been a capenter,but God was an electrician.Genesis1:3
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,429
L
LK Offline
Member
Go back as soon as possible, and fix it right, return the money collected, and beg for forgivness.

Come back to the shop, call the payroll office, have them make out the final check for the employee, call the employee in for a outgoing interview, call our attorney, and have him send the termanition papers.

Then wonder what I was on when I hired this guy, and why din't I pay closer attention to what my employees were doing.

Last edited by LK; 07/23/07 06:18 PM.
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 138
P
Member
First step is to talk to the employee. Ask the employee what he/she did. Everybody deserves a chance to explain themselves.

Don't send the same employee back. The customer has lost faith and confidence in them.

Sometimes customers lie. Some people don't like to pay regardless of the time spent or the work done. Their relucatnce to pay has nothing to do with ability to pay either.

Regardless of who is lying, the plug needs to be replaced/inspected. A short call is a short call. Always spend a couple of minutes - no more than 5 - with the customer reviewing the work done, comment on how nice her home is, ask if there's anything else she needs done (could even work in a freebie), and leave a business card. A cheated customer tells 20 others.

Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 34
T
Member
I'd have a piece of my guys a&& on a platter. No, I don't generally crawl their behinds as that's counter productive usually, however my guys are expected to replace it if it was burned or if otherwise ok, hard wire it on the screws instead of the pushin holes. NEVER EVER EVER let anyone use those pushin holes!!! In our state you have to warranty your work one year. You will likely have a comeback as you just did even on new work. Those things should be banned in the code!

Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 482
Z
Member
I'd be over at the ladies house within an hour myself.

I'd inspect the work and see who is pulling a fast one. If it's the lady, be polite and show her how you know that the outlet is new and that it is wired correctly.

If it's your field tech, perform the work properly and comp the work, along with a healthy discount on future work. Appologize profusely and assure her that this employee does not represent the policy of your business, and that you will takes the steps necessary to alleviate the problem.

The employee, if he did fake a service order, is a matter you will have to deal with based on his side of the story and his previous work history. Maybe something is up with his personal life - maybe you can help - or maybe he needs to be fired. Nobody here can give you a cut and dry answer on this without hearing what your guy has to say for himself.

My policy is that I would start the conversation with him with the mindset that I'm going to have to let him go. I would let him know this and see what happens from there. Everybody should have ONE opportunity to fix ONE screw up, but there is never room for a second, no matter who that employee is. Once is a screw up, twice is a pattern.


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