Hello! new member

[Sharon Holloway]

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to stop by and say hello, I just registered this morning. I'm Sharon, and I run Complete Gutter Cleaning in Berkshire with my husband.

Hoping to get some advice about a particular job......

 

[Smurf]

Hi & welcome @Sharon Holloway :thumbsup:

Got any pics of the job in question and inform us what needs doing and one of us maybe able to help

 

[Sharon Holloway]

Hi there!

It was more a case of what to do customer service wise really - customer called from terraced house, complaining about neighbour (who has the downpipe on their side) not getting gutters cleaned, causing a problem on her property. She asked us to clear gutters and install a new downpipe on her side, which we did. She was on holiday at the time of install.

While operative was on site installing the d.p another resident of the property came out after job was all finished and gave him a bit of abuse and told him he didn't want the downpipe where it was. We couldn't get hold of customer and had to leave to get to other customers.

So customer returns from her holiday, gets a mouthful from the other guy (who happens to own part of the house), calls us to say she didn't agree that the downpipe should go where we put it, and she wants it moved ASAP.

Now, usually we would just suck it up, and go and do the work and take it on the chin. The house in question is a 3 storey and we had to hire a ladder to get up to the correct height. If we go back and hire another ladder we will be losing money on the job, and hubby (who installed the d.p and spoke to the woman originally is convinced she agreed to the placement when it was originally discussed).

Would it be totally out of order to expect the customer to pay for the ladder hire, even though we have no proof that she agreed the placement other than hubbys word against hers, or should we just do the job and take the loss on the chin and put it down to experience? What would other people do?

Sorry for long essay!

 

[Smurf]

Bit of a dilema then for sure...At the end of the day it sounds like you have only done what has been asked to do but for some reason it looks like because of the other party has changed his/her mind.

If it was me I would speak to both in the house and confirm what they want you to do first then get them to agree a price to come back and sort it out so you are not out of pocket.

 

[Jimroot]

It's intersting to hear your case. I don't plan on doing any installs/modifications myself, but maybe it's worth getting a generic house plan sheet made up, red pen where the works will be, and get them to sign it to cover for legal wrangles.... In the future. A basic architect style plan.

Surely, where it's their word against yours, if the dp is in the best place, maybe ask a builder to come round and verify it's a kosher install, they might not kick off in front of a third party and agree to leave it.

Do you offer custies a guarentee/ warranty?

If it were me, I would not be sucking up financial reparations if they just 'changed their mind', and just hope mud slung didn't stick

 

[Sharon Holloway]

Jimroot - the house plan sheet sounds like a brilliant idea, I suppose it's only at times like this you get to reflect on your practice and modify accordingly.

I spoke to the customer, she has agreed she thinks there's nothing wrong with it, and it's just the neighbour being a pain, she's paying for it to be moved, and the ladder hire. I suggested maybe she get him to pay as he's the one being difficult. As it is, the way they want it moved will introduce a couple of bends into the downpipe and therefore likely result in blockages so we are going to get something in writing from them to ensure we are covered when they inevitably need another clearance. I guess some people just think they know best /emoticons/wink.png

We offer a guarantee of 3 months for our clearances, and any leaking joints on new installs but thst's about it.

 

[Jimroot]

Glad to be of some use ;-)

Good result! Home owners can get irrational very fast, well actually, it's people in general isn't it.

Hope you stick around the forum, sounds like you're experienced operatives with a lot to offer the forum

 

[Jimroot]

Out of interest, can you link to the type of ladder you will be hiring for the job? There's a lot of interest in ladders on here

Do you hire scaffold towers too or just use ladders?

 

[abs]

Welcome Sharon, glad to here you now have it sorted, bloody customers at times you just want to say "go f**k yourself" lol

 

[Green Pro Clean Ltd]

Hey Sharon, welcome, this is why we stopped replacing gutters for customers now we only clean them.

I ran into a similar problem a few years back, decided to resolve it by taking the hit on the expense, then called the customer and told them we would be around in the morning and replace the gutters to their original configuration and there would be no charge.

Went there the next morning, was told all was well and got paid in full. Sometimes you gotta call their bluff as there are **** takers out there. I also think Jim is onto something with a house plan if you plan to continue doing gutter replacements.

 

[cheapncheerful]

hi and welcome Sharon please stay as poor shazzy and becky, although she is in hiding, need more females on here..

 


custys can be a real pain....who needs em...oh sugar...suppose we need em to pay the bill....