- Reaction score
- 9
I've been self employed for 4 years and have just had my second ever experience of a bad customer, where I've walked.
Rewire of a 2 bed bungalow for an elderly couple who were in the process of moving in, all first fixed except kitchen sockets / cooker circuits while the clients were on holiday.
Sockets powered up for their return (lounge/hall/beds/tv room/dining room), they specifically asked me not to 2nd fix any lights / switches as all the walls and ceilings were getting skimmed by their own plasterer who wanted them leaving off- not connected (& they didn't want their new light fittings covered in plaster etc).
Two days after they got back, the old kitchen had been taken out & they had got some drawings together for the new kitchen they were getting, so we went back to first fix the kitchen sockets / 2x cooker circuits. This is where the complaints begain:
-You have left us with no lights on, this is disgusting etc etc (they denied that theyd ever specifically asked us not to second fix the lights and I had even left them my lead lights / 2D work lights to use- on top of the lamps etc they already had plugged in around the house)
-You've still got our door key and when I got home from work I was locked out and my wife had to come to the door to let me in (I had been given a key, however, they had new doors and windows fitted after that so it wouldn't have been any use to him)
-Whats this for? I don't want another pull switch in the bathroom I wanted the switch on the wall here *points to the wall a few feet above the bath. You didn't ask me if I wanted it there did you. Why can't I have it there etc etc etc (arms crossed, attitude problem, wouldn't listen to the fact I had it down on my written estimate as a like-for-like pull switch in the bathroom)
We first fixed the kitchen, and agreed to 2nd fix the lights in standard plastic fittings but not screw them back to the ceiling so that the plasterer could do his job quicker (obviously bolted light switches back though), to keep the peace. Also chased in a switch on the wall next to the bathroom door. They denied that they had ever asked us not to connect any lights or switches, and kept saying that it was disgusting that we left them without any lights. While we were packing up, late on they turned up with 5x B&Q outside lights for us to put up. I put a couple up, by which time it was almost 7PM (last friday) and I said we were calling it a day. Bloke starts complaining that we were leaving him with the job half done, no lights on down the side of the house where the bin gets taken out! We told him we couldn't work all night and left.
We were booked in today, in line with their wishes and their kitchen fitter, to 2nd fix the kitchen, connect everything up (oven, hob, under cabinet lights, few outside lights left) & finish testing etc. New consumer unit to fit & DB cupboard to tidy up (a few circuits hadn't been rewired but were getting moved to the new CU, recently fitted shower & ensuite downlights etc). The kitchen fitter was behind and wasn't ready for us to connect anything, didn't want us to fit any sockets etc. just yet. There were also 5 other people working in the house who said we COUDLNT turn the power off.
I offered to rearrange for monday, and was met with a barrage of abuse off the homeowners. They said we had started 'before anyone else' and any decent electricians would have been done by now and we shouldn't have taken the job on if it was too big for us to handle. They also said we couldn't come Monday as the floors were getting tiled, I offered to come early and get the kitchen out of the way but it was no good, as the tiler would be in there 'earlier' and needed all day.... so I offered to come on Tuesday instead but was told that it was disgusting that they had been without an oven for two weeks and now "I" expected them to wait until Tuesday (!!!!!!!!!!)-
- I asked what they thought we hadn't done, that we could have finished (there was only the kitchen left to do and we couldn't do that just yet, but that was out of our control)- no answer
- I told them to pick any day next week for us to come and complete the job (I have plenty of other work on but mostly empty properties and jobs i could easily rearrange), they just repeated that it was no good and they werent happy that I had made them live there and come back off holiday and have no lights on (first time that had been brought up for a week!)
I told the pair of them that I was there to do a job, not to take abuse and be complained at, and that I was offering to come any day next week that suited them to finish the job that I couldn't complete today because of no fault of my own.
The bloke shouted that he was paying for the f***ing privilege of talking to me how he liked, at which I packed up and left.
During my discussion with the clients, their kitchen fitter advised them that if I wasn't allowed in on Monday as the floors were getting tiled, but they weren't prepared to wait until tuesday, it was OK as we could bring a hovercraft. He was probably in for it after we left!
I've already had 50% of the money, and would have been due the rest (in theory) if we'd have completed / been able to complete the job. Unfortunately, I can only take so much abuse before I can't rely on biting my tongue any more.
I did phone them up a few hours later, thinking they would have calmed down and were maybe feeling a bit embarrassed about how they went on. I offered to go back on Tuesday, but told them that if there was any more commotion then we would leave the job unfinished. They said they couldn't take back what they'd said but they wanted the job finishing, so all well and good... but before I had the chance to put the phone down they told me that I'd held the plasterer and the kitchen fitter up so what was I going to do about it? .. They had to have the last word!
-"I havent held your kitchen fitter up, the kitchen was ready for him before he started"-OK perhaps you arent holding him up
-"I haven't held the plasterer up at all, the rest of the house was first fixed while you were away, before you'r plasterer came"- well I don't know that you haven't held him up, I'm not a builder, was the response
They then went on to say I would also have to come back in 3 weeks time too as they were getting some different light fittings (6 fancy chandelier types and 3 picture lights), and they expected me to swap them at no extra charge as they hadn't expected to need to pay for any electrical work when they bought it anyway (dilapidated 1960s bungalow, they didn't have a problem with paying for a week in turkey, all new windows and doors fitted, a new kitchen & fitted wardrobes and all the rooms skimmed).
On that, I politely declined to return at all. I don't think they intended on paying the rest of the money anyway. They've had 90% of a job for 50% of the cost, *******s. I do wonder if it was staged, to make me walk when it was nearly finished.
After phoning a few local sparks who I knew had priced the job too, to warn them of any phone calls to finish the job, turns out my estimate was the cheapest by 20%....
I've had some great customers this week though, including doing an EICR for the local chip shop owners insurance, fed us for two days and paid us for the job in cash when we first turned up, and couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful.
Still, I do think things would run a lot more smoothly in this job if the general public didn't have to be dealt with.
Rewire of a 2 bed bungalow for an elderly couple who were in the process of moving in, all first fixed except kitchen sockets / cooker circuits while the clients were on holiday.
Sockets powered up for their return (lounge/hall/beds/tv room/dining room), they specifically asked me not to 2nd fix any lights / switches as all the walls and ceilings were getting skimmed by their own plasterer who wanted them leaving off- not connected (& they didn't want their new light fittings covered in plaster etc).
Two days after they got back, the old kitchen had been taken out & they had got some drawings together for the new kitchen they were getting, so we went back to first fix the kitchen sockets / 2x cooker circuits. This is where the complaints begain:
-You have left us with no lights on, this is disgusting etc etc (they denied that theyd ever specifically asked us not to second fix the lights and I had even left them my lead lights / 2D work lights to use- on top of the lamps etc they already had plugged in around the house)
-You've still got our door key and when I got home from work I was locked out and my wife had to come to the door to let me in (I had been given a key, however, they had new doors and windows fitted after that so it wouldn't have been any use to him)
-Whats this for? I don't want another pull switch in the bathroom I wanted the switch on the wall here *points to the wall a few feet above the bath. You didn't ask me if I wanted it there did you. Why can't I have it there etc etc etc (arms crossed, attitude problem, wouldn't listen to the fact I had it down on my written estimate as a like-for-like pull switch in the bathroom)
We first fixed the kitchen, and agreed to 2nd fix the lights in standard plastic fittings but not screw them back to the ceiling so that the plasterer could do his job quicker (obviously bolted light switches back though), to keep the peace. Also chased in a switch on the wall next to the bathroom door. They denied that they had ever asked us not to connect any lights or switches, and kept saying that it was disgusting that we left them without any lights. While we were packing up, late on they turned up with 5x B&Q outside lights for us to put up. I put a couple up, by which time it was almost 7PM (last friday) and I said we were calling it a day. Bloke starts complaining that we were leaving him with the job half done, no lights on down the side of the house where the bin gets taken out! We told him we couldn't work all night and left.
We were booked in today, in line with their wishes and their kitchen fitter, to 2nd fix the kitchen, connect everything up (oven, hob, under cabinet lights, few outside lights left) & finish testing etc. New consumer unit to fit & DB cupboard to tidy up (a few circuits hadn't been rewired but were getting moved to the new CU, recently fitted shower & ensuite downlights etc). The kitchen fitter was behind and wasn't ready for us to connect anything, didn't want us to fit any sockets etc. just yet. There were also 5 other people working in the house who said we COUDLNT turn the power off.
I offered to rearrange for monday, and was met with a barrage of abuse off the homeowners. They said we had started 'before anyone else' and any decent electricians would have been done by now and we shouldn't have taken the job on if it was too big for us to handle. They also said we couldn't come Monday as the floors were getting tiled, I offered to come early and get the kitchen out of the way but it was no good, as the tiler would be in there 'earlier' and needed all day.... so I offered to come on Tuesday instead but was told that it was disgusting that they had been without an oven for two weeks and now "I" expected them to wait until Tuesday (!!!!!!!!!!)-
- I asked what they thought we hadn't done, that we could have finished (there was only the kitchen left to do and we couldn't do that just yet, but that was out of our control)- no answer
- I told them to pick any day next week for us to come and complete the job (I have plenty of other work on but mostly empty properties and jobs i could easily rearrange), they just repeated that it was no good and they werent happy that I had made them live there and come back off holiday and have no lights on (first time that had been brought up for a week!)
I told the pair of them that I was there to do a job, not to take abuse and be complained at, and that I was offering to come any day next week that suited them to finish the job that I couldn't complete today because of no fault of my own.
The bloke shouted that he was paying for the f***ing privilege of talking to me how he liked, at which I packed up and left.
During my discussion with the clients, their kitchen fitter advised them that if I wasn't allowed in on Monday as the floors were getting tiled, but they weren't prepared to wait until tuesday, it was OK as we could bring a hovercraft. He was probably in for it after we left!
I've already had 50% of the money, and would have been due the rest (in theory) if we'd have completed / been able to complete the job. Unfortunately, I can only take so much abuse before I can't rely on biting my tongue any more.
I did phone them up a few hours later, thinking they would have calmed down and were maybe feeling a bit embarrassed about how they went on. I offered to go back on Tuesday, but told them that if there was any more commotion then we would leave the job unfinished. They said they couldn't take back what they'd said but they wanted the job finishing, so all well and good... but before I had the chance to put the phone down they told me that I'd held the plasterer and the kitchen fitter up so what was I going to do about it? .. They had to have the last word!
-"I havent held your kitchen fitter up, the kitchen was ready for him before he started"-OK perhaps you arent holding him up
-"I haven't held the plasterer up at all, the rest of the house was first fixed while you were away, before you'r plasterer came"- well I don't know that you haven't held him up, I'm not a builder, was the response
They then went on to say I would also have to come back in 3 weeks time too as they were getting some different light fittings (6 fancy chandelier types and 3 picture lights), and they expected me to swap them at no extra charge as they hadn't expected to need to pay for any electrical work when they bought it anyway (dilapidated 1960s bungalow, they didn't have a problem with paying for a week in turkey, all new windows and doors fitted, a new kitchen & fitted wardrobes and all the rooms skimmed).
On that, I politely declined to return at all. I don't think they intended on paying the rest of the money anyway. They've had 90% of a job for 50% of the cost, *******s. I do wonder if it was staged, to make me walk when it was nearly finished.
After phoning a few local sparks who I knew had priced the job too, to warn them of any phone calls to finish the job, turns out my estimate was the cheapest by 20%....
I've had some great customers this week though, including doing an EICR for the local chip shop owners insurance, fed us for two days and paid us for the job in cash when we first turned up, and couldn't have been more pleasant and helpful.
Still, I do think things would run a lot more smoothly in this job if the general public didn't have to be dealt with.
