Touching things while quoting/ while 'not on the clock.'

[WaterTight]

I know it's not commonplace but it does occur. Fitted a new tap for a customer. Usual thing: on the way out, "could you just have look at this one other thing..."

Radiator not getting hot. Two wheelhead valves. Rad removed by decorators a while back. So I just check they're both open. One is barely open so I open it fully and tell her to monitor and let me know. Few days later she lets me know both valves are now leaking.

She's a nice customer and will pay for further work but many might not be. Do you reel off a disclaimer before touching anything - no matter how trivial - to let them know that anything that occurs is not your responsibility or do you just assert it's not your problem if and when something occurs?

Same might go for removing something to look at something - bit breaks off a crumbly shelf or piece of thin partition; checking water turns off at internal stopcock and then it leaks...

 

[CES]

Ive been considering this for a while now as it happens quite a lot. Most of my customers are ok and understand but there will be the occasional one who says the "It was ok until you touched it " remark, so I'm beginning to refuse the "While your here" jobs, citing "Ive got someone else to see, Ill call back". That way if anything happens then its a new job and I charge accordingly.

 

[Paulus]

Come on mate, are you a professional or what? You should have checked the valves anyway knowing a decorator had taken the rad off and charged an extra £20.

No seriously, I also have problems with this issue. I always try to assess what other damage might be caused by my doing a job and warn the customer that if they want me to do the work I cannot be responsible for it and warn that there would be further costs involved.

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do a bit extra for free which is a good PR exercise as the customer is likely to tell her friends about what a nice guy you are.

 

[Best]

Sometimes you are better to say you will arrange another time to do that job & bill them for the first. Some are trying it on a bit, but most people are ok. Trouble is you can destroy something by just touching it. What I hate is, doing a job really well for someone & pointing out something else in the house that is faulty. Later they say I didn't finish their job! Lesson is give them the bill first.

 

[AWheating]

only warranty work your payed for.

 

[dontknowitall]

Could you just jobs are a flaming menace. Like you, WaterTight, I get the stop tap dripping, radiator valve seeping, etc (I'm sure we all do.) Most of the time I take it on the chin.

Once or twice I've been there for another hour (after finishing the job they called me for and paid) and I just ask for more money but it's only another £20 maximum. Much depends on what the other job was and how easy and quick it was to do. If it was a near full day then I don't charge but if it was a tap washer taking 20 minutes that's when I put the begging bowl out.

 

[REDSAW]

if it breaks and not being paid for it, tough, i will give you a quote for repairs.

 

[Phil]

I was doing a bathroom quote once and as a favour I said I'd fix a leaking gland nut on small radiator in the hall way while I was there.

While doing it I distubed the bottom nut on the microbore (already dodgy) and spent ages trying to back the nut off enough to wrap PTFE round the olive. Wet vac's are all well and good but when they keep sucking up the PTFE as you try desperatly to wrap it round.

Never again.