# May I please speak to your husband????



## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

last night at 4.55 as I was driveing home I get a call from 
a customer that I installed a Zoelelr pump lfor back this spring.......

she claims that during the ice-storm on tuesday night that somehow the sump pump shorted out and kicked the MAIN BREAKER in the home and they were without power...

I asked if they had power now and they claimed they had to unplug the sump pump and it came back on ......


I politely told her that perhaps the sump pump is bad,
but you have a serious problem with your electrical breaker panel..
and you need an electrician.... shen tells me I am wrong and she needs
someone to come out and look at the pump.....


then I finally lose my cool with her and ask how long the sump 
pump has been unplugged in her basement.... 
she says that it has been unplugged since tuesday night


then I politely mention that it is about 5 on a friday night 
and what finally prompted her to call me and what
has she been waiting on to finally call me???

What is the reason that you could not call me 
on Thursday moring for??? we were in your neighborhood all week long??


Now, Do you expect me to come out there tonight for free , when 
I could have made it out there anytime over the last 3 days....:laughing::laughing::yes:


then she comes up with this lame assed excuse that they 
all had the flu and were too sck to get out of bed... sure ok ... uh huh :whistling2:


I asked her to go down stairs to see how flooded the basement was..
..she said she could not do that either.
claims something about an operation that she just had...

....
*Then I finally dropped the A bomb.....* 

*COULD I PLEASE SPEAK WITH YOUR HUSBAND* about your electrical problem in 
your basement??




then all hell breaks loose ...... *combatitive "dueling banjos"* started with her....
she claims that she knows its only the sump pump that
is the problem and wants it fixed.....

she claims that she has worked with her father who 
was a builder and has been around this stuff since she was a child.. 
AND SHE DONT LIKE BEING TALKED DOWN TO THIS WAY:no:

I telll her again that maybe perhaps the pump is bad, 
but she certainly has an electrial short in the main breaker box.

I ask here if she has an emergency and she claims it will
be ok till this morning.... still no one is willing to go down the 
stairs to see if the place has flooded....


*Useing my keen sense of intuition, *
*I get the feeling this one is totally off her rocker *
*or needs to be medicated,,,,*

*and I am going to take someone with me just to keep things civil *

I will change the pump to make this dumb ass happy, 
but its already been made perfectly clear , the flooded 
basement could have been addressed on Thursday morning..
and dont ask me to pay for anything.




Never talk down to someone who knows more than you:laughing:.

heading up there in about an hour....... 

this ought to be fun
when I hand her the bill.


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## breid1903 (Feb 8, 2009)

CHARGE HER MISERY MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! tack on enough to make yourself grin. or just don't go until monday. make her wait 3 more days. wth this ain't no emergency. it was an emergency on tuesday night or wednesday morn. it' now a problem. have fun. breid.................:rockon:


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## greenscoutII (Aug 27, 2008)

Seriously, this type of situation is a shining example of why I prefer new construction to service work.


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

"May I please speak to your husband?"

Oh my! Thems fightin' words. :laughing:


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*husband gives me an ear ful*



PlumbCrazy said:


> "May I please speak to your husband?"
> 
> Oh my! Thems fightin' words. :laughing:


 
called them this morning to get the address and the husband starts to yell at me right off the bat.....

I finally calmed him down ........but I realize that he is probably about as dense as the wife claimed he was....

somehow the sump pump is tied into the breaker on the heat pump line, but dont ask me how....

I told him to run a cord to another plug in the other end of the house and see what happens..... I dont think he understood....


*I warned him his house could burn down which is not the sump pumps fault....AND TO CALL AN ELECTRICIAN*

then I told him the whole story, blow for blow..about the conversation with his wife.

he claimed that she called twice that day, but I have documented records that show my first call was at 4.30
so that shut him down....


Then I mentioned that his wife claimed he did not know his ass from a
hole in the ground and that she wore the pants in the family...
and to deal only with here on this problem......
... that pretty much took the wind out of his sails and got him to thinking she was 
not telling him the whole truth... :laughing::laughing:




I apologised and told him I realized that she was very 
ill and just not feeling well and she could take it out on me all she wanted....

*but we were willing to go 25 miles out in a snow storm if they wanted me to......*



He said he would get back to me and the basement was fine at this point

*I hope he grows a backbone* and calls the electrician today.....:yes::yes:


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## 422 plumber (Jul 31, 2008)

If that pump is not on a dedicated circuit, it's not your fault. Case closed.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

greenscoutII said:


> Seriously, this type of situation is a shining example of why I prefer new construction to service work.


I have found the exact oposite to be true. I can just tell I HO to get bent. A gc who has yet to cut you a check has you by the balls though.


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

Stop. Do not go back out. You are just digging yourself in deaper with sue happy customers.


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## greenscoutII (Aug 27, 2008)

Protech said:


> I have found the exact oposite to be true. I can just tell I HO to get bent. A gc who has yet to cut you a check has you by the balls though.


Very good point. Particularly if you are the shop owner. If you are the journeyman however, it's a little different.:laughing:


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## Protech (Sep 22, 2008)

greenscoutII said:


> Very good point. Particularly if you are the shop owner. If you are the journeyman however, it's a little different.:laughing:


Can't argue with ya there.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*I wont go back*



Protech said:


> Stop. Do not go back out. You are just digging yourself in deaper with sue happy customers.


 
I would rather give them back their money if the pump was bad, and if their is no damage.... its no big deal either way......they just dont have the common sense to plug the pump in somewhere else

they have been warned about their troubles and they are adults....
so if they go downstairs tomorrow and find a foot of water,,, its their problem....

I just dont want to have a complaint on 
Angies list from them or on my Google listings
or hear from the BBB about how "insensitive" and "hurtful" 
I was to the lady..




having a complaint to argue over would put me on the war path.....:laughing::laughing::furious:


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*angies list complaint*

had a customer today tell me that I had a complaint 
on Angies list......

yes it was these LOVELY people...... they made up a totally bogus lie and claimed I would not come out to their home to work on their problem on Sunday morning in a blizzard.....

so now the fun begins..:yes::yes:

I shot off a letter to angies last night.... the original work we did was back in june of last year....installed a sump pump..at 1 in the morning. emergency call

the reason I was called on Jan 6 of this year was because *they did not have power* in their home during a major blizzard.....:blink::blink:

now does this make any sense:blink:

now considering I am not liscensed to do ELECTRICAL work, and I told them they needed an electrician to check out what their short could be...and no money or work was done at this time to remedy their electrical problem.. so their is really no reason to post a complaint except for spite.

actually I attempted to give them free advice in an attempt to help them out of troubles
but they were too stubborn to listen to me......

. 

I am interested in seeing how ANGIE handles this spite complaint.....



I guess its all my fault for not agreeing with the wife and her assessment of her problems in the home and then asking to talk to the husband.

this is my punishment:laughing::laughing::yes:



.


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## drs (Jun 17, 2011)

You have to "Train" customers. If ANY of my customers raise their voice or DO NOT listen to my advice, they are no longer my customer. At that point any company becomes either the punching bag or the person their lawyer is looking to sue.


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## smudge (Jan 19, 2010)

what a f-ing joke! A complaint on Angies list who cares, most of the customers you get from Angies list are tight asses and looking for something for nothing. Angies list is b.s. any way because you pay for premium spots. I'll bet in a couple of years everybody and there brother wil have a complaint on the internet and it wont mean shoit. Just keep doing the right thing for people and word of mouth work will come in.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

smudge said:


> what a f-ing joke! A complaint on Angies list who cares, most of the customers you get from Angies list are tight asses and looking for something for nothing. Angies list is b.s. any way because you pay for premium spots. I'll bet in a couple of years everybody and there brother wil have a complaint on the internet and it wont mean shoit. Just keep doing the right thing for people and word of mouth work will come in.


Yeah, it really doesn't matter. You cannot make everyone happy. I had a customer chew me out because a general contractor filled up a P-trap with drywall and nails and such when he demoed the shower and now the shower won't drain. The general blamed me for not "checking" the plumbing. I told them both that I didn't put the stuff in the trap, and I'm not responsible for damage incurred by his employees. 

Let this guy complain to whoever he wants. 99% of my customers are by word of mouth or repeat customers. The majority of my customers trust what I have to say about their plumbing as gospel. I treat people fairly and do the best work I can every time. 

I know it sucks, they say that it takes about 10 happy customers to offset an unhappy one. Some people just don't get it though, if you're fair and do a good job there will always be work for you.


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## OldSchool (Jan 30, 2010)

I guess you must be a member of angies list... if that is the case you give people the right to post crap....

Not being a member you can force them to take it down.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

*its already blown over*

it dont matter, Angies list called me today and
basically told me anyone can say anything they want
to ..... something about free speech.....

being that nothing took place, and no money was exchanged, 
no services rendered at the time of the complaint so it does not
affect to my super service award standing..

it just chaps my ass a little to have to deal with issues like this

I have rarely worked for nut cases, the do come along on occasion,
but usually when it happens I dont get along well with them. at all..


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

smudge said:


> what a f-ing joke! A complaint on Angies list who cares, most of the customers you get from Angies list are tight asses and looking for something for nothing. Angies list is b.s. any way because you pay for premium spots. I'll bet in a couple of years everybody and there brother wil have a complaint on the internet and it wont mean shoit. Just keep doing the right thing for people and word of mouth work will come in.


 I find Angie's List to be useful for checking out new GC's.

I turned down a good size remodel last year after reading a GC's negative reviews. I'm not exactly sure what the issue is, but a year later the roof is still tarped off and the scaffolding is still up on the job I turned down.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

RW Plumbing said:


> ...they say that it takes about 10 happy customers to offset an unhappy one....


I think if there were a way to really verify the ripple effect of a disgruntled customer, we would find that number to be shockingly higher. :sad:


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

plbgbiz said:


> I think if there were a way to really verify the ripple effect of a disgruntled customer, we would find that number to be shockingly higher. :sad:


 
It depends on how unhappy they are. If they thought the price was a little high or, your work wasn't the best they probably wouldn't make too many problems for you. Like in this case. If you screwed them out of thousands of dollars or ruined their home, you would be in far worse shape. There's a builder around here that screwed up some guys basement and refused to fix it in a brand new house, He build a cap on his truck out of plywood that says so and so builders ruined my home and he drives around with that all day.

He has done that for years, talk about bad advertising. I also heard of another builder that screwed some people and they all got together and rented the land directly across the street from the guys shop and put a billboard up saying that contractor is a criminal and such. That contractor can't bring people to his showroom in his shop now. I believe that sign put him out of business.

I have never had a customer that upset with my business to go through that kind of bad PR. I won't take it on the chin either though, I run this business to make money. I strive to satisfy every customer 100% but I won't lose money on stuff that I have no control over either. Some people are just unreasonable, the trick is even if you leave a customer less than impressed, don't leave them with an axe to grind.


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## Piloto3524 (Jul 14, 2011)

*Get 'em*

Way to go!



Master Mark said:


> called them this morning to get the address and the husband starts to yell at me right off the bat.....
> 
> I finally calmed him down ........but I realize that he is probably about as dense as the wife claimed he was....
> 
> ...


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Piloto3524 said:


> Way to go!


Have we met? :whistling2:

http://www.plumbingzone.com/f3/why-post-intro-11368/


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

I got a call to go check on a leaking toilet the angle stob was bad the toilet rocked and it needed a new tank to bowl kit wils I was ther the* also asked for me to check the g.d wich they neede a new o btw this was for a insurence company after two hours on the fon tr*in/ to get approed they denied said the home owner needed to pay me his dedqctable of75 go to find out the next plumber they send they would hav to pay them to so I told them that wa#nt right no charge and left well the plumber that got ther totally left a bad impression on h.o and they didn't. Want him so then I get a call bach from insurence comp asking me to go baok I said well u gonna have to pay #or three aditonal hours and they like y that's not fair and bnah blah. I said its not fair I sbent two hours on the fon and a hours dri-e and u gonna compensate me for I scheduled to do it tomorrow lol goes to show u first impressien is every thing


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## Airgap (Dec 18, 2008)

revenge said:


> I got a call to go check on a leaking toilet the angle stob was bad the toilet rocked and it needed a new tank to bowl kit wils I was ther the* also asked for me to check the g.d wich they neede a new o btw this was for a insurence company after two hours on the fon tr*in/ to get approed they denied said the home owner needed to pay me his dedqctable of75 go to find out the next plumber they send they would hav to pay them to so I told them that wa#nt right no charge and left well the plumber that got ther totally left a bad impression on h.o and they didn't. Want him so then I get a call bach from insurence comp asking me to go baok I said well u gonna have to pay #or three aditonal hours and they like y that's not fair and bnah blah. I said its not fair I sbent two hours on the fon and a hours dri-e and u gonna compensate me for I scheduled to do it tomorrow lol goes to show u first impressien is every thing


I feel like I'm learning a new language.....:laughing:


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

Next is spanish air gap then french the german thanchinnese then korein


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

Regarding Angie's List, if you respond in a professional manner, it speaks volumes. Most intelligent people can tell when an idiot is complaining. The ones who can't, you don't want them anyway.


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## SlickRick (Sep 3, 2009)

I have 2 ratings on Angies list, both being "A's". Both price reviews were "B's". I wonder how much I could charge and still get at least a "C" ?


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## sikxsevn (Jun 23, 2009)

Engrish!


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## Phat Cat (Apr 1, 2009)

SlickRick said:


> I have 2 ratings on Angies list, both being "A's". Both price reviews were "B's". I wonder how much I could charge and still get at least a "C" ?


I have a hunch that you are competitive in pricing. Makes you wonder what your price would have to be to earn an 'A.'

Personally I don't like being reviewed on price, because the average person is clueless as to what the service/materials should cost.


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## Widdershins (Feb 5, 2011)

PlumbCrazy said:


> I have a hunch that you are competitive in pricing. Makes you wonder what your price would have to be to earn an 'A.'
> 
> Personally I don't like being reviewed on price, because the average person is clueless as to what the service/materials should cost.


 I spent $800.00 having one of the valve covers on one of my vans replaced yesterday.

It's a few ounces of stamped steel.

Yeah, I went a little batshiot when I got the bill.


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## revenge (Jun 30, 2011)

on my work truck i kept telling the boss that something was wrong with the breaks he never payed a tention one day i tried to stop and kept goin good thing i was going thirty didnt hit no one break job 2300 tow truck 175 look on bosses face after the bill price less :thumbup: btw we drive big isuzu box trucks kind of like ups


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