huggytree
04-12-2013, 08:04 AM
2.5 years ago i installed a $5k sump pump system for a house on a river....they had major water issues and wanted to make their basement safe
yesterday they called saying the pumps arent working....i offered to run over ASAP and fix the pumps....they said no when i told them id be charging them
i told them i have a 1 year warranty and my pumps carried a 1.5 year warranty....they argued back that the pumps should have lasted more then 2.5 years
i called MY supplier to discuss the pumps....i was told they were top of the line (which they were)
then i get a call at 9pm last night from the homeowners Father....yelling, accusing.....wouldnt let me talk, just saying over and over how im screwing them....and that their basement 'may' now flood and its my fault....which i argued back that i offered to come and fix them, so it was not my fault.....this customer would not listen to anything and threatened to call the news....
now im waiting for the BBB letter or the next Angies list review.....now things that break 1.5 years after my warranty are also my problem.....i feel like i cant win sometimes
here's a bit of background on these pumps, so if i end up on the news i will be the good guy
1.they chose the pumps(not me)...i gave them a choice of 5 pumps...they chose the model and brand name
2. they chose the controller (what turns the pump on off)..i believe they chose the cheap one
3. the alarm went off and the homeowner admitted he just 'turned it off' instead of calling me immediately
4. both pumps are not working, but 0 chance they died together...odds are 1 died a while back and was ignored by turning the alarm off
5. ive had pumps in continuous use situations that DO only last 1-2 years....something cant run for continuous for 365 days a year for years at a time....it is just possible the pumps wore out from use...the homeowners just call me every other year and spend $700 to replace the pumps w/o blaming me
reasons i dont warranty more than a year--
1. a float could have gone bad causing the pumps to continue running even when the water was gone....this is most likely the cause
2. the homeowner could have played with the float heights (who knows)
3. the pumps could have sucked up rocks from inside the drain tile (50 year old rocks) and jammed the pumps
there's a million reasons the pumps could have went bad....the homeowner only sees 1 reason....i picked a bad pump
i dont even know if the pumps are bad....because the homeowner wouldnt pay me to fix them...im sitting here trusting that he is correct and they are shot.
i offered to supply the new pumps at 'cost' which would save them $200-300......they said nothing short of a free replacement is acceptable
im in a position where i cant win....either i give them $1000 or they report me somewhere......ive had this once before 3 years ago(reported to BBB)....its a situation where you cant win unless you give in and pay
its so hard to handle phone calls like this.....you cant defend yourself....you sit back and let the homeowner rant for 5-10 minutes...repeating all the arguements 30-50x over and over....any response is immediately shot down by them.....it was hard to get him off the phone w/o hanging up on him....i told him to contact the supplier and bring the pumps in for a check.....i had to just repeat and repeat it until he finally snapped out of his rant and took the phone number...for 30 seconds we were having 2 different conversations ignoring what the other was saying....i just kept saying 'call the supplier, heres the #' over and over
yesterday they called saying the pumps arent working....i offered to run over ASAP and fix the pumps....they said no when i told them id be charging them
i told them i have a 1 year warranty and my pumps carried a 1.5 year warranty....they argued back that the pumps should have lasted more then 2.5 years
i called MY supplier to discuss the pumps....i was told they were top of the line (which they were)
then i get a call at 9pm last night from the homeowners Father....yelling, accusing.....wouldnt let me talk, just saying over and over how im screwing them....and that their basement 'may' now flood and its my fault....which i argued back that i offered to come and fix them, so it was not my fault.....this customer would not listen to anything and threatened to call the news....
now im waiting for the BBB letter or the next Angies list review.....now things that break 1.5 years after my warranty are also my problem.....i feel like i cant win sometimes
here's a bit of background on these pumps, so if i end up on the news i will be the good guy
1.they chose the pumps(not me)...i gave them a choice of 5 pumps...they chose the model and brand name
2. they chose the controller (what turns the pump on off)..i believe they chose the cheap one
3. the alarm went off and the homeowner admitted he just 'turned it off' instead of calling me immediately
4. both pumps are not working, but 0 chance they died together...odds are 1 died a while back and was ignored by turning the alarm off
5. ive had pumps in continuous use situations that DO only last 1-2 years....something cant run for continuous for 365 days a year for years at a time....it is just possible the pumps wore out from use...the homeowners just call me every other year and spend $700 to replace the pumps w/o blaming me
reasons i dont warranty more than a year--
1. a float could have gone bad causing the pumps to continue running even when the water was gone....this is most likely the cause
2. the homeowner could have played with the float heights (who knows)
3. the pumps could have sucked up rocks from inside the drain tile (50 year old rocks) and jammed the pumps
there's a million reasons the pumps could have went bad....the homeowner only sees 1 reason....i picked a bad pump
i dont even know if the pumps are bad....because the homeowner wouldnt pay me to fix them...im sitting here trusting that he is correct and they are shot.
i offered to supply the new pumps at 'cost' which would save them $200-300......they said nothing short of a free replacement is acceptable
im in a position where i cant win....either i give them $1000 or they report me somewhere......ive had this once before 3 years ago(reported to BBB)....its a situation where you cant win unless you give in and pay
its so hard to handle phone calls like this.....you cant defend yourself....you sit back and let the homeowner rant for 5-10 minutes...repeating all the arguements 30-50x over and over....any response is immediately shot down by them.....it was hard to get him off the phone w/o hanging up on him....i told him to contact the supplier and bring the pumps in for a check.....i had to just repeat and repeat it until he finally snapped out of his rant and took the phone number...for 30 seconds we were having 2 different conversations ignoring what the other was saying....i just kept saying 'call the supplier, heres the #' over and over