problem customer calling me back to repair something under warranty

[huggytree]

my worst customer of the year that sent me a hate letter in the mail after the job was done is now asking me to come back and do a possible repair on my work. I give a 1 year warranty and he's under the 1 year

he had a rotten sewer pipe where his sewer left the house. in order to repair it I had to dig up outside his house and run a new pvc pipe into the house. I completed the job in record time and he tried to renegotiate with me after the job was done (it was a bid job/ Not T&M)....I told him since I could not charge extra if the job took extra time that I would not discount if the job went well......he was obviously angry with me, but paid me

then he sent me a long letter saying im a con man and how I must be laughing at him for how much money I made....it was a very odd letter and the person has some conspiracy issues....he thinks I planned it all out to screw him.....I wrote him back with the facts

so now he's getting sewage in his sump pump.....odds are it IS my fault...something shifted and the rubber boot may have come off underground

I can tell if I made a mistake just by removing the cleanout cap and looking down the pipe...so I don't have to dig it up if it isn't my mistake

I asked him to look down the pipe first

my wife says I should just ignore him....blow him off.....his letter scared her....she had worries this guy would come to our house it was so odd/aggressive

I have decided if he talks to me abusively I will walk off the job....I will warn him about this ahead of time.....tell him to treat me with respect or im gone

should I give this guy his money back? let him hire someone else? or should I go fix it?

its $875 if I give him his $$ back....and most likely would take me 1 hour to fix....im also considering hiring a helper to do the work...this way there's 2 of us, so he wont kill me or swear at me

[Freelancier]

Even if your client is not professional about the relationship, you must act like a professional always.

The question is: if this were your pipe and you had someone else fix it, what would you want from them? My guess is: to come fix it! So you do that.

You don't give money back unless you failed to complete the job. You completed the job, something in the environment changed and now your work isn't satisfactory. So you go fix it. No need to warn him ahead of time. Give him a chance to act reasonably and if he fails to do that, give him a single warning and be done with him if he goes over the line a second time.

[billbenson]

I kind of agree with freelancier an kinda don't. He's either a bully or doesn't like you for some reason. Either way you need to make sure it gets fixed right away. I'd be more tempted to tell him to find the plumber of his choice and you pay that plumber.

[VUUmarketing]

Be professional but stern. Tell a small lie, if you have to, to suggest that he calm down.

"I'm a sensitive guy and I'm offended by the way you talk to me. Do you want this pipe fixed today or would you like me to come by later? The earliest I can do it is Thursday, 4 days from now."

I've learned the hard way - people like this are unhappy with their lives and the only sense of security they get is to make you feel worse than them. Don't give in!

Also, once you break and show the least bit of unprofessionalism he's going to pounce on it and blow it up to epic proportions, completely disregarding his own dooshness.

You're ALWAYS the bad guy - even if you do everything right. The best thing is honor your commitment and once that's done, blacklist him for life.

[cbscreative]

Be professional but stern. Tell a small lie, if you have to

I take exception to this in principle alone. To use professional and lie in this manner is not professional at all. Your suggestion about how to handle the situation is good, but I suspect my reaction to your choice of words would have others thinking the same thing I was. There's a perception out there that marketers are all liars. I'm afraid you just helped reinforce that even though I'm pretty sure that was not your intention. It's probably the structure of your post too. When you start out with "be professional" and "tell a lie" it just sets the wrong tone.

Back on topic, the suggestion to honor the commitment and then blacklist him for life would be a good choice. Also, bill's option to pay for the plumber of his choice might help huggy maintain sanity.

[huggytree]

I pulled his letter out of his job folder and read it again.....its very offensive....im shocked he would even call me or want to see me again.....he really hates me....he talks about how I will be judged some day by God.........

he was unable to open the cleanout cover today....so im going to just show up in 2 days at 7am to open it up and look...I will know instantly if its my problem or not...it will take 5 minutes

if its not my problem I will show him and tell him to call someone else to figure out whats going on.....if it IS my fault or issue I will dig it up and fix it on the spot....should take 1 hour

better to lose 1 hour than pay back $875....since I don't know if ill need a digger or not I will just show up alone...hopefully he doesn't take me prisoner in his basement..

[billbenson]

You are doing the right thing Huggy. The only change I'd make is I would eat a bunch of beans the night before and keep farting when the guy is near you :)

[Wozcreative]

You know what? If he's such a nut, why don't you go in with a recording device. Any problems you should have the convo recorded for anything in the future.

But honestly, what I would do in your situation, given the letter (which isn't something that he accidentally said to you.. this was a pre planned written letter to you)... I'd actually tell him that you are were offended with the letter and you do not wish to be contacted. If there is any threats, you can tell him you still have the copy and can take it over to the authorities.

Your safety and well being is more important. Anyone who uses religion to spite someone is a nut and they can use that as a reason to harm you.

I know everyones saying to do the "right" thing.. as a business man, yes.. but as a human being.. no. You have the right to say no.

[huggytree]

I got an email back from him tonight

he opened up the cleanout and looked down the pipe and saw no broken pipe issues.

but then he complained about the pipes not perfectly aligning....he said its 1/8"to 1/4" off....I wrote him back that the pipes will never perfectly align since its a flexible rubber coupling holding them together

I can now see the next thing coming....he is going to want me to dig it up and make sure the 2 pipes align perfectly.....which I wont do....I could most likely dig it up 4x and not have things align perfectly....or settle over winter.....for all I know he compacted the dirt over it after I left...who knows......if I open the cover and see no TP or Poop stuck from the pipes being misaligned I will say its acceptable....and that's where its going to start(him yelling)

I told him its most likely a problem somewhere else and to get a guy with a camera

I set up an appointment to come look next week (now he's going on vacation this week).....I will most likely not even talk with him.....after I look I will ignore whatever he says and just walk out of the house.....

my fingers are crossed that God will some day judge me as a better person than him for getting involved in this situation and acting like a professional....maybe ill write him a hate letter in return saying God is on my side, not his!



I may be locked in his basement next week......just like pulp fiction....I will be in a cage with a leather mask...my new name will be the gimp

[Fulcrum]

If you are worried about your safety or a he said/she said type of argument, bring a friend.

[Freelancier]

bring a friend

Didn't you hire someone for this, huggy?

[cbscreative]

maybe ill write him a hate letter in return saying God is on my side, not his!

I hope you're kidding. As tempting as that might be, don't even come close to his level.

Although the guy could be a religious nut, statements like his don't necessarily involve religion. Maybe you have other evidence to suggest he is religious, but anyone can play the God card whether they believe in him or not. It's been my observation that fear of judgment is used as a tactic by those without a conscience against those who have one. In that case, God may very well be on your side but the other party could care less.

Although this thread has been entertaining, I will reemphasize I that hope your statements are more in jest. If you have expectations of the worst, you tend to get less than the best. The expression, "Expect the best but prepare for the worst," may seem pretty close to the former, but the difference between the two perspectives is significant. To draw from the very thing this guy sought to use against you, "Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good."

[billbenson]

In all honesty Huggy, I think going back there is going to create an ongoing problem. Let him hire someone else and pay them and call it a day. $875 isn't that much money to loose for the possible grief it could cause you.

[huggytree]

got 3 emails from him today...2 were normal....1 was off the wall bad....saying i owe him 4 hours labor still and how i did a poor job

i just wrote him a check for $875.....i emailed him and told him at the end of my short email 'please do not contact me again'

i lost sleep a few days from his original hate letter....and ive been thinking about this for 3 days now....this will most likely be my 3rd poor sleep night

he will find out that my original price was a bargain....and that my repair was correct......i think he's in for thousands to dig up and redo some of his septic system.....

its just not worth it

he's a nut

[huggytree]

Didn't you hire someone for this, huggy?


i still haven't hired...the union process takes time....i cant get an employee until im approved from them....and due to a miscommunication i missed the last meeting....and i think there is no meeting this Dec.....so i will be waiting 3 months just to get approved....im not hiring now until Feb March

work has slowed down too, so im not in a hurry again...my back has improved and im hoping my workout routine will help future issues

[Steve B]

Sorry I'm just now getting caught up with this thread. I like the solution you came up with - hopefully, he'll go away and leave you alone now.

[gregcooper420]

This is a tricky one, some people are crazy and you never know. If he was swearing at you, in the letter and came off disrespectful, I wouldn't go back there, I would hire someone and make them do the work and find out who is at fault.

[Wozcreative]

Sorry I'm just now getting caught up with this thread. I like the solution you came up with - hopefully, he'll go away and leave you alone now.


I agree, the solution is probably the best. No more headache. People like this are difficult to work with and sometimes it's better not to lose sanity in the long run.

[Harold Mansfield]

I think you handled it correctly for your situation. Some people are just miserable, paranoid assh*les and live to make everyone else miserable. Sometimes its easier to just get rid of them.
Not just for your sanity, but because they end up costing you money trying to constantly appease them and they'll still never be happy and always complain about the price.

They do this on purpose to all vendors and service providers. These types are never happy and are always bitching that someone is screwing them over. They're always trying to screw someone out of their rate, always want more than they pay for, probably don't tip waiters much ( after running them ragged), and most vendors and service providers probably hate to see them coming.

In this case, you admit that it was under warranty so the guy probably had a legitimate concern, but the language and verbal abuse is out of line.

[Freelancier]

Keep all the letters and paperwork on this. I can envision him trying to continue to harm your business by suing you over returning his money instead of just fixing the problem.

[billbenson]

Keep all the letters and paperwork on this. I can envision him trying to continue to harm your business by suing you over returning his money instead of just fixing the problem.

You know it's crazy that you need to worry about stuff. When you are dealing with consumers like Huggy you probably get a lot more of these types of issues.

[huggytree]

Keep all the letters and paperwork on this. I can envision him trying to continue to harm your business by suing you over returning his money instead of just fixing the problem.

I think im 99% safe on this one....its what he wanted......he doesn't want to deal with me either....he hates me....

I decided to do it because

1. he hates me
2. I found out he is an engineer which explains a lot...he's got it in his head how my job should be done with no real world experience(this was the biggest factor)
3. he was giving me technical info about what was happening and then the next day saying the opposite thing was happening
4. he was bringing up NEW issues with my original job...saying things I told him I was going to do, but didn't..the job was very simple and straight forward...in his head its complicated....he wants me to do it the complex way, while I want to do it the smart way....
5. he started in on his last email about me owing him 4 hours of labor...he wasn't going to be happy with anything short of me digging it back up whether it was my fault or not

I think he's going to be in for a shocker when the new bids are more than what I charged......I think when they come to bid he will complain about my work and most wont give him a bid....they will see he's a problem customer.......when your nitpicking about something being off by 1/8" out of alignment when its connected with a flexible rubber coupling its time for me to skip the job.....I actually didn't think about it much today(until now)

by tomorrow it will be forgotten

I deal with 300-400 people a year.....most are referrals(this one was).....you gotta get 1 nut out of 400.....this year its been 2

I don't think I learned anything from this situation......I just need to accept that these things will happen 1 or 2 x a year....

funny thing is all the bad customers ive had are pretty equal.....none were better or worse than others.....an *sshole is always an *sshole...there don't seem to be higher or lower levels of them for my business

[Harold Mansfield]

That pretty much sums it up. I can't work with people who know more about the web and web design than I do, even though they haven't read anything new since 2005 and have never actually applied any of it successfully.

The minute I hear, "I do web design and can do it myself, I just don't have time to do it", I'm outta there. I already know what kind of client this will be ( unless it's an agency that just needs more manpower).

[billbenson]

I think im 99% safe on this one....its what he wanted......he doesn't want to deal with me either....he hates me....

I decided to do it because

1. he hates me

I found this motivational tidbit amusing


The minute I hear, "I do web design and can do it myself, I just don't have time to do it", I'm outta there. I already know what kind of client this will be ( unless it's an agency that just needs more manpower).

Ahh, but what if I was your client? I would come to you with a fair amount of knowledge including there are many aspects of web design that I'm lousy at. I would want you to use the site I wrote as a boilerplate. I would have a semi educated opinion on some things; some good ideas; some bad ideas. I would listen and think about all of your suggestions.