Looking for some feedback on this situation. Sold a spec house in Sep. 01 Homeowner calls me in Dec. 01 says that furnace has quit working. I send out my hvac guy, he finds the furnace filter completely plugged up with dirt. Changes filter and reignites furnace free of charge. Jan.02 another call, “furnace isn’t working properly- high gas bills and gas fireplace is drafty” After much investigation the “drafty” fireplace is traced to the glass door not being sealed properly because homeowner took door off to”check out ” the logs and never reinstalled the door properly. Problem solved, but still getting complaints about improper sizing of furnace. (Homeowner has called in another hvac guy) My guy comes out again checks everything out a o.k.
Long story short – homeowner came from a custom home with 97% nat. gas furnace to spec house with 80% l.p. and a bigger house. He wants a higher eff. furnace free of charge because he paid “top dollar” for this house. We have had our hvac guy to the house at least three times, once with the Bryant rep and found no problems.Hvac guy even offered a higher eff. furnace installed at his cost (he showed me his figures) and they said no. I put in 3-4 ” of insulation extra for them free of charge to make them happy.
I don’t hear from the people for about a year and they call me back two weeks before my 18 mo. warranty is up complaining about their heating bills and threatening to put a complaint in to the state licensing agency about my failure to correct their problem. By the way, I contacted 8 different hvac guys and 6 of them told me the furnace installed should be adequate for this home. The guy the owner talked to said he needed a bigger unit, so I brought the guy a print of the house and he bid me a unit almost identical to what is there now. After I brought this to his attention he said that the house looked bigger when he was in it than it did on the print.
I think I’ve done all I’m legally and ethically responsible for and I’m ticked that these people want something for nothing and can put a mark on my business with the state. I pride myself in customer satisfaction. I just wanted to vent here and maybe get some input.
Edited 3/8/2003 12:19:09 AM ET by SCAMPERNATRA
Replies
>> ... he said that the house looked bigger when he was in it than it did on the print.
LOL! I'm not sure you need our help. It doesn't sound like there's any grass growing under you.
>> ... threatening to put a complaint in to the state licensing agency ...
Does the agency investigate complaints before they take any action? Are the complaints available to prospective customers? Is the _number_ of complaints about you available to prospective customers? Do you get to file an answer to customer complaints?
I wouldn't worry about it. I haven't had to confront the issue, either as a builder or a customer, but I have run into a similar kind of thing with the feedback rating system on eBay. If an eBay seller has more than 1% negative feedback, I can usually read the comments and see a pattern. For instance, it just doesn't seem likely that all of his customers' uninsured purchases got lost in the mail, when other sellers have shipped 10 times as many packages and never had any go astray. If his negative feedbacks are well under 1%, I assume that they're completely made up, or they're from buyers with unrealistic expectations, and ignore them.
Some things just don't happen in ones. If you see a roach on the wall at a restaurant, you don't say, "Oh, look. There's the roach." You say, "Let's get out of here. This place is infested." If you've had a clean record for years, and then suddenly get one complaint, I think any reasonable person looking at your record will conclude that the complaint is a fake roach, intended to extort a free meal out of you.
I'm not sure how the complaint thing works, although I will check it out. I'm not even concerned really about any action being taken - I' m just offended like I was when I had materials stolen off the jobsite at this same house. I think this guy is just angry at himself for not looking into the price of propane before he bought the house but he's trying to take it out on me.
Yeah, it's tough when a perfect record gets broken. It's like the first dent on a new car.
It's commonly called "buyer's remorse".
I agree with Pita. Document everything. The person with the best paper trail often wins.
If you have insurance for such things, call your insurance company immediately. They will sometimes direct you of how to deal with the situation from the beginning.
I once sold an "as is" house to a woman in a small town for $30K and she was really mad because she had to spend $1k to get everything set up like she wanted it. She grunped a lot, but got over it and was decent about it later.
Best of luck!Average Joe says:
I'll wait here while YOU go wrestle the wild alligator.
Seems to me that a spec house would be what it is when the guy bought it. It came with an 80% LP furnace, he paid for a house with an 80% LP furnace. Tough nuggies if his bills are higher than he expected, I think his expectations were too high (or would that be too low, LOL) You built a quality house. Basically had the system size validated by several other firms. Done about all you could do including more insul. His heating habits may be unrealistic as well. Offer the guy a stamp for the letter, and maybe an envelope, you did more than could be expected short of subsidizing his fuel bills.
Mind if I call you "Scamp"?
I'm not a contractor, just a DIY. But if I might offer you some advice: Get written copies of the 6 HVAC guys' opinions that the furnace is sized properly. Send these, along with a nice letter (maybe from your attorney) stating that the warranty issue of the furnace has been explored and determined to be unfounded - but put it nicer than that. Send all this by return receipt. Then, when/if he complains to the state board, if they provide an arena for you to dispute the claim, you will have documentation to show your side, and the return receipt can be the proof that he received it.
I'd say don't sweat him too much; he's just trying to get a free lunch.
If everything seems to be going well, you've obviously overlooked something.
Since this heating season is almost over, you might do a little research on LP purchases for him.
I found that if I purchase LP off season and purchase several tank refills, I get a lower price. Each of the suppliers I talked to had several package plans they offered. I looked over a lot of them and then proposed my own plan to the supplier with the best referances and reputation. We both got a good deal. They got about $1200.00 of my money up front, and it now looks like I have got two heating seasons of LP at last summers prices.
If your customer wasn't smart enough to learn about the energy cost of his new home, maybe by giving him some free education, you can reduce the b!tch!ng.
Dave
Scamp - Pita hit almost exactly what I do in prep for this kind of thing. One of the things my business has gotten me is warranty work for builders, and keeping track of things on paper matters a great deal if/when there's a dispute. Granted, they're rare events, but around here, those 6 HVAC guys in court would have more weight than the he said / she said game of you vs. the HO.
When I get an issue that's non-warranty, a note goes to the HO stating this and why. It's pretty straightforward, and most accept the idea of standard trade practices and what constitutes quality workmanship. Then you get the people that want the LR painted because they see a nail pop or screw divot. Sorry. Kind of like trolls, don't feed them. Hate to say it, but even the steps you went through to be a nice guy and reinforce your credibility to them is just artillery. They got that much out of you, it's incentive for more. You've set a precedent that whining gets results. Make a call and stick to it. " Who's that trip-trapping across my bridge?" - Troll in the Three Billygoats Gruff
Scamp,
While it doesn't really take "all kinds" to make the world go around……they're here nonetheless.
Had some well-healed clients years ago for whom I was doing a total kitchen make-over. Design was settled on, SWAG was given……….plus or minus 20% because of the unforeseen/unknown. They are agreeable with price and so I begin building cabinets and countertop.
Eventually, they leave for a three-week tour of Europe and toss me the keys. When they return, they are ecstatic. Praise abounds, UNTIL……..I hand over the bill. Wife goes friggin' ballistic. Why? Because I missed the SWAG by 1%! Please recall, I gave them a plus or minus 20%.
Since I kept and gave them a very detailed list of materials, the wife has me pointing out and counting the brass screws used while she keeps count on a clipboard! I refuse to budge on price. Husband feels so guilty over her inappropriate display and is so pleased that two days later he shows up on my doorstep and hands me an extra $500 in cash for the nice job.
About a year later, I find myself standing in line at the checkout of a local store with said wife right in front of me. We exchange small talk and I watch as she lays a $5 on the counter to pay for her goods. Once it's in the till and her change is counted back, she starts on the checkout girl claiming that she handed her a $20! Yes, she's at it again/yet. The store manager is summoned. I deftly take my leave to another checkout and then head for the door. Glancing over my shoulder, I can see and hear them still going at it.
I agree with some of these other responses. Don't feed the bears, as you'll only encourage them to come back for more. Next time, you might lose a hand.
PS. - Everybody wants lower heating bills. Nothing new there. I think the last thing I'd do for him is to inform him about contracting his LP to get a lower price.
Edited 3/9/2003 10:17:44 AM ET by GOLDHILLER