Trace wish list and Dear Solar Bozo :-) [RE-wrenches]

[Jim Hartley]

allan wrote:
> Jay wrote:
> 2. better reliablility.  I think this is the biggest issue, for me 
> anyway.
> I can get the wires into the box and work around many of the items to be
> fixed, but when it fails with some simple problem that requires a long 
> drive
> to repair that they are not paying for ( unlike a washingmachine company 
> for
> example) its really expensive.
> 
> YES!
>     Maybe this is the most important wish list item of all.  In mature
> industries, qualified/certified installers know that if they use a
> particular name brand of equipment and that equipment fails during 
> warranty,
> the installer will be reimbursed for the service call by the 
> manufacturer.
> How do plumbers choose their brands of water heaters? By the quality of 
> the
> manufacturer's support; not by price or name recognition.  Maytag sends 
> a
> certified Maytag repairman out to fix your washing machine, and pays him 
> for
> the call.  This is standard practice in established industries.
>     Why not our industry? We haven't demanded it yet.  Agreed, it probably
> would only apply to the big ticket items, like inverters, modules, wind
> generators, maybe some batteries, things that can't be easily swapped 
> out,
> or where the value of the product isn't enough to justify a flat rate
> reimbursement.  That's the kind of manufacturer's support that is 
> overdue in
> our young-but-maturing industry.
>     Case in point: Three years ago I installed a Windseeker 503.  It was the
> first to try out their C40 wind-version regulator (the "Battery 
> Optimizer"
> or something).  I went through two sets of blades before being sent a 
> set
> that was equally balanced and didn't cause oscillation.  Sure, I got new
> blade sets sent "at no charge", along with words like "that never 
> happens"
> and "we check every set before it gets shipped" or the like.  But no
> apology, and certainly no recompense for the (at least) three call-backs 
> to
> a remote site necessary to resolve it.  And of course, no solution to 
> the
> controller that was discontinued shortly thereafter...That was the last
> Windseeker or Air we installed, come to think of it...
> 
> Michael, please add to the wish list:
> *Manufacturer's reimbursement plan for (choose one:)
> certified/qualified/licensed service technicians for product warranty
> callbacks.
> 
> Yeah, some people would try to abuse a program like that...just like in 
> any
> industry.  I guess 1/3 of Trace warranty products have nothing found 
> wrong.
> So maybe there's a qualification training, like hydronic manufacturers 
> have.
> (Wouldn't be a bad idea anyway, to deal with the cheapasssolar.coms.)  
> And
> it would sure establish brand loyalty for this solar bozo.
> 
> Allan at Positive Energy

Like I say, "put the question, some might answer."  If you have that 
power in your favor you'll have more customers.  So will the 
manufacturer who offers that to you.  That's the advantage you have over 
some distant discount house.  Who are they going to send out to your 
local customer?  And at what possible cost to them from that distance.  
It will probably never happen.  Any conscientious manufacturer knows 
this.    People like you and the others here represent, in all reality, 
their best hope of maintaining their reputations and much of their end 
user business.  They should be willing to make THIS worth your while.  
And, finally, My Gawd!  Don't ever consider yourself some "Solar Bozo."  
Bozos don't dream, think, work and create.  Nor do they not have a sense 
of business ethics.
Bozos don't have much of a purpose.  You do and that's why it's 
important to influence manufacturers - so they do the same in their own 
best interest if for no other corporate reason.




Jim Hartley
http://www.homestead-specialties.com
Business Email: JamesHartley at homestead-specialties.com
Direct Email: grail at inil.com

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