How would you handle this situation? [RE-wrenches]

[Joel Davidson]

1) The customer chose the inverters and I agreed with his choice.
2) The customer bought the 2nd inverter to expand his PV system. I bought the
2nd inverter from another distributor because the 1st distributor could not give
a delivery date and the 2nd distributor had an inverter in stock.
3) Yesterday, both distributors contacted the manufacturer and we await a
response.

Back to the original question, but this time put yourself in this customer's
place.

You buy an inverter that is specified to deliver 2500 watts. The inverter never
delivers over 2300 watts of power and has other problems that adversely affect
energy production. You visit another site with the same inverter and see the
same under-performance and hear about the same other problems. You substitute
another brand 2500 watt inverter and the 2nd inverter delivers 2500 watts. You
re-test the 1st inverter with 32 each 120 watt PV modules, but it still does not
deliver over 2300 watts. You conclude that the inverter can not perform as
specified. The inverter is under warranty so you call the manufacturer. "They
said they changed the spec and hadn't even publish or put it online yet...when I
mentioned that my unit would never run over 2300 watts (this is when I purposely
feed 32 panels into it to prove the unit wasn't running at spec) they claimed
2500 was "peak" power what ever that means" (customer's exact words).

If I were the manufacturer, this is how I would resolve this situation. Send the
customer return shipping cartons, pay for the shipping and test the inverters.
If the inverters produce 2500 watts, return the inverters to the customer with
the test results. Charge the expense for 2-way shipping and testing to customer
service. If the inverters do not produce 2500 watts, first credit the
distributors who will credit the retailer so the retailer can refund the
customer's money. Next, change the inverter specifications.

What do you all think?

"Bob Maynard, Energy Outfitters" wrote:

> >One year ago, a customer bought 2 line-tie inverters.
> Did he choose the inverters or did you sell him what you thought was right?
>
> >The customer is a knowledgeable engineer and was unhappy with the
> inverters' performance
> >so he got a different brand inverter to compare performance.
> Did he buy the other unit from you on your reccomendation?
>
> >The customer and I are convinced that the 2 inverters he bought have design
> flaws and can not perform to spec.
> What is the manufacturer's viewpoint and policy?
>
> >The customer wants to return the inverters for a full refund. How would you
> >handle this situation?
> Once the first three questions are answered, this question should answer
> itself!
>
> Regards,
> Bob Maynard
> Energy Outfitters
> 800-GO-SOLAR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Joel Davidson [mailto:joeldavidson at earthlink.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 1:13 PM
> To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
> Subject: How would you handle this situation? [RE-wrenches]
>
> One year ago, a customer bought 2 line-tie inverters. The customer is a
> knowledgeable engineer and was unhappy with the inverters' performance
> so he got a different brand inverter to compare performance. The other
> brand performs much better. The customer and I are convinced that the 2
> inverters he bought have design flaws and can not perform to spec. The
> customer wants to return the inverters for a full refund. How would you
> handle this situation?
>
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