!RE: Service Call Reimbursement [RE-wrenches]

[Todd Cory, Mt. Shasta Energy Services]

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When I design a system, I specify the products. If I choose to purchase 
components that fail, and the customer ends up having to pay to have me 
replace them during my 1 year blanket warranty period... it makes me 
look bad.

Some are advocating charging a customer (rather than the manufacturer) 
for the labor to replace poorly designed products that fail in the field 
during the first year of service. I don't think so! It is very likely 
that I will simply choose other brands of products rather than eat the 
service call a second time and "look a fool" for installing failure 
prone equipment in the first place.

How about manufacturers consider the payment to us, a beta testing fee? 
That way they can compensate us for bringing "not-ready-for-prime-time" 
products to the market. In a day when people are wary about investing in 
this "new fangled solar stuff", it behooves us too to stand behind our 
work, installers, designers AND manufacturers alike.

Todd




>>
>> Installers should advice their clients the limit and extend of the 
>> warranty
>> and that it doesn't cover the cost of the installers time. They 
>> should be
>> then offered a choice of taking the risk of paying the installers 
>> time if
>> necessary or buying a service agreement. Serivce agreements are very 
>> common
>> in other industries similar to ours and have proven to be profit centers
>> for many businesses.
>>
>> Having said that I'd like to step back and look as some other industries
>> and their examples of service. When I bought an expensive gas stove and
>> lugged it all the way to our darned island only to find it had a non
>> operable burner I was offered a box of parts but no service call. 
>> When my
>> internet satellite dish required re-aiming (due the service providers'
>> changes) I had to pay for the service call, and spend many a long 
>> hour on
>> the phone getting a credit from the provider.
>


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