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Installed a sign, but is faulty. Who pays what???
Hi all.
I ordered a sign for a customer a few days ago, which they picked up from my supplier on route & fitted it today.
On getting down from the tower after installing it, they looked up to notice the text has been put on the tray off centre by over 100mm & looks silly.
Obviously the sign needs to be re-made & re-fitted, but who pays?
Sign was wrapped up on collection & kept wrapped until at the top of the tower, so that’s why it wasn’t picked up on, especially when working at height up close.
Trouble is, it’s all wired in now & the sparky is off site & the client refuses to go without a sign at all & the old one is in the skip.
Would it be unreasonable to demand that the supplier makes up a new tray, takes it to site, re-fit the letters off the old tray onto the new tray correctly & wire it up?
I stress that I have had no part in this except supplying the artwork which has been confirmed as being OK & text centred.
Thoughts? Likely outcome? Similar experiences?
Ta!
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17 Replies
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Gwaredd, my own personal view is that it should have been inspected when it was collected by your customer. Think you are asking a bit much for the supplier to now pay the cost of the re-installation of the sign because nobody noticed earlier there had been an error but I’m sure others will have a different view.
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Did the customer sign a deliver/collection note. That could be deciding factor. If they signed to say it was fine when the collected it, then it’s on the clients hands.
Can the lettering be removed & replaced in situ?
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Your screwed either way but you should only be up for replacing the sign if you didn’t charge for fitting etc. The client isn’t obviously happy and you don’t blame them. Your supplier has let you down and unless your a big customer of theirs I doubt they are going to do a hell of a lot. You need to decide if your reputation or the customer is worth going the extra mile for and taking it out of your pocket.
Lesson learned do quality control on all outsourced work before it hits the client.
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I’m taking no payment for this job & deliberately left myself out of the loop in case anything went wrong. All I did was recommended the supplier & provide the artwork.
I agree that my customer should have checked the sign before install & it’s the only thing my supplier can use as a trump card, but at the end of the day, it’s a major manufacturing error. It’d be a bit like us fitting a sign upside-down!
Too many complications with this job, such as distance, H&S on site means my customer can’t remove the site & the sparky has gone. Also the permit for the tower on the pavement runs out in 2 hours & the client refuses to be without an unlit sign as his business is open.
If this costs my customer work, then it could cost me & I’m helpless sitting behind my desk 100’s of miles away! 😕
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Thats a sticky situation then. Who actually made the order with your supplier? You or your customer?
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Technically me, but they paid direct & signed it off.
As far as the client knows though, I don’t exist. I’m just trying to sort it because I don’t want to lose my customer!
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OK, an update. Supplier has agreed to re-make the sign tray & when it’s ready, travel to site, remove the letters & re-fit them to the new tray, install & re-wire all in the same day.
Can’t ask for a better service than that & am well chuffed. It’s not how a company cocks up, it’s how they put it right that sets the best apart from the rest.
Cheers all.
G.
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Hi
Agreed, we all c0ck up sometimes, its how we deal with it that sorts out good firms and the cowboys.
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I think you need to name the supplier if that’s how they follow up after an error. They are obviously putting themselves out.
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Was going to say the same thing pete.
Its good to see suppliers still make the effort. I am visiting one of mine tomorrow as they don’t give samples. So going to their head office to look at their products.
Glad you got things sorted.
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I’m still in a dilemma whether to name or not, as in their eyes it might be best not to.
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Maybe ask them. We as professionals know mistakes happen.
Its good to see your supplier has reacted quickly and professionally too.
It’s good publicity and will build confidence in other customers.
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definately name them – its positive advertising for them
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I had an incident but it was suppliers fault, they used the wrong glue (or were sent the wrong glue from their supplier) on some stand off flat cut letters, about a year later the letters started to fall off the locators. Supplier owned up straight away and sent their own team out with new letters and re-fit the entire job without hesitation.
That company was Fabricut and was the only problem I’ve ever had with them.
Cheers
Warren
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Personally I think you should name them as well, they are doing far more for you than they are really obliged to do. Your customer should have inspected the sign on collection from the supplier. so really all they should have had to do is just remake the sign & swap letters over.
For them to agree to travel to site, replace and rewire is going above and beyond the call of duty :lol1: :lol1: -
If you cannot name them then please send them an email thanking them, you wouldn’t believe those few and far between messages of praise lift the spirits.
Nigel
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In fairness to my customer, they do hundreds of pubs & have teams of fitters. Even if the fitter had have inspected the sign, he in all fairness wouldn’t have even had a copy of the design, so he wouldn’t know what to expect. His job was to pick the sign up, check for damage, travel to site & fit.
It was the client that spotted the error.
Anyhow, I will gladly name the company when it’s all sorted. Many a slip and all that!
Cheers all.
G
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