Hey guys, so we had a customer in a few weeks ago, his screen was clearly damaged and the guy admitted to taking apart the screen to look at it, because he didn't want to spend much we offered a screen replacement at £70, i think the screen cost us something like £58 its a 14.1, anyway the guy came back two days later saying the screen wasn't working, turns out it was the motherboard that was at fault, i didn't speak to him at this point one of my business partners did and he offered a free motherboard repair because he said the man was raging on the phone, anyway we sent the motherboard away for repair and it came back unrepairable, so i phone the guy today and told him and said id have to give him a refund, he was gave me the usual, you guys clearly didn't test it after you fixed it and you broke it, after explaining to him we have our own chargers here and we did test it and that it was working fine when we gave him it back, i told him our only option is that we remove the new screen and refund him, he was somehow under the impression that the screen only cost us £40 and he wants to keep the screen and have a refund, so after telling him that wasn't happening he took the £70 back and that he wants his old screen put back in and delivered to his house..... we obviously didn't keep his faulty screen so what would you guys do in this situation?
What would you do?
- Thread starter Haktar
- Start date
K007
Member
- Reaction score
- 0
Yeap, I hope you have learned a lesson from this experience.
What I would do, I would put the cost of the screen to "bad debts", let him keep the existing screen and forget about this incident.
What I would not do, is I would not forget about making sure something like this will never happen again.
I know times are hard, but if you ran a proper diagnostic, you would have found the fault with the motherboard.
It is up to you if you want to charge or not for diagnostics, but computers are not washing machines. They are elusive in their symptoms and when it comes to replacing a part, a full diagnostic must take place for exactly the same reasons you have this problem now.
Edit:
By the way, if I have the smallest doubt (about the quick diagnostic), I call the customer and tell him/her that extensive 24 hours bench diagnostic must be ran in order to exclude any other possibility.
If they don't agree, I "wash my hands of it".
What I would do, I would put the cost of the screen to "bad debts", let him keep the existing screen and forget about this incident.
What I would not do, is I would not forget about making sure something like this will never happen again.
I know times are hard, but if you ran a proper diagnostic, you would have found the fault with the motherboard.
It is up to you if you want to charge or not for diagnostics, but computers are not washing machines. They are elusive in their symptoms and when it comes to replacing a part, a full diagnostic must take place for exactly the same reasons you have this problem now.
Edit:
By the way, if I have the smallest doubt (about the quick diagnostic), I call the customer and tell him/her that extensive 24 hours bench diagnostic must be ran in order to exclude any other possibility.
If they don't agree, I "wash my hands of it".
Last edited:
PcTek9
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 87
- Location
- Mobile, AL
So wait... Because I am confused. You said the screen was clearly damaged and you repaired that... Then the motherboard ALSO had damage? That's just more repair work.
If the screen was clearly damaged, then it needed replacing. Why did it take him 2 days to tear up the motherboard? /me = confused.
If the screen was clearly damaged, then it needed replacing. Why did it take him 2 days to tear up the motherboard? /me = confused.
MrUnknown
New Member
- Reaction score
- 5
I am confused...
Was the screen faulty or was the motherboard faulty OR was the screen and motherboard faulty?
If the screen was faulty, the motherboard is a separate issue and should be billed as such. The fact that it happened around the same time is irrelevant. Refund whatever you wish to keep a happy customer.
If the motherboard was faulty, give him a full refund and include the new screen as you made a mistake and not him. It wouldn't have cost you anything if you didn't throw the screen away immediately (posibly a change of policy in the future for these types of parts).
If both were faulty, it is up to you. I personally would charge for the screen, as it was in fact broken, but refund everything else. The motherboard problem was probably intermittent and could have been missed in your shop, but you still actually missed it.
I have no idea what kind of testing you did, but generally a motherboard issue isn't solved by replacing a screen.
Was the screen faulty or was the motherboard faulty OR was the screen and motherboard faulty?
If the screen was faulty, the motherboard is a separate issue and should be billed as such. The fact that it happened around the same time is irrelevant. Refund whatever you wish to keep a happy customer.
If the motherboard was faulty, give him a full refund and include the new screen as you made a mistake and not him. It wouldn't have cost you anything if you didn't throw the screen away immediately (posibly a change of policy in the future for these types of parts).
If both were faulty, it is up to you. I personally would charge for the screen, as it was in fact broken, but refund everything else. The motherboard problem was probably intermittent and could have been missed in your shop, but you still actually missed it.
I have no idea what kind of testing you did, but generally a motherboard issue isn't solved by replacing a screen.
Cambridge PC Support
Well-Known Member
- Reaction score
- 73
- Location
- Cambridge UK
maybe this kind of situation is something that should be covered by the work order
something like
"...not responsible for subsequent unrelated faults developing before, during or after diagnosis and/or repair of computer"
(not that I have a work order!)
something like
"...not responsible for subsequent unrelated faults developing before, during or after diagnosis and/or repair of computer"
(not that I have a work order!)
Xander
Banned
- Reaction score
- 66
- Location
- Niagara region, Ontario
Sentences: They're a good thing.
Making a post more legible will improve the replies you get.
Making a post more legible will improve the replies you get.
sorry about my op, i was running out the door and i was trying to get something out quick, sorry about the sentences too, bit of a dyslexia issue ill try and make it easier to read.
I should have mentioned that the laptop was working fine when i replaced the screen and gave him it back then he returned a few days later with a different fault and is blaming me for it.
I should have mentioned that the laptop was working fine when i replaced the screen and gave him it back then he returned a few days later with a different fault and is blaming me for it.
Fixedathome.com
Member
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Nottingham, England
Wow, all that hassle for a £12 profit....
Aside from not charging anywhere near enough I would have been dubious about this job to start with by the fact the the customer had already taken the screen apart himself. You have no idea what else he had done/damaged.
Aside from not charging anywhere near enough I would have been dubious about this job to start with by the fact the the customer had already taken the screen apart himself. You have no idea what else he had done/damaged.
edgepcs
New Member
- Reaction score
- 1
- Location
- Bristol, UK
These kinds of customers aren't worth the trouble they cause, he is clearly trying to get something for nothing. If I am making less than £30 on a service I tend to skip it as it is not usually worth the hassle (although I can make exceptions for good customers).
In your current situation I would just swallow the cost of the screen and give him a refund. These kinds of situations are the ones people will tell their friends/family about so you don't want to drag this out longer than necessary or else you may get a bad rep.
And above all else - re-diagnose a customers problem even if they are 100% sure they know the cause. I had a laptop in once which the customer was sure was a HDD issue causing a long POST time. Turned out is was just dirt stuck under a key causing it to hold down the contact.
In your current situation I would just swallow the cost of the screen and give him a refund. These kinds of situations are the ones people will tell their friends/family about so you don't want to drag this out longer than necessary or else you may get a bad rep.
And above all else - re-diagnose a customers problem even if they are 100% sure they know the cause. I had a laptop in once which the customer was sure was a HDD issue causing a long POST time. Turned out is was just dirt stuck under a key causing it to hold down the contact.
Vicenarian
Active Member
- Reaction score
- 19
A good motto I tell my customers:
"If you try to fix it, I wont."
"If you try to fix it, I wont."
haha that's a really good motto Vicenarian, i think a big problem we have is we don't have any terms or conditions up anywhere, i just haven't had any time to sit down and really think a good set out, is there a set in Bryce's Business Kit?
Anyway i do alot of DC Jack and console repair for other computer companies around here so i phoned them up and managed to get a faulty 14.1 screen, i just can't wait to be rid of him at this point.
Anyway i do alot of DC Jack and console repair for other computer companies around here so i phoned them up and managed to get a faulty 14.1 screen, i just can't wait to be rid of him at this point.
