Subscriber Discussion

Who Is Responsible For Last-Minute Customer Design Changes?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•May 18, 2018

An issue came up at a residential job today and I wanted to hear what you have to say about it.

Orignally we did a walkthough with the customer and made a blueprint where his security screens should be. He signed off on the plans. We spoke to the contractor on the phone and told him to have the electrician put an outlet by each screen. The day the job started the the tech doing the wiring did a walkthrough with the customer and he changed the screen location. The customer did not tell this to his sales contact at our company.

Fast forward, the job is completed, but the customer never told the contractor that the screens were moved so no power  was put in by new location for the screen.

The customer says it is out fault and that we should have been on top of the electrician. Our response is that A) You did the change without speaking to your contact in the company, so we did not know to update the contractor and the local wiring tech didnt know that we have to notify the electrician B) This is part of the contractors responsibility for him to do a walkthrough to make sure everything is good. We are not supposed to make sure the electrician did his job.

What do you say?

Thank you

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
•May 18, 2018

What does the written change order specify for your company to do/provide?

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•May 18, 2018
In reply to Undisclosed #2

I guess we may not be properly set up, but the only thing written about this change, was the customer crossing out the screen location on the blueprint and marking on a different location. And he did this with the tech onsite.

On our original quote, there is no mention about us making sure there is power or anything like that.

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
•May 18, 2018
IPVMU Certified

In this case, 'Security Screens' are viewing monitors?

This doesn't need to be ugly, just give the homeowner a price to cover the change to the design, or leave the screens where they were initially signed off to install.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•May 18, 2018
In reply to Brian Rhodes

Yes this is a security screen.

The issue is that the tech made the change based on the customers say so.

Now the house is all finished and painted, so they want us to pay for an electrician to come move the line and pay for painting and spackling.

Avatar
Michael Silva
•May 18, 2018
Silva Consultants

In my opinion, your tech should not have made the customer-requested change in location without clearing it with your salesperson/project manager. Once the change was approved, a written change order document should have been signed by the customer, and written notification of the change should have been distributed to other members of the construction team.

Anytime an original document (work order, proposal, drawing, etc.) is signed and approved by a customer, any subsequent changes also need to be made in writing. 

(3)
UI
Undisclosed Integrator #1
•May 18, 2018
In reply to Michael Silva

I agree, and I had a talk with tech the about that and a company wide email will be going out.

 

The question is, whose responsibility is it now. When I asked the tech about the power, he said, that "I thought that the same way he told me to move it, he would tell the contractor as well).

Avatar
Daniel S-T
•May 18, 2018

While I agree with what Michael Silva said, my personal point of view is that the customer also holds a lot of blame.

Good luck trying to convince them of that though :) Can't exactly blame the customer to their face.

Unless of course you are contracting/paying for the electrical outlets from the get go, then it falls back to your tech. But if the electrical was not in your scope, then that is on the customer. Should have informed their contractor.

But I have found when it comes to changes like that, people know it's not going to be free, so they almost always seem to "forget" about who is contracted by who. Suddenly everyone just works together and changes happen magically.

Avatar
Ari Erenthal
•May 18, 2018
Chesapeake & Midlantic

I think this is on you. 

The tech is your representative at the job site. Either they have the power to make changes to the design on their own authority, or they should require the customer to request changes in writing. But it's not the customer's job to know what your company's specific procedure is for change orders. 

This screw up is the customer's fault but not the customer's problem. 

But, like Brian says, there's no reason this situation has to turn hostile. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that the change order would not have been free if it had gone through the channels. So either charge for a change to the design or charge for a new outlet, whichever is lower. Be prepared to charge a small fee and eat the remaining cost. 

That said, a tech that takes the time to communicate with the customer and make sure that they're happy with the design is a tech that could be a valuable asset to your company if they were a little better trained and experienced. So don't bite their head off either. Just make sure that they know what your procedure is- either get all change orders in writing, or make sure to coordinate all change orders with everybody who needs to know, like the electrician. 

(3)
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