John,
Now that I agree with that, and have seen the outcome of such situations and without doubt, it is then up to the customer to resolve the problem[s] *or*
*pay* the contractor whatever rate he asks, to do so on their behalf, but to say about "allowing customers" I though was rather patronising.After all, the tradesman is not obliged to fit such stuff - unless under contract to B&Q etc to do so.
Tanner-'op
Fair enough!
So why didn't you say that in your OP rather than imply otherwise?
Common sense returneth Allan.
But I would still ask the question, that as a trademan (and I presume you are qualified as such), knowing that there was severe damage to some of the components, why didn't you check the bath (and any other unopened packages) before contacting B&Q the first time?
To paraphrase Abe Lincoln
You can fool all the cutomers some of the time, and some of the customers all the time, but you cannot fool all the customers all the time (and get away with it) :-)
tanner-'op
My parents have a B&Q bathroom suite in their holiday apartment. I went from Barnsley to Wath to Rotherham and finally to Doncaster B&Qs before my Dad was happy to buy an unscratched and undamaged bath to load into my van. These were not the cheapo baths but he was not prepared for delivery of an unknown bath.
My next door neighbour is having a new bathroom fitted this week (the neighbour on the side that I get on with) The plumber fitting the suite asked for delivery of the suite a week before fitting so that he could check it's condition and not lose work by waiting for any replacements.
Adam
If the customer has a reasonable case, then B&Q pays as they were responsible for the damage - and could be sued.
True, but 'repairing' a crack with silicone one new and (presumably) plastic bath to my mind is not a 'minor defect'.
In the context of the OP - the question was relevant.
Shall I turn over an purr whilst you tickle my tum? Not a cats chance in hell John. LOL
Any repair with silicone on a cracked (presumably) plastic bath is inferior.
That was not stated in the OP - but has since been clarified. And that was the case.
The OP was a 'rant' against B&Q at the expense of very relevant information to the post,
Where's yer crystal ball John?
Tanner-'op
Alan,
I quite agree with the above - with the exeption that if the problem was a B&Q one with defective fittings etc (purchased by the customer), then it would be quite reasonable of you to charge a fee for the rectifications works and I would expect that to be made clear in any written or verbal quotation that you gave (I did when I was involved in such things many years ago).
Which brings me back to the viability of the 'repair' that you did and the acceptance by B&Q of any subsequent claim (if any is made) for defects on the bath at a later date.
Tanner-'op
I fully accept that - and have seen such problems - and this in fact happened to my sister-in-law, who went against the advice that I gave her on an installed kitchen.
She bought the units, appliancess and worktops from four different suppliers and the poor fitters were tearing their hair out by the time they left.
Agreed, and that is the advice that I always give - and apply to myself on such jobs.
Again, I fully agree with yout statement - and many a 'ripped-off' customer
*and * tradesmen for that matter, have failed to do this. Especially on the subject of so-called "extra and unforeseen" works.Tanner-'op
Alan,
I have responded to this elsewhere in this thread.
Tanner-'op
Who mentioned silicone? IIRC, Alan said he effected a repair with epoxy resin - i.e the stuff the bath is basically made from in the first place. No reason to believe the repair would be any weaker than the rest of the bath.
Na, try that with out cat and you would lose your hand! So I am out of cat tickling practice.
Possibly... but again where did you get silicone from?
Twas no need to go calling him "untrustworthy" then was there?
I don't clink when I walk, put it that way.
All of which can be avoided if the tradesman supplies and fits...... Then everybody knows exactly where they are and there is no argument.
They have a holiday apartment in Rotherham?
Smart operator.
Ah! That should have been epoxy - but my reply still stands.
That was just a response to part of his rhetoric against B&Q and the wording of his OP suggested that Alan was 'up to no good'.
That's the problem when posts are made and all the facts are not available unfortunately - and I hate people being taken for a ride, whether they are customers *or* tradesmen - but that's just crusty old me.
You must keep it rather warm then - *and* it must be uncomfortable when walking and sitting. ;-)
Tanner-'op
I agree, as I have said in a post elsewhere in this thread - but you cannot force the customer into that, only advise, along with the fact that the tradesman can refuse to fit such items if he so wishes.
Or if he wishes to do the job, include conditions into his verbal or written quote to the effect that he will only be responsible for the work he does, along with the material he supplies - and will charge extra to resolve problems with any customer supplied materials including time lost because of them.
Tanner-'op
So, let me get this right. A repair made to a polyester resin bath using epoxy resin is inferior? It would be stronger that the f*ck*n bath you fool.
There's the problem. Thinking in terms of 'wages' rather than revenue or more importanly, margin.
Hi Alan
I've had the same sort of trouble with B&Q. Bits missing mainly.
The way I've sorted it is to develop a good relationship with a local independant plumbing supplies/bathroom studio.
They keep a big pile of my business cards. I mention them on my website & advise customers to buy from them. We both get extra business that way.
Being independant & small they really know their stuff & don't sell crap, all the bits are in the box and they have great customer service - I've only ever had one problem with a faulty part (which they couldn't reasonably have spotted) and when I phoned they offered to bring a replacement straight over in a van.
Worth a thought. I also like the idea of saying "OK, buy it from B&Q f you want, but if any parts are missing or damaged I'll have to charge extra to sort things out".
I do see what you are saying, but in this instance Alan would have been without revenue/wages for 2 days and made no margin.
Exactly. The point is that revenue and margin are the metrics for a business, whereas wages are for hourly paid employees.
If one thinks of each job in terms of margin, because that's what runs the business and is tha basis of everything else, then the thinking will extend to finding ways to increase margin on a job where one means has failed (i.e. work not possible because of defective materials. Ofer to fix the problem for the customer but make sure that there is some margin recovery involved - in short charge them for the project management.
OK, lets give it a try;
I asked a simple, understandable question; "You seem to have a problem with the self employed tradesman - where you bitten by one as a child"?
You replied;
"As an apprenticed trademan of some 40 years experience, many of those dealing with the self employed, gerally no - but with some *YES*".
Are you saying you were actually bitten by some trademen or tradesmen? Or 'gerally' bitten? I assume being 'gerally' bitten is worse than being simply bitten?
A prime example of your cheap attempts to miss read posts to support your crap arguments. I've been doing DIY for 30+ years, for myself, friends, neighbours, relatives. I spent 2 months off & on researching the business concept of running a handyman business.
First of all, I didn't imply any such thing, somebody else made that point, once again you haven't read the posts. Secondly I'm not part of any franchise, as I pointed out, but you haven't read that post properly either.
'Mere' is the patronising bit. I run a hugely successful business, more so than you could ever dream of.
So, you are suggesting that a repair to a cosmetic fault, with the clients agreement, using a material far stronger than the material the bath is made of is wrong?
If you were a long standing member of this group, you would have read Albans post from day one & realised who & what he was. Instead you chose to slag everyone off.
Oh a clerk.
Whish part to you not believe? Want to see my books/diary?
Actually that was Voltaire. Your general level of ignorance astounds me.
Clearly you have never learned to think.
I rather think that members of this group will view your posts in general & realise that all you have ever done is slag people off. Try making a positive contribution if you want some credibility. Troll.
Its happened three times, which is rather flattering, albeit annoying. The first guy has changed his site, the second one rang to apologise, we met up for a coffee & are friends, and the last one was in the USA.
Something you will never have to worry about, never having had an original thought.
Yes, I know. I deal with a local plumbers myself mainly. They are not the cheapest, but they are within 5 minutes walk from home, and keep a lot of stuff in stock. We did get a bath suite from them before Christmas at £100 less than Screwfix, so they are not always dearer, and convenience means a lot more to me that a 20% price difference.
I point people toward them if they want things, but it is difficult with some people who think B+Q and Homebase are 'REALLY GOOD'.
This chap I'm working for now needs a Saniflow fitting to conform to Building Regs (the previous owner had fitted an 'en-suite' into the spare bedroom, then ran the water waste directly into the rain water downpipe). Anyway, the local Plumbers want £365 for the unit we require, Screwfix do it at £360, but he trusts Screwfix more "as they deliver next day", so he's getting it from Screwfix, despite my attempts to get him to buy it locally. Alan.
You certainly don't know 'where you are' since he could be marking up the parts over the cost to him. If you pay direct for the suite at least you'll know what he's charging for labour.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.