Ask the Architect

A problem the electrician caused

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Q. We’re having an electrical problem and need advice. We recently bought our first home and decided to replace old ceiling fans. We moved in at the beginning of March and thought we had plenty of time to replace the fans before the weather got warm. We like fresh air, not central air, unless we really need it. An electrician replaced the fans with remote-control fans we bought for the job. They were working when he left, but in the room we use the most, the fan stopped working.

It took at least six calls to get the electrician to return one, and then he couldn’t give us a specific time, so I stayed home from work to be sure he didn’t show up and leave without doing the work. By phone, he insisted that I wasn’t using the switch or the remote control the right way, and it took about eight more calls to finally get him to come back. He tried the switch, then the remote, then different combinations, and finally took the fan down and saw that he had created a short in the wiring, which I still don’t understand completely. Anyway, he fixed the problem and then said he’d only charge us for part of a service call, not the whole amount. I haven’t paid yet, and wonder why I should, since he was the one who did the job in the first place and caused the problem. It took so much effort just to get him to come back, and I missed a day of work. What would you do?

A. Just what you’re doing, so far. You shouldn’t have to pay to fix a job that shorted out and stopped functioning. You rely on the professional, no matter what service they provide, to do the right job. The fan should have worked anytime you used the switch or the remote control, not just until he left.

It reminds me of a discussion I had recently with a regional manager of a store I’m working on. He told me he manages the chain of several hundred stores, and is surprised at how often cashiers question a person returning an item, even making the customer feel uncomfortable. He told me he instructs the cashiers to just take back the item, no questions asked, explaining that the satisfied customer, according to statistics, either spends the returned money on another item — and even more items that day — or becomes a more frequent customer because of the good service experience. On the other hand, that same customer, again statistically speaking, won’t spend money in that store if they’re unhappy about being scrutinized, and will also be inclined to tell many more people about their experience. The electrician is a service provider who should stand behind his work. It wasn’t a separate service call; it was honoring a warranty.

© 2017 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper, architect.