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| I told the salon-manager to redeem her blown pump for a new one under the manufacturers warranty. It was then that Zack, of technical support, finally returned my call. Of course, he said we blew the pump. He said it was not his problem. But he said he'd replace it anyway. Our new pump was already in the mail. He admonished our salon-manager for having unauthorized work done, within the warranty period. Some companies void a warranty when this is done. I mused out loud that local building-codes probably require our offending ball valve to stay where it is. Zack agreed that some localities require it. I talked about how the pressure-switch on my tired-old-pump protects it. I confided that my pump is not priming right. And I talked about what I do to get around that. I lamented having fruitlessly lowered the pump-body. Inlet air-leaks concerned me until I found that the air is introduced with the cleaning of the strainer. I hinted that the OEM pumps may one-day be smitten by the same fate. I recomended ejector-pumping; with which, the strainer might be omitted; and to neutralize the priming-riddle. Zack seemed resistant so I mentioned my motto: external adjustment shouldn't damage internal components. Zack asked to hear more about my pressure switch, and ejector pumping. I got him all checked out. He took notes and thanked me. |
| The new pump (now en route) has no pressure switch. Zack says he sent it out before we talked. We will see what he does now. I offered to represent his firm, here in Alaska. He says there is only one unit here. I guess that makes me the de-facto rep.. And let us play the Devil's Advocate for a moment: let us consider what would have happened if we'd gone with Zack's plan. The pump was in the mail on day-1. This is day-13; still, no pump. My client needed results on day-1. They were turning away patrons, in their off season. Zack claimed he could have "talked" my client through her problem. I disagree. I felt like a contortionist while removing the dud. It was hot, sticky, and smelly in there. I was wallowing in wires, hoses, and chemical carbuoys; which entangled me. These weren't equipped with strain-relieving ends. I was in constant fear of ripping a hose or wire from its termination. And what if the new pump smoked too? Or what if it wouldn't prime? At the present pace, cycle-time alone appears ruinous, for even one single repair. If repair were attempted by an operator, incidental damage could necessitate an official service call. None of this would make any sense for the owner or the vendor. The tab for such a visit would be astronomical. Meanwhile, a successful marketing-blitz was fast turning into a false-start. Worst of all, my clients were being bullied. Ye Olde "The pump's bad---it's your fault." line isn't aimed at finding a real problem. It set the stage for my clients to be charged---for a full-blown service-call---to Alaska. A thorough fact-finding mission might turn-up product incompatibility with local code. Less rigorous analysis might have ended in an inconsequental code violation. But if simple pump-replacement were done, mysery would surely follow. Product redesign is unlikely at this stage. The next design is already out. Ours' is probably considered comparatively primitive. We wouldn't get a retrofit anyway. I kept prodding Zack, to upgrade the new design. By the end of our conversation, he appeared duely dilligent. The bullying was not Zack's fault. It is embedded in the standardized corporate response. Extenuating circumstances sidestep such treatment. Most folks just can't identify the culprit mechanism, so accountability is nonexistent. My design review turned up flawed thinking at the engineering level. My robust stockroom facilitated the resumption of pumping. Serendipitous was the pump that came with a pressure switch. The protective quality of that switch got relayed back to engineering. My stash of plumbing helped prop-up my old pump. My plight returned pump-life-test-data for engineering consideration. My skill as a communicator was tested. There was some negotiation involved. But of utmost importance: desperation was transferred from the salon-manager to me. When I accepted the job, I preempted a fiasco. It put up a fuss, but I hung in there. The design will be solid soon. And I literally relieved the salon manager. This gives a glimpse of the value that I add. |
| The above case highlights subtleties regarding my billing-philosophy, especially in the area of follow-up field work. I include what I call a "nit-pick" clause. Any time a customer has work done on a unit, they can, within the next thirty days, restart work on the unit for $15. 15-minute blocks of time still cost $15. This lets a customer get the feel for the system before finalizing it. Then they can criticize system behavior, to have it tweaked, as needed. We keep detailing things until everything is right. A key distinction in my thinking appears in the above case: my return-visits were not considered billable. This was because my mortal-combat was fought with my own pump. I could hardly dock a customer for my own bumbling. I prove my work reliable. My provisions fall under the cloak of my responsibility. The only constant is the struggle for supremacy. And that struggle could have gone another way: the customer's unit could have dogged me. I would have still beaten every gag it threw at me. That would have been billable time. My pump made my name mud, but I triumphed in the end. Thankfully, I can now proudly say "I operated the pump." This hard-won victory will go down in the anals, along with the resistor and the wire. |
| My Nit-Pick Policy |
| Cont'd. |