Welding Machine Repair- Repaired But Ended Up With A Bad Argument With Customer
This customer brought this tiny welding machine for repair. He is a welding technician from out of town; he seems like a nice guy when I first met him but found out later on that he is completely the opposite of a nice guy, a trouble maker, here is the story.
He brought this machine and it was already opened. I checked it for shorted and founded some parts that needed replacement. I contacted the guy about repair cost and he totally agreed to that. I usually record conversations when I am dealing with customers and I usually tell them the call is being recorded and they agree to it.
Based on the agreement between the customer and myself, I proceeded with the repair and when I am done I will call him for pick up.
I found that two of these IGBT’s were shorted out. The part number is 60N60FD1 which is 600 Volts and 60 amps.
As seen, both these IGBT’s were shorted and needed replacement but from experience I know when these parts shorted to ground it shorts out another SMD components along with it.
I found these resistors shorted out and had to be replaced as well. Once I was done with that, I replaced the shorted IGBT’s and tested out the machine, I called the customer to come for pick up. The guy answered the phone but refused to pay the amount we agreed to. I asked him to come over so we can talk about it but he refused for some reason. Instead, he said that he does not want to repair the machine anymore and wanted me to undo anything that was done to the machine.
I did not want to get into more argument so I told him I am willing to do so if you pay me for the time spent on the repair and undoing the entire repair that I have done to this machine, again, he refused.
I was fed up with this guy and told him, the machine is up and running, if he wants it come and pick it up and pay for the repair and if he refused to do that in a month time, I would sell the machine. He did not say anything about that but instead he hung up the phone and a week later a guy came to my shop and wanted to pick up the machine and he paid for it in full.
That was a strange ending to a good repair story but life goes on and we learn along the way.
Mission Accomplished.
This article was prepared for you by Waleed Rishmawi, one of our ‘Master Authors’ and currently working in the Bethlehem area of Palestine repairing electrical and electronic equipment.
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Note: You can check his previous article on A Dead Welding Machine With Shorted Component Repaired. Model: Apex ARC-180
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Anwar Shiekh
November 25, 2022 at 7:46 am
One reason I may never get into the repair business.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:06 pm
Anwar: do not let this discourage you from doing the things you love. we learn how to deal with such customer and we move on. have a blessed day
Parasuraman S
November 25, 2022 at 8:10 am
There are some shameless, self-centered guys like these we have to deal with! What to do! It is a good habit to record voice. I do this often, especially to listen to the complaint reported. Hope the customer will not turn up one day himself and ask for the unit, if he is that bad as reported. I never part with a set unless the person who brought himself comes to pick up, however related they are. There are some guys who are born vindictive and nothing can be done to change it. Many thanks for sharing your experiences, however bitter it was!
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:08 pm
Parasuraman: yes, we neeed to keep a record of what happens between a tech person and the customer. we learn and we move one. have a bleseed day
Albert van Bemmelen
November 25, 2022 at 1:51 pm
I completely agree with Parasuraman's above excellent explanation! In the past I sometimes fixed Commodore C64 computers, and other devices for free although I knew I never would be paid for my repair. Of course that is never a good base for starting a service repair shop. Replacement parts always cost money, even the spare ones at hand.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:11 pm
Albert: we do you fix for free if the customer can afford it. i can understand if the customer can not pay for it but as you said, parts cost money and time spent fxing the stuff also precious... I guess we do what we can to help out. have a blessed day
Luciano
November 25, 2022 at 3:05 pm
Nice repair story with a strange customer reaction! I dont know why people behave this way. They dont appreciate time spent on fault-finding and repair.
Anyway, it was good that he came and paid for the service done.
Thanks for the experience shared Mr. Waleed. Keep it up!
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:13 pm
Luciano: thanks man. we always face people like that in our lives. he was ashamed of himself that he sent somone else to pay for the repair and It might be the case that this guy who was sent to pay for repair he will not get his money back..and will be ripped off since we know what kind of person he really is. have a blessed day
Raj
November 25, 2022 at 4:03 pm
Great learning..thanks for sharing
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:14 pm
Raj: you are most welcome. have a blessed day
Paris Azis
November 25, 2022 at 4:36 pm
Hello Waleed,
The repair departments of the companies I have been working for in the past, just for this reason, had established the “rule” of the minimum cost for the customer, which he had to pay a) in case the product was vandalized by a third person b) in case that the product was more than 15 years old (yes, at that time this was the supporting time limit officially!) and c) in case the PCB was destroyed (burned a hole for example) in such a way that could not be cured in a safe way. In all these cases, the customer already knew in advance that he was obliged to pay for the technician’s time spent on troubleshooting his device.
I had followed the same tactic in my own workshop as well.
Customers need to understand the simple truth (which holds true for themselves of course!) that work without payment is slavery. And the repairs technician is not like the fisherman or the hunter, depending completely on good luck...
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:19 pm
totally agree with that and that ia a very good policy to practice that is why I do not accept certain equipment for repair that was already opended and made on the inside. I open the device while the customer awaits then I decide to take it or not. I always inform the customer that there will be estimate fees in case the price was not agreed upon and if it was not repaired. most of the customer started to accept that but some people still have this kind of mentality that the universed is centured around them sad to say. have a blessed day
Imoudu.O
November 25, 2022 at 6:24 pm
We have to understand there are different people with peculiar characters in thìs world who may get on our nerves.I do collect troubleshooting fee before I accept any appliance.
Thanks for sharing.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Imoudu: totally agree but not many people are willing to pay upfront for repair. I take astimate fees but like you said there are many people who thinks that the universe is centered around them and that is the proplem now aday with such people.
Albert van Bemmelen
November 25, 2022 at 6:37 pm
Nice comparison Paris, never heard that one... And the repairs technician is not like the fisherman or the hunter, depending completely on good luck...
AdamS
November 25, 2022 at 6:49 pm
Another great repair from the 'welder king' but sorry to hear of the hassle you had with this idiot. I hope you've blocked his phone number!
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:23 pm
Adams: thanks man. I appreciate the comment. we always going to face people which this kind of mentality but we learn from it, move on and do the best we can in the field of repair. have a blessed day
Tom Schupbach
November 25, 2022 at 9:46 pm
It's too bad the customer turned into a bad cheater.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:24 pm
Tom: ture but that will never stop me from doimg what I love. have a blessed day.
tino choolun
November 26, 2022 at 1:23 am
hi waleed i totally agree with you i have face same many times
so i decide to fix this message[THE CUSTOMER IS KING BUT THE KING DID PAY WITHOUT NEGOTIATION]
Lawrence Mc Coig
November 26, 2022 at 8:29 am
A cowboy saying of never approach a horse from the rear and there is no good way to approach a fool.
I have been considering that saying lately.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 26, 2022 at 3:25 pm
Tino: LOL. good one. have a blessed day
John Runng
November 27, 2022 at 4:50 am
In my shop I had a lot of problem customers. The way I dealt with it was to charge a $20 deposit, non refundable, in advance. It worked like magic. 90% of the problem people would turn around and walk out. Their problem was eliminated before it started.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 28, 2022 at 8:36 pm
John: that is a good way of losing customers in my home town. thanks for sharing and have a blessed day
Yogesh Panchal
November 27, 2022 at 4:16 pm
Waleed,
You will get 1 out of 10 these type of creepy johnnies.some time equipment working nature is changed while you troubleshooting. most of the times in laptop, i got a laptop for repair for intermittent display problem when you turn on it works for 3 to 4 minutes & it turn off may be because of overheating. in fault finding process i noticed laptop is not turning ON .after fault finding i am on conclusion GPU processor is shorted because surrounding capacitors behave like shorting.now given estimate for motherboard replacement to the customer he denied estimate & he wants his laptop back in previous condition........which is not possible because GPU is burnt because of shorting on the board......Here i got idea from doctors most of time they signing bond with us about the patient that .....we will try our best possible rest is up to the god & any circumstances we are not responsible because after treatment or operation other complications may also occur & also chances are high to lost life of the patient.
Waleed Rishmawi
November 28, 2022 at 8:41 pm
Yogesh: a new process that I started with my customers is I tell them I will do my best to get it up and running but in the process if it did not get fixed, I will have to charge you estimate fees. alot of people appreciatating that fact that we work hard to find the fault but if I find the fault and the part was missing that is a waste of time on my behalf and If I did not get paid for that wasted time, I am doomed. people accepting and other rejecting so that was my scale to work or not to work on any device. have a blessed day
Lynn Blakely
December 3, 2022 at 4:12 am
Waleed:Wow, You got a lot of replies, and comments. I had an occasion years ago I repaired a Sony receiver it worked in the shop. Customer took it home and said it didn't work. I gave him a Tandberg receiver that I had to keep him happy. I don't know what happened to the Sony but i think it may have been hooked up to to many speakers at the same time. I didn't even ask questions. Some times it just better to keep peace rather that try to confront persons that are privileged. I am retired and only do things for friends for free, they pay only for the parts. I recently upgraded a laptop by replacing the hard drive with an SSD. He shipped it to me from North Charolina, to Arkansas, USA.