Pet Peeves with Customers

[Porcupinepuffer]

Anybody ever get customers who go and plays around with the thermostat while you're testing the furnace/ac operation after a new install?
Does it not seem like common sense that if the furnace is running, that perhaps the guys who've been installing the entire system in your house all day long are probably doing tests? And that sneaking up to a newly installed thermostat and shutting it off is extremely annoying without checking with us first?  :bad001:

Or how about the ones who have the habit of constantly locking their front door? I've had way too many that would lock the front door every time I stepped outside. Like as if an intruder was going to come waltzing in their house while two tradesmen are working and rob the joint. We do have pretty big pipe wrenches, no need to lock the door!

[walker]

both of these issue drive me nuts.

I'll be doing just regular maintenance on a furnace and Ill turn it up a few degrees so its stays on while im testing everything and then boom, it shuts down, I go upstairs and its turned down, ask the customer if they changed it "yeah its too warm in here" for fooks sakes Im working on your equipment leave it the hell alone.

the locking the door thing is such a pain in the ass., like i went out to my truck for 2 minutes and the door is locked.  it makes me want to just get in my truck and drive away.

[slo-115]

"Can you come service my furnace" you show up and then "btw the a/c isnt working"

[HRAI GTA Chapter Meeting Manager]

Perhaps just educating the clients .... I will be performing tests that will involve me raising the temperature on the furnace to keep it running while testing.  You may find it uncomfortably warm or cold however it is very important to keep the furnace / unit running.

Just because it is second nature to you it isn't necessarily obvious to everyone of your customers.

Education can resolve a great deal of frustrations for both you and the resident!

[Porcupinepuffer]

You make good points that I'll add to list of information to go over with the customers in advance. It's just there is a lot of situations where I don't want to be overly bothersome with the clients in relation to everything we do as many are hiding far away in the house, are on conference calls, or on Ashley Madison.
Sometimes it seems I can be the annoying one by telling them their smoke detectors are going to go off from brazing, and the noise of banging of tin, etc...

[Admin]

Haha too funny!  I haven't done retail in a long time but clients locking the door or playing with the thermostat always drove me nutz!  Or the guy standing so close behind me I can feel his breathe.  I don't miss retail work.


HRAI has some good points though.