DIRTFT Redux

DIRTFT (dirt foot) - Do It Right The First Time

So this is a follow up on my last post - the one about the woman who had a balky home control system because the original installer tried to save her some money.

I fixed her issues by rearranging her equipment to make the best use of the available resources. Its now working fine but at what cost?

1) My charges to repair it added another 10% to the total cost of the system.
2) Some of the features that were originally promised had to be abandoned.
3) The original installer is despised by both the client and the builder that brought them together.
4) The original installer spent all of his profits in unpaid service trying in vain to make it work.
5) The reputation of the equipment manufacturer and our industry in general suffered.
6) The original installer lost two sources of referrals for new work.

All because of a failed attempt by the installer to 'help' with a low price.

There is a saying that no good deed goes left unpunished and while its a cliche and not always true, it does bring up the risks of putting yourself 'out there' to help someone. Doing good is not without risks but the rewards are great precisely because so few people ever go out of their way to truly try and help. BUT, when you do try to help, you have to do it right.

In the end, its not the price of a product that makes someone happy, its their satisfaction with how it works. Deliver a great product to begin with and then 'put yourself out there' by taking an interest in the client's well being AFTER the sale. If something is not right, make it right - with no questions asked and without charge.

Its so rare that a company (or individual) goes the extra mile after the 'sale' that such care will be remembered far longer than any discount up front.

The moral? Stand by your employers, employees, family and friends even AFTER they have 'paid' you. Your uncommon fortitude will not be soon forgotten...