I scuffed a customers wheels, what is the right thing to do?

[GWN7]

If you broke all of them (and only if it was your fault) you would owe him a new ones.

Take them to a bodyshop/wheel detail place and have them fixed.

If he's not happy, that's when you tell him to pound sand.

If he comes back charge him 1.5 times your current rate for the a$$hat agravation.

Place I get my wheels mounted has a sign "While we will do our best to ensure no damage is caused by mounting your tires on your rims sometimes things happen and we are not responceable for any damage."

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Buy a new set of wheels...Once he's gone, clean off the new set and return them for a refund.

I would NEVER resort to such a despicably low tactic! ()

I'd have his wheels repaired while you wait for new ones you order to arrive. When you have all four wheels in your possession, shine them all up (and I'm assuming that the repaired wheels will be indistinguishable from new new) call the customer in and apologize that your 16 yr old shop monkey stacked them side by side and you don't know which is which. Let him choose, then return the wheels he rejects. If they're truly indistinguishable from new, where's the foul if any or all that you return aren't new ones? If it'll help you sleep better, have one of your guys shuffle the wheels to, uhh...temper your lil' white lie.

If he wants them mounted, apologize again that you don't have the equipment to do so without damaging them again.

[Steve Carlton]

What a douchebag that would have you cough up $1,000 over something so trivial. I get the feeling from what you wrote he may even expect to keep his old wheels. He sounds like a prick and would have a problem with having the wheels buffed out or repainted, before or after. This is what I would do:

- offer a $200 (or $300) discount on the tires, mounting, and balancing.
- or replace his wheels, keep his old ones to resell, dismount the tires and let him buy them or return them, to be mounted/balanced elsewhere.
- be done with him.

[masraum]

If you think you can get them fixed so they look good as new, do that.

If not, buy him new wheels, keep/sell the other wheels, and stop serving him.

[jdlowery]

Repair or replace the wheel(s) if you are responsible for the damage. No matter how small the damage may seem to you it may be huge to someone else.

I'm also anal when it comes to my things and I would want the wheels returned to me in new condition. Yeah, I know, some of us are a little screwed up and it makes it awfully difficult to find shops we trust. What I've learned over the years is that not everyone will use the same level of care as I would. When I drop off a car or motorcycle at a shop for service my only hope is that if something does go wrong that they own up to their mistake and take responsibility and we can amicably come to a solution. It seems that you've accepted responsibility and that's great.

If you no longer want this person as a customer that's your prerogative. But, let me ask you this question. If this person paid on time and picked up his items promptly but was still very anal about his things and the work that you perform would you still consider asking him not to return?

[drcoastline]

What they all said.

[BGCarrera32]

Replace the wheels, keep the damaged set, politely send him somewhere else for the mounting. Your time is too valuable to screw around with it any further beyond that. Next thing you'll do is send the wheels out for repair, 3 of the 4 will be perfect and the 4th will be goofy, then you'll send that one back and he'll be pissed again...just pay it and move on.

[enzo1]

In your opinion, how hard will it be for him to find someone that can mount the tire without scratching it. Seems to me it will not be an easy thing to do or at very least he will be taking a chance for it to happen again with someone else, just saying u don't seem like a duffuss that doesn't care like a lot of people and u were honest., goes a long ways with me as a customer

[89911]

Hello in Pittsburgh. Live and learn. It would help if you have a disclaimer waiver that the person signs in advance. If you ever read the fine print when you drop off your car at a dealer, you would be amazed at what you have agreed to. I know for a fact that large wheels and small profile tires are a ***** to change. I am friends with the gang at C&G and I trust them with my wheels but see how hard it is to do them. Next time, get something in writing stating that you will not be responsible for minor scratching or cosmetic damage and have them sign it. Of course you will do your best job, but somethings are out of your control. If they don't like taking a small risk, have them go elsewhere. If this would of happened in this case, the guy would still leave and the slight cosmetic damage done, but he would have no recourse.

[Macroni]

If you scratched them and do not have a disclosure limiting your responsibility well then you, IMO, are responsible. It sucks, but it comes with the ownership territory. I would see the cost and quality of repair and consult with customer on if it is an alternative he is willing to use as a solution. Will your business insurance cover it? I would call your broker...

[jyl]

Get the wheels back, plus a copy of his receipt for the wheels. Take good photos of the scuffs. Have the wheels repaired. The former scuff must be undetectable, and take photographs (good ones) to prove it. Return the repaired wheels and dismounted tires to him, plus a refund for your mounting work, and tell him not to come back. Don't engage in a debate about whether the scuff has been adequately repaired, compensating him for his inconvenience, or other crap. If the scuffs cannot be repaired, return the tires to him and reimburse him his cost for the wheels plus your mounting fee, and tell him not to come back. Whatever you do, (1) don't spend more than another hour on this, (2) don't re-mount his tires or do any further work for him - or for his boss.

[Scuba Steve]

Were the wheels really $1,000 to begin with?

[EarlyPorsche]

My advice (not legal advice, but still friendly advice from me to you) :

Don't do anything. It sounds like what you did would pass the standards of a reasonable man. You are not required to fulfill the standards of an unreasonable man. Let him know that you cannot afford to buy brand new wheels every time a customer see's a nick. If he says to use your insurance, let him know that the insurance matter is between you and your insurance and you have to use your professional judgment on when to call them. Remind him that anybody doing the work would do the same thing and then next set are likely to have the same or worse occur. Finally, offer to give him a referral to another tech. You have to manage his expectations. You sound like a really nice guy and he won't find that in the auto business so he'll be (1) back; and (2) happy to accept little scratches on lug areas after he experiences what other techs in the industry do.

[notfarnow]

Originally Posted by jyl

Get the wheels back, plus a copy of his receipt for the wheels. Take good photos of the scuffs. Have the wheels repaired. The former scuff must be undetectable, and take photographs (good ones) to prove it. Return the repaired wheels and dismounted tires to him, plus a refund for your mounting work, and tell him not to come back. Don't engage in a debate about whether the scuff has been adequately repaired, compensating him for his inconvenience, or other crap. If the scuffs cannot be repaired, return the tires to him and reimburse him his cost for the wheels plus your mounting fee, and tell him not to come back. Whatever you do, (1) don't spend more than another hour on this, (2) don't re-mount his tires or do any further work for him - or for his boss.

Many have made the same point, but this is the best summary. Key being to not lose a lot of time to this. Find a solution that will work, do it, and drop him.

I was given this piece of business advice last year: Every year, you need to fire your worst 2 customers. Use your time and energy to provide excellent servcice to your BEST clients.


Example: I had a buyer client last year who chewed up at least 2hrs a week, and he was NEVER happy. Always complained, and I found myself jumping through hoops trying to satisfy him. In the new year, when he called me I explained that I thought he would be better off dealing with someone else in our office. He was pissed, and called me a few times but I ignored his calls and would send him an email referring him to another agent. He got the point eventually. Anyway, I committed to taking that 2hrs a week to call previous HAPPY clients and just touch base to see how they were doing. I got significant business from that this year, because it kept me top of mind and they sent business my way.

In business, the squeaky wheel often needs to COME OFF

[David]

Originally Posted by notfarnow

In business, the squeaky wheel often needs to COME OFF

That's one of the best lines I've heard in long time, although it's probably because I'm usually the squeaky wheel

[Rick Lee]

In my job we're forced to fire our worst customers. If they don't spend $XX in one year with us, they get transferred away from an account manager and are then handled by a call center. I'll always take their calls if it's someone I used to work with. But besides customers with a low annual spend, I'm free to transfer out anyone I don't like and either let someone else handle them or send them to the call center. It's a pretty firm rule that a customer's level of difficulty is inversely proportional to how much money they spend with me. I don't have time to spend hours and hours defending small revenue against a competitor to client who always has low spend and whines about every nickel of it. My biggest customer is big enough that I'd lose my job if I lost them. But they are very low maint. and easy to please.

[slow&rusty]

FastFred - I have been in the same situation several times. Two of those situations worth mentioning:

1) With my 930 I had HRE make a custom set of 3-piece 17" wheels, cost per wheel was $1500, so not cheap wheels by any means. I had to have a new tire mounted on the front wheel and took the wheel and tire off the car and dropped it to the most reputable wheel shop in town that has the best equipment and customer service and deal with high end wheels. (Similar to your customer) I know the owner and his son very well and spent a decent of $$ at their shop over th years. Well when I went to pick-up the wheel, the polished lip was scratched and the wheel was dirty from the goop that you apply on the inside of the tire to mount it and it had run and dried on the wheel spokes. I was NOT happy about the scratches and the general appearance of the wheels and mentioned it to the owner's son. He was VERY apologetic and took care of it right away and he grabbed one of his head installers and they both dropped what they were doing and sat there for an hour polishing the lip by hand to get the scratches out and made sure it was perfect. They promised that if they could not make it "perfect" they would send the wheel back to HRE or to a well known wheel re-finisher to make sure I was satisfied.

See Below:


2) With my Datsun Z, I was in a group buy with 20 other Datsun Z owners for a custom set of 17" wheels (the old Datsun Z has silly offsets and an old bolt hole pattern) and the only way to get modern wheels is to have them custom made. These wheels were much cheaper than the HRE but still pricey. I was friendly with the Manager of my local Discount Tire and gave them the task of mounting the tires. One of the wheels got scuffed on their machine. The Manager of Discount was cool and they man'd up and admitting they screwed up. What they did was give me the tires for free, this is what they offered, not a request I made. They knew the wheels were custom made and I had mentioned that I had waited 6+ months for them to made. I took their offer and appreciated it. Again I have spent alot of $$$ at Discount over the years (well over $10K in tires and wheels) and to keep me a happy customer, they were willing to provide great customer service.

See below:


In both cases, I did not demand new wheels and it is important to be reasonable, honest and fair. Which you have done, so do not feel like you have to be taken advantage of. Dealing with the public can be challenging and stressful and if your customer is being unreasonable stand your ground be professional.

Good luck - Yasin