Introduction to the Customer Situation
This is John Dale again from GlobileNet discussing electrical contracting arrangements that we enter into with our customers and the reasons that they call us and the reasons they are generally going to be very happy.
Initial Call from the Customer
First of all, I had a call from Praj. Praj had a problem where an electrician had gone to their property and said that they needed the house rewired like it was a necessity, and that the switchboard needed changing and a number of other things that were obviously going to amount to quite a sum of money. So I arranged to do a consultation with them on-site, and we met with the husband (Praj) and Shreya herself.
First Inspection and Recommendations
Having gone through the property, I’d suggested some preliminary works, basically. One was to remove all the power points and check all the power points, check all the wiring behind them.
Underlying Water Issues in the Property
They had issues downstairs where water was running in under the house into a garage, which was now converted to a gyprock-lined entertainment room. And the problem with that is it was done, I guess, not by a builder, because the water was draining out from the floor into the cavity walls, and that was then giving them problems with their power points and tripping breakers. They’d already identified that there was a water problem, so that wasn’t necessary.
Developing a Remediation Plan
What I had to do was come up with a plan of remediation in relation to the power points. And part of that was to take off all the power points and do an evaluation, and the same for the switchboard, and the earthing, and the safety of the installation in general.
Proposal and Findings
All right, so I put that proposal to them. I don’t remember how much it was now, but we went through that process. Along the way, we found a few extra things, like behind the power points, it was certainly damp, and some power points needed to be changed.
Addressing the Water-Affected Garage
The downstairs area which I talked about, which was the garage, I recommended that they cut the gyprock from about a metre downward, because it had been so water-affected, it wasn’t even holding the power points. And then I moved the power points up the wall to a position where it was dry around that area.
Secondary Proposal with Action Points
And then I presented them with a secondary proposal that also included about 10 action points, basically, which I priced up individually and said, well, take your pick from this list. These are the ones that you must do. These are the ones that you could do. And these are nice to do if you really want to do it.
Customer Acceptance of the Proposal
Anyway, they accepted that proposal. They picked most of those line items, actually. So the secondary stage of this was to go back and lift those power points in the garage to wire and install a new earth rod so that the building installation from the switchboard throughout the building was measuring to Australian standards.
Cost Savings Compared to a Full Rewire
We didn’t need to change any of the wiring, actually. I mean, there was no need to rewire the house. So the client was particularly happy that they didn’t have a $10,000 or $12,000 bill, but rather something like $2,000 or $3,000 in total.
Addressing Safety Concerns and Customer Relief
So from the client’s perspective, they were extremely worried because they were told this installation was unsafe. I don’t disagree with that electrician, by the way. It was unsafe, but particularly in respect to the earthing of the switchboard. So that meant that there was a safety issue there, but it didn’t need the license to change everything in order to make it safe. So they were really worried.
Inspection and Repairs for Peace of Mind
Once I’d been through the process with them and showed them, I took pictures up on the roof. We did a thorough inspection. There were junction boxes or cables loose in the roof. We actually conducted everything that was potentially a safety issue. And they were very, very relaxed afterwards. It’s amazing how people are very worried, and they would be when they, of course, invite somebody into their home. It’s perhaps being a little over-exuberant.
GlobileNet’s Approach to Honest Recommendations
For me, we like to go in and we just like to explain what they could do, but tell them what they need to do as a minimal exercise because it is a lot of money. You don’t want to be ripping your clients off. They need to understand why they’re spending their money and why it’s necessary now.
Final Solution and Data Installations
So the solution after the consultation process was to do all of those things that were ticked off on the list. That included some data lines as well. They wanted some Internet connections extended from the NBN modem. I think the tricky bit in this home was the power points were not very accessible. You had power points around fridges. You have to move a lot of furniture.
Installing and Correcting the Earth Rod
We had to route, somehow or rather, the new earth cable to pick a new location for the earth rod. The old earth rod was there, by the way, for safety, but when I measured it, it wasn’t measuring anything because the place that they put the earth rod had concrete, and they basically knocked the rod in and bent it rather than having the rod seated firmly in the ground.
Customer Satisfaction and Review
Anyway, that was all fixed and the client has been very happy. They’ve done us a great review. If you’d like to know more, give us a call. I am John Dale from GlobileNet, your friendly local electrician. Thank you.
