- Original Poster
- #1
Hello,
We are a small start up and we supply inflatable products, marquees, awnings..
In April, after many discussions, a customer went ahead with a custom order which was made to his measurements and design.
2 months in the making, he finally got it but he was out of the country so his girlfriend and gardener set it up.
There were a few issues which seemed to stem from a power cut so pump stopped and just general confusion by the girlfriend on how to set up the pump to perform the inflation.
Got past all of that by taking after hours calls and text messages.
Later, it seemed that a puncture appeared, possibly due to over pressure, so within a few days, wanting to keep the customer happy, I made a site visit with a co-worker which was a 4 hour journey there to repair the puncture and make sure all is good and I’d do out of courtesy. Fix the puncture and a hooking point which was over stretched and came off. All signs of being over inflated.
I made sure everything was set right correctly and that there were no issues for peace of mind. I took pictures, the buyer was there and I showed him how it works and chatted, all was fine and he was happy, he just wanted to leave it up to get confidence in it and ensure everything was ok. One issue which was noted, was that the unit was only tied with 1 rope, to a fence. Our instructions state that the unit should be secured using all the rope points and tied at 45 degree angles etc etc (there are multiple tie points, all around and this is something that is down to the users to do, we are not an installation service)
Typically, the next day, there was a storm and 45mph winds..
I receive a message from the buyer with a screenshot from his CCTV, showing the unit flat and blown over away from the location it was when we set it up. “Hope it’s not damaged”
“it was up a tree”, “think there are rips” were some of the messages.
My Replies were along the lines of, “you really need it tied down”
Then things would go quiet, until again, I’d get a message, “had a quick look and think there is damage. Hope pumps ok, not sure I want to use it”
again, I would suggest securing it down and all would be fine, see the instructions but here is a photo of what the instructions say.
Then I’d get another message, “ Hi mate. Had a look at the thing properly now. The actual ties you supplied have snapped so despite what it was tethered to the outcome would have been the same unfortunately.
I’m in a bit of a predicament as while I understand that with things inside there’s no way it would have taken off I can’t always guarantee there’ll be things in it.
So my issue is I’m a couple of grand down for something that essential I cannot use for the purpose I intended to from the offset“
I replied with a hefty reply saying it needs to be tied down, we have many out there and no issues etc etc etc. refer to the manual, it will be fine and I’m confident of that”
Few days later, I get an email from PayPal saying a case has been opened, a chargeback by the buyers card company, for defective / not as described product.
My account is not on hold until case closed. Which in the mean time, will screw my business as I use PayPal to pay suppliers and take payment. So god knows what I will do.
Now, I’m here to ask for advice. The product was bespoke for this buyer, custom made to his measurements and specification, he has failed to follow instructions and I believe made no attempt to try and use the product since it originally failed, some of the text messages seem to just be a statement, perhaps hoping I travel back up there to erect it for him and sort it. There has been no request for refund or ask for anything. So I was shocked by the case open email.
Due to not being tied, I feel the product has been neglected. I saw the product in its position at the customers premises, it was perfect, we did full testing on it, talked customer through it. I have pictures and video, even of the single rope being tied incorrectly.
My thoughts are that he just doesn’t want it anymore.
This is giving me anxiety as it’s hard for me to resell and it already lost us money and then a day out for 2 of us to visit. I know there was nothing wrong with it, it was simply not tied and 45mph winds did what you would expect to something that is inflatable.
So I have text messages, pictures, video.
Am I going to end up having to refund and lose out here?
Thanks
Bill
We are a small start up and we supply inflatable products, marquees, awnings..
In April, after many discussions, a customer went ahead with a custom order which was made to his measurements and design.
2 months in the making, he finally got it but he was out of the country so his girlfriend and gardener set it up.
There were a few issues which seemed to stem from a power cut so pump stopped and just general confusion by the girlfriend on how to set up the pump to perform the inflation.
Got past all of that by taking after hours calls and text messages.
Later, it seemed that a puncture appeared, possibly due to over pressure, so within a few days, wanting to keep the customer happy, I made a site visit with a co-worker which was a 4 hour journey there to repair the puncture and make sure all is good and I’d do out of courtesy. Fix the puncture and a hooking point which was over stretched and came off. All signs of being over inflated.
I made sure everything was set right correctly and that there were no issues for peace of mind. I took pictures, the buyer was there and I showed him how it works and chatted, all was fine and he was happy, he just wanted to leave it up to get confidence in it and ensure everything was ok. One issue which was noted, was that the unit was only tied with 1 rope, to a fence. Our instructions state that the unit should be secured using all the rope points and tied at 45 degree angles etc etc (there are multiple tie points, all around and this is something that is down to the users to do, we are not an installation service)
Typically, the next day, there was a storm and 45mph winds..
I receive a message from the buyer with a screenshot from his CCTV, showing the unit flat and blown over away from the location it was when we set it up. “Hope it’s not damaged”
“it was up a tree”, “think there are rips” were some of the messages.
My Replies were along the lines of, “you really need it tied down”
Then things would go quiet, until again, I’d get a message, “had a quick look and think there is damage. Hope pumps ok, not sure I want to use it”
again, I would suggest securing it down and all would be fine, see the instructions but here is a photo of what the instructions say.
Then I’d get another message, “ Hi mate. Had a look at the thing properly now. The actual ties you supplied have snapped so despite what it was tethered to the outcome would have been the same unfortunately.
I’m in a bit of a predicament as while I understand that with things inside there’s no way it would have taken off I can’t always guarantee there’ll be things in it.
So my issue is I’m a couple of grand down for something that essential I cannot use for the purpose I intended to from the offset“
I replied with a hefty reply saying it needs to be tied down, we have many out there and no issues etc etc etc. refer to the manual, it will be fine and I’m confident of that”
Few days later, I get an email from PayPal saying a case has been opened, a chargeback by the buyers card company, for defective / not as described product.
My account is not on hold until case closed. Which in the mean time, will screw my business as I use PayPal to pay suppliers and take payment. So god knows what I will do.
Now, I’m here to ask for advice. The product was bespoke for this buyer, custom made to his measurements and specification, he has failed to follow instructions and I believe made no attempt to try and use the product since it originally failed, some of the text messages seem to just be a statement, perhaps hoping I travel back up there to erect it for him and sort it. There has been no request for refund or ask for anything. So I was shocked by the case open email.
Due to not being tied, I feel the product has been neglected. I saw the product in its position at the customers premises, it was perfect, we did full testing on it, talked customer through it. I have pictures and video, even of the single rope being tied incorrectly.
My thoughts are that he just doesn’t want it anymore.
This is giving me anxiety as it’s hard for me to resell and it already lost us money and then a day out for 2 of us to visit. I know there was nothing wrong with it, it was simply not tied and 45mph winds did what you would expect to something that is inflatable.
So I have text messages, pictures, video.
Am I going to end up having to refund and lose out here?
Thanks
Bill
