Alarm guys decided they wanted to get into this "whole home theater thing...". So while they were working on the alarm system they just uploaded all my design work from a clients remote. My customer had no problem with me or the service. But suddenly I started getting calls from annoyed customers complaining that there remotes didn't work right. Thing was that I didn't know these people. Found out that alarm boys had tried to just buy the same gear at the distro and hook it up the same. Well they would get an input wrong or use a similar device and it wouldn't work.
Now I have to explain that there is no way I am responsible for any free fixes. "Well it never worked and I am not going to pay you to fix something that was F'ed to begin with!" So basically its my fault the prick stole a copy of my work. Screwed up the implementation of it and then I service it? Worse yet it makes the customer think that we are all a bunch of hacks.
Perfect example was that I was walking a bid with sales and the customer seems to be getting comfortable with us and the proposal. When over walks in his neighbor who is really into his system but "hates the remotes because they suck!" He goes on to tell us how he would have been better off using the 9 remotes that came with the gear... blah blah blah. I ask him what he has and he walks back across the street and comes back with one of my programs. I couldn't F'en believe it! "It wont even turn on the TV." I look at it and ID it as a program that I wrote to work with an Infocus projector. He has a JVC Plasma...
Someone tell me how this is my fault...
But the guy next door made enough of a stink about it that our potential went and bought from the same alarm A-HOLES! BECAUSE THEY WERE CHEAPER!!! Sure they are the CRAP DOESN'T WORK!!!
In the end we got called back into fix the integration. Well in tech get paid the same amount one way or the other. But I am sure my boss was pissed! Which would he rather have... Margin Install Labor and Programming?
Or just a big ass bill from tech as we try to figure out what SPARKY and BEEPY screwed up?
