Complaint and request to see backup data

[RacknRoll]

Our client is concerned about a structural report we did and would like our in-house information such as our checklist and photos. The client feels our report should look like a house-inspection report, but it does not. It looks like an engineering report. They think it therefore isn't a "complete report".

How do you respond to such a request? Do you provide all photos and your in-house checklists?

Thanks!

 

[JoshPlumSE]

Yeah, I see no problem with giving them the pictures. In fact, I would consider it a "best practice" to document the various parts of the engineering investigation that the report is based on. I tend to think that this is the "standard of practice" for most engineering reports.... At least the ones that aren't geared towards a technical client on a very technical subject.

 

[gte447f]

OP, what was the nature of this engagement? Was this a residential structure? You didn't say. You just said the client wanted the report to look like a house-inspection report. If this was for a residential structure, I will assume you were paid relatively little money for this structural assessment, possibly only a few hundred dollars. If so, I have seen many of this type of engineering report, and based on my experience, the standard of care is scarcely more than a couple of paragraphs, often containing multiple typos and no photos. Even so, most home-inspection reports are even less professional than these low quality engineering reports. They are often 50-75 pages of poor quality photos poorly organized into a canned report template and annotated with a combination of ignorant, author-generated comments and comments populated from checklists and drop down menus that may not even be applicable to the subject residence. These home inspection reports are typically quite horrendous, but the general home buying public don't know enough to realize this. The average home buyer is easily mislead by the overwhelming number of photos and brainless checklists into believing they have received a detailed and comprehensive inspection, but it is often an illusion that they have fallen for hook line and sinker.

My point is this, without knowing the specifics of your project and your contractual obligations to your client, I doubt you owe the client any more than you have provided. I certainly wouldn't allow myself to be compared to nor expected to conform to the typical practices of the home inspection trade. And I wouldn't spend more than a few minutes conveying my stance on this situation (professionally and diplomatically, of course) to the client.

If your situation is more involved than this, please let us know.