When is too much too much 5

[tulum]

Hello,

Very basic question; When is it ok to retaliate to a jab one of your biggest customer makes towards you?

Basically, I was questioning the way he wanted a portion of a circuit connected (I emailed him directly). He replied via email (copying all his companies big wigs) basically answering my question but adding a jab to the likes of "there is probably a manufacturers manual on the web if I wanted to educate myself on the subject"!

And straight from the begining he had drawn it wrong on his initial drawing, but corrected himself in the reply email (without mention of this fact of course).

I replied back to his email thanking him for the clarification and told him that I would insure the circuit was designed as per the below email and assume that his initial drawings were incorrectly draw and superseded by the below email.


I took a whole lot of flack for this. I guess I went to far...Live and learn.

What would you have done?

Regards,
TULUM

 

[corus]

You made a mistake in only writing back to him. You should have written back to him and to all of the names he'd cc'd into his email and including your own manager. Once emails start flying then continue to use them. If you later use the phone then you have no redress to any future flack that may occur. Your manager should have dealt with the situation and told the customer not to be so aggressive. Unfortunately appearing aggressive is easy to do with emails and I'll be glad when alongside the 'Send' button they also include a 'Wait I've had second thoughts' button.

corus

 

[jmw]

If you're quick you can use the "Recall email" feature.

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[TheBlacksmith]

Basically concur with bioengr82, being sure to click the "Reply to All" button, but then I am one of the original "Rebel without a clue" bunch. One of my character flaws, which I am loathe to correct at 52, is a limited tolerance for stupidity, including my own.

Blacksmith

 

[planedr]

E-mail wars are not typically productive and the tone of the e-mail is reflected bad on BOTH parties. He's an idiot period. His bosses probably recognize it as well, though doubtful they will ever recognize his error nor care. Save the e-mail and the drawing error reference, in case you are ever questioned and walk away.

I know I did not do it enough(walk away)nor do I still do it enough. I try though.

 

[trainguy]

You should always count to ten before hitting the send button...

 

[Beggar]

To me, it's a simple trade-off:

Your pride vs. potential for pissing off a customer.

To me, pride's a fickle thing and not something to be pandered to at the expense of my well-being nor my company's.

I'm certainly paid enough to keep my big mouth shut (or typing fingers still).

What I've done many times: Type out the response and delight in my witticism. Then, after the urge has passed, delete it.

You can never go wrong by taking the high road.

FWIW, I've been pissy with vendors a time or two, taking full advantage of my customer status (not proud of it, just being honest). I've noticed when they didn't take the bait and my esteem for them has increased significantly as has my willingness to seek them out for new jobs.

--------------------
Bring back the HP-15

http://www.hp15c.org

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[Heckler]

A

for Beggar. I've always tried to take the high road whenever faced with a situation like this. Their are plenty of these "angry" people in this world and I would prefer not to join there ranks by playing into their little "pissy" game.

 

[UmeshMathur]

tulum:

As an older practitioner, I must say that this is not a new issue. The code of ethics for professional engineers shows the way to handle this type of situation: in general, it is unprofessional and unacceptable to allow an egregious error to go uncorrected, especially if the result might cause harm to the public health or welfare (defined in the broadest possible terms).

In the event of a clear error by the customer or client, you are NOT absolved of the responsibility to speak up in a way that is designed to correct the error. Diplomacy and tact are wonderful things; it is amazing how a well-composed response can both disarm an aggressive person while at the same time reinforcing your own professional credentials. The key is to depersonalize the issue and address it in terms of what is best for public health or safety. If the other side behaves unprofessionally, it is quite proper to take exception.

If the issue is purely economic (acquiescing to the customer's demands will cause you harm), this too can be handled by a straightforward recitation of the technical and/or economic facts. Here again, the key is to raise the discussion to a level where the problem is presented as one ultimately affecting both parties: should the error not be corrected now and is discovered only after the fact, won't his organization have a beef with your organization's professionalism? On this aspect, you should also seek your management's agreement in advance.

Reminding a customer that a sub-optimal or imperfect design choice should not go forward is an essential component of all engineering practice. The client organization is generally composed of many individuals who would likely take up the cudgels on your behalf, provided you confine your reponse to an appropriate, professional, and technically defensible level. Calling a meeting or video conference to discuss the matter and following up with minutes of the meeting would be one way to ensure a proper resolution. Also, you are obligated to ensure that all who have been copied in prior correspondence are notified as to how the issue was finally resolved.

 

[cabUK]

I have not been in exactly the same sitution as you and i dont know if this will help.

We have manufactured parts to drawings for customers and sent them for product approval. Somtimes they come back saying a feature is out of specification yet when we look at the drawing we are within spec.

On these occasions we scan their drawing and send it back to them informing them we have worked to the drawing they sent and that can they confirm this is the latest drawing they are working to. We are very polite and never copy their top guys as not to upset them but we copy our manager so he is aware of the situation.

We are very polite and we try to word it so that it does not sound like we are blaming their designer. As of of yet we have not had any issues arising from doing this.

Craig

 

[RDK]

Rule #1 the client is always right.

Rile #2 when the client is wrong, see rule #1

It is never OK to take a jab at the client. Doing so was unprofessional at best and simply shows that you have a thin skin.

If the client takes a jab at you, with or without provocation, never retaliate. Let it slide but make sure that your bosses know what happened.

The client could be attempting to portray your firm in a bad light to justify giving all your business to his brother-in-law’s firm and you just played into his hand. By letting your bosses know what is going on they can deal with it at a senior executive to senior executive level and eliminate any damage to your firm

Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com