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View Full Version : The best part of owning your own machining business.....



wsuwrhr
05-16-2007, 11:32 AM
A good longtime custumer calls me up Wednesday last week. Tells me he needs some parts made ASAP, due Friday, Thursday night for me essentially. I was going on a sharkfishing tournament in Dana Point Saturday and needed to get the boat ready Friday.
I was concerned there wasn't enough time to do the parts.
I go over there, he hands me a sketch, ahhhh....no problem, small part, 50 peices, easy job.
I get the material Thursday morning get working on it rightaway.
I drop the parts off first thing in the morning on the way to Dana point.
He calls Monday and says his custumer didn't like the parts, says they were too tall, I said, "Well how tall did he want them?"
3/8.
"The parts ARE 3/8 tall"
..............................
"Oh......yea.....they are supposed to be 3/8 tall aren't they. Let me get back to you."
Well I just got off the phone with him, apparently the ENGINEER wanted them "2/8" TALL. The story goes, the guy who made the sketch thought 2/8 didn't make any sense, so he made it 3/8.
Nice,
Sometimes I get irritated being pushed to do something, just to throw it in the trash. This is one of those times.
I hope they admire double billing.
Brian

MRS FLYIN VEE
05-16-2007, 11:33 AM
:jawdrop: :jawdrop:

KingCole
05-16-2007, 11:35 AM
ahhhhhhhh, the pleasures of owning your own business.

yopengo
05-16-2007, 11:36 AM
I love it when customers screw up and expect you to foot the bill....nope not me. You order custom work from me and you make the mistake....you pay.

Havasu1986
05-16-2007, 11:36 AM
Isn't 2/8" = 1/4":confused:

RiverDave
05-16-2007, 11:38 AM
2/8ths... LOL :D
Pretty "sharp" engineer.
RD

wsuwrhr
05-16-2007, 11:39 AM
Isn't 2/8" = 1/4":confused:
exactly

KingCole
05-16-2007, 11:41 AM
make sure he doesn't want 4/16" :D

Baja Big Dog
05-16-2007, 11:41 AM
Most of in the business love the rework orders when a customer screws up, all the quoting and penny pinching goes down the shitter when they screw up...Cah-Ching!:D

RitcheyRch
05-16-2007, 11:44 AM
Cant imagine saying 2/8" instead of 1/4"
Isn't 2/8" = 1/4":confused:
Hey, I resemble that remark. :D :D :D :D
2/8ths... LOL :D
Pretty "sharp" engineer.
RD

Havasu1986
05-16-2007, 11:49 AM
My wife runs her family machine shop in Downey. We were talking about it last nite how it would be nice for her to work for someone else, so she wouldn't have the pressure of keeping the shop going. She found out today that her best worker has been taking material and getting scrap $. She is really pissed now. She is really sick and can't take time off because she has no one to cover for her.:( Don't ever work with family.

Biglue
05-16-2007, 11:51 AM
Wouldn't it be nice if you could clamp the focking engineers onto the mill tables themselves. :mad: :D

Sleek-Jet
05-16-2007, 11:52 AM
make sure he doesn't want 4/16" :D
Or 8/32"... but what you really have to watch out for is the 16/64"... that shit is hard to do... :D

slotracer
05-16-2007, 12:09 PM
thats just like a superintendent telling you to go set a set of cabinets and theres no sheetrock on the walls and the gas line is in the wrong place. i am redoing 660 units in hunters point in san francisco on t&m and the sup's have no clue whats going on. its their dime:D

Havasu1986
05-16-2007, 12:13 PM
thats just like a superintendent telling you to go set a set of cabinets and theres no sheetrock on the walls and the gas line is in the wrong place. i am redoing 660 units in hunters point in san francisco on t&m and the sup's have no clue whats going on. its their dime:D
Signing change order tickets and getting paid is 2 different things. Just finished a department store in Santa Ana and fighting over the $ now after the store has been open for 2 months.:mad:

All-Star
05-16-2007, 12:14 PM
You mean you could not read his customers mind????
Thats a first.... lol

uvindex
05-16-2007, 12:18 PM
Reminds me of the scene in Spinal Tap when the 18 INCH model of Stonehenge drops from the ceiling (the "drawings" said 18" high but they really wanted it to be 18' high, of course). Best part was the dwarves dancing around it on stage. :)

TJS
05-16-2007, 12:30 PM
Almost the samething happened to me. I welded up a clothes rack for a store with the drawings from the owner with all the measurements. I FAXed it back to him with a sign off for requirements. He signed it and Faxed it back to me. I made the rolling rack to his drawing. He comes to pick it up and states it is too high. I show him the faxed drawing with his signature. He then tells me it is not what I wanted it is too high. I charged him to cut it apart and almost make another rack cause of his stupidity.
T.J.

YeLLowBoaT
05-16-2007, 12:35 PM
LOL... sound like some of my custmers... I want this... after you get about halfway done... I ment I wanted it this way...

Dave C
05-16-2007, 01:00 PM
LOL so true.....
You mean you could not read his customers mind????
Thats a first.... lol

lucky
05-16-2007, 01:11 PM
Or 8/32"... but what you really have to watch out for is the 16/64"... that shit is hard to do... :D
well we should send him back the part with metric demsions :) :D

OutCole'd
05-16-2007, 01:15 PM
My favorite is when a customer picks something out of a book that is special order, it shows a pic with all the dimensions. You order it in for them, they pick it up and over month later they want to return it because it is 50% too small for what they want.
You try to do your best in the name of "Customer Service" & take it back even though it's been over 30 days and it was special ordered, but you take it back anyways. Then the customer gets all bent because you charge them 25% for a restock charge....:mad:

MACMAN
05-16-2007, 01:21 PM
How about a #00-90 thread .625" long on 1/16 dia. hardened steel......
"What do you mean you can't do it??!!!":rolleyes:

slotracer
05-16-2007, 01:46 PM
Signing change order tickets and getting paid is 2 different things. Just finished a department store in Santa Ana and fighting over the $ now after the store has been open for 2 months.
we are running appox $12,000.00 per day with our men. they say they will pay within 10 days of billing. 1st billing will be the 25th. they know we liened the project for a mill$. its state and city money so we will see. no $$$$$ = no men and a big lien.:D

DelawareDave
05-16-2007, 01:48 PM
I drew a similar job. The customer wanted columns on the roof 20' high. Then he realizes the beam that was supposed to be under the roof, is above it. So we cut 1 foot off the bottom of the columns. Then he figures out they are 4 feet too tall. So we cut off 4 feet. Then he says "Ah S**T!" You need to add 1 foot back on them, cause now they are too short! That was a great job! :mad: