Customers Say the Darndest Things: The Claim About Nothing

Stephen Diggins24 Headshot
12 11 Just In Case

12 11 Just In CaseI have a short story from last week—something I had never experienced in my life. File this one under “Customers Say the Darndest Things.”

My outside salesman went to look at an installation of prefinished flooring for his dealer, and he called me. Our conversation went like this:

Him: Can you come look at the floor?
Me: Why?
Him: They want to file a claim.
Me: What is the problem?
Him: Nothing.
Me: What?
Him: Nothing … they love the floor, but the painter says he’s pretty sure the floor wasn’t acclimated properly, so they want to file a claim in case someday something happens to the floor!

I could hear my rep was trying not to laugh, because this guy was serious.

I asked my rep to ask the customer for his auto insurance company contact information and policy number. My salesman asked the homeowner. The man inquired as to why I needed his auto insurance. I said, “Tell him I am a bit concerned that since he lives in close proximity to me that SOMEDAY, MAYBE, he MIGHT have a car accident with me, and it would be good to get ahead of the paperwork.

I sent the dealer the section from the NWFA “Wood and Water” book where it explains acclimation is a professional courtesy and that legally no one is responsible for acclimation before, during or after an installation. We can’t monitor the living conditions of every customer we work for, for LIFE! I did, to be polite, walk through a series of simple tests over the phone that put him at ease. I had them measure 10 and 20 rows. I had them tell me the heat and humidity. I also pointed out that the customer’s $22 moisture meter (that he had put holes into his new floor with) was calibrated for Douglas fir and had no option to recalibrate for the species of wood he was measuring. I still had material from the job that was returned; I called the factory to be certain what specific gravity setting to use (.63) and sent photos to show the customer all conditions were fine. He dropped the matter.

Page 1 of 18
Next Page
Resource Book
Looking for a specific product or a company? Wood Floor Business has the only comprehensive database of the industry.
Learn More
Resource Book
Podcasts
All Things Wood Floor, created by Wood Floor Business magazine, talks to interesting wood flooring pros to share knowledge, stories and tips on everything to do with wood flooring, from installation, sanding and finishing to business management.
Learn More
Podcasts