Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 1:55 pm
Hi
We have been building a clients Garden for 4 weeks, in a pretty upmarket part of Birmingham. The clients drive is separated from the neighbours by a low wall, but the neighbours drive is slightly steeper, so their 2 large 4x4 vehicles are only slightly covered by the wall. As the project came to a finish, we were Paving our way out the side entrance ,leading onto the drive(very small drive, perhaps 3x6 mts), and this involved some cutting of stone, and mixing Mortar. We made sure the mixer pointed away fro the property and neighbours car, and any cutting we did with a water Kit. However, some dust did carry away when we opened and tipped cement into the mixer, anyone who uses a mixer will know this is hardly a dust storm.
That evening(Thursday) I get a call from the client saying their neighbour is claiming we have covered his car with concrete and cement, which has apparently caused damage to the surface, despite him allegedly asking my team to be careful, and that he expects us to pay for a "specialist" clean/valet of one of his cars. After reassuring the clients that we would act responsibly, I spoke to my team(I wasn't on site that day), none of whom said they'd been spoken to, and that they weren't aware of any issues. Next morning I went to look at the damage, and to be honest I couldn't see much to be concerned about, indeed the offside of the car was dirtier than the near side. Whilst not denying that some dust may of indeed been caused by us, I couldn't see anything that looked like cement or concrete. The guy wasn't in, so I spoke further to my team about being careful, and to pass on my details if he wished to discuss. By Saturday morning, it having rained quite heavily most of Friday evening/night, the slight bit of dust had gone, and the car would really only require a simple car-wash, which we could do, but again the guy was out, but the client told me her Husband had had quite a heated conversation with the neighbour who'd stormed off!!!
Now I wish to deal with this,on behalf of my clients and my professional reputation, in as amicable manner as possible, and I haven't spoken to the guy yet. However I do feel that he's making a very big mountain out of a very small molehill. There was no damage, no actual concrete, and roofers working on the other side of him have also been making dust, so whilst I don't mind cleaning the car, or giving him the cash to take it for a regular clean, I really don't like to be bullied into an expensive valet, by someone, who from day 1, has made the project quite a logistical nightmare, with constant moaning about deliveries, parking, materials outside the clients house, skips etc
Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of issue? What more should I do, or rather how far should I bend? I purposely haven't responded to a call he made earlier today(Sunday), for two reasons, one being it's a rule I have that today is a family day, and secondly, I wished to see what a consensus of opinion would be.
Regards
We have been building a clients Garden for 4 weeks, in a pretty upmarket part of Birmingham. The clients drive is separated from the neighbours by a low wall, but the neighbours drive is slightly steeper, so their 2 large 4x4 vehicles are only slightly covered by the wall. As the project came to a finish, we were Paving our way out the side entrance ,leading onto the drive(very small drive, perhaps 3x6 mts), and this involved some cutting of stone, and mixing Mortar. We made sure the mixer pointed away fro the property and neighbours car, and any cutting we did with a water Kit. However, some dust did carry away when we opened and tipped cement into the mixer, anyone who uses a mixer will know this is hardly a dust storm.
That evening(Thursday) I get a call from the client saying their neighbour is claiming we have covered his car with concrete and cement, which has apparently caused damage to the surface, despite him allegedly asking my team to be careful, and that he expects us to pay for a "specialist" clean/valet of one of his cars. After reassuring the clients that we would act responsibly, I spoke to my team(I wasn't on site that day), none of whom said they'd been spoken to, and that they weren't aware of any issues. Next morning I went to look at the damage, and to be honest I couldn't see much to be concerned about, indeed the offside of the car was dirtier than the near side. Whilst not denying that some dust may of indeed been caused by us, I couldn't see anything that looked like cement or concrete. The guy wasn't in, so I spoke further to my team about being careful, and to pass on my details if he wished to discuss. By Saturday morning, it having rained quite heavily most of Friday evening/night, the slight bit of dust had gone, and the car would really only require a simple car-wash, which we could do, but again the guy was out, but the client told me her Husband had had quite a heated conversation with the neighbour who'd stormed off!!!
Now I wish to deal with this,on behalf of my clients and my professional reputation, in as amicable manner as possible, and I haven't spoken to the guy yet. However I do feel that he's making a very big mountain out of a very small molehill. There was no damage, no actual concrete, and roofers working on the other side of him have also been making dust, so whilst I don't mind cleaning the car, or giving him the cash to take it for a regular clean, I really don't like to be bullied into an expensive valet, by someone, who from day 1, has made the project quite a logistical nightmare, with constant moaning about deliveries, parking, materials outside the clients house, skips etc
Has anyone else had to deal with this kind of issue? What more should I do, or rather how far should I bend? I purposely haven't responded to a call he made earlier today(Sunday), for two reasons, one being it's a rule I have that today is a family day, and secondly, I wished to see what a consensus of opinion would be.
Regards
