What is the right and fair way to handle this?

SIM said:

From what I read the machine was only working due to the combination of the "Broken part and the Work around".

Remove one of the variables and it no longer works. Removing one of the variables is what the tech was called in to do, that is fix the broken part.

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Possibly, but that's not how I read it.

As I understand OP's explanation, the broken part was a nuisance that did not prevent the tool changer functioning, but replacement of the broken part required knowledge that the tech did not have, or procedures that the tech did not follow, and that caused the tool changer to stop functioning altogether.

OP's situation is not as severe as my experience, but needs the same resolution: dealer fixes it and drives on.

Years ago, I worked in a shop that bought a brand new ten foot press brake that used huge screws on each end of the blade to move it. The screws were connected by a shaft that turned the worms.

Well , the blade didn't come down parallel to the die so the manufacturer's rep. cut the shaft in two and had me make two flanges with slots for the bolts so so he could adjust the timing a bit.

Assembled it and tried to adjust the timing by leaving the bolts just snug and bring the blade down. The ida was that this would allow slippage at the flanges to allow the screws to align when the blade bottomed out. Evidently he stayed on the button too long as one of the screw housings exploded and threw shit all over the place. Thought the guy was gonna have a heart attack. I still have the vision of that fat guy turning white and pouring sweat all over and trying to find some place to sit down. They wound up replacing the whole machine.

My $0.02

So you had an agreement that:

As part of the purchase of second machine, the repair of first machine was to be included free-of-charge for labor.

The machine-in-need-of-repair was in revenue operation at the time.

The attempted repair took it out-of-operation, so you now have accumulated lost revenue at some level.


Regardless of what may be worthy as a 'battle', NONE of the outcomes will reverse what you currently hold as 'lost revenue'.

This means that you have several battles: The first is resolving the contract dispute, the second is reestablishment of revenue operation, and the third, is recovery from lost revenue.

Which battle is most important? Is it resolution of a contract circumstance, or recovering lost revenue, or getting back into revenue operation?

IMO, from a biz perspective, getting back into money-making operation is first-and-foremost... no matter HOW you do it, having money coming in the door is paramount. Get the machine working, and worry about the rest later.

Recovering 'lost' revenue... the only way to do that, is to find some alternative production method or path (and the associated costs) to make deliveries (failure to ship loses customers FAST)

Settling the contract dispute: You could sue, or you could negotiate. I recommend the latter, as the former never results in a strong business relationship. If you proceed with recovery of revenue op, and recover your lost revenue, take those numbers to the dealer's representative so they can SEE the magnitude to which they've exposed you, and discuss resolution options.

The best move, is to make the quickest operational recovery, then negotiate the fiscal relationship in such a way that the business relationship with this dealer is stronger, not weaker, nor abandoned. Any other way, is burning a bridge.

DaveKamp said:

The best move, is to make the quickest operational recovery, then negotiate the fiscal relationship in such a way that the business relationship with this dealer is stronger, not weaker, nor abandoned. Any other way, is burning a bridge.

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This is 100% right on...get machine running, get back to making product, back to making money - then figure out who picking up the tab for what. Also at that point nobody is guessing what went wrong and what might be needed.
Its easier to negotiate to when you hold at least a few cards.

This is a tough kind of problem. Having been a troubleshooter nearly my whole career it is really the toughest job of all, and there really are few good ones. I've been asked for a second opinion many times because of my reputation and the supposedly skilled techs often proved to be not be as good as claimed. Since the replaced part didn't fix the problem the original diagnosis was wrong. That would have been a good time for the vendor to put a hold on this until a better assesment could be made and a real cost calculated. That they plunged ahead and didn't and actual made it worse leaves them holding the bag I believe.

My electricians once made a mistake on a job and the customer got it repaired by a Union contractor over the weekend and they gouged them on top of it. I took the invoice (about $2500) from that contractor and paid it out of my pocket. Best business decision I ever made. The customer now trusted us implicitedly and just gave us work even if our price was a bit higher.

Three year old zombie thread.