atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services Cabling Telephones Systems Wiring electricians running voice/data

Is anyone else losing business to electricians who "throw" in the voice/data cabling for dirt cheap on new construction jobs to get the overall job,(usually under 30 drops). They get their "non english speaking" workers to run the cable and on some jobs they will terminate all, others they put jacks on and have wires hanging in the phone/data closet for us to terminate. We have explained to the customer why it is best to have the same company run, terminate, test, etc. to eliminate finger pointing problems, but they don't want to justify the expense for our techs. Yes, we get to bill for cleanup, testing, etc., but the whole job is what we would ideally like. Wondered if/how anyone else deals with this....

i would rather have the "non-english-speaking??" people run the cable and I come in at $90.00 per hour and do the cleanup.....

Just be sure you let the customer know that if it doesn't pass, you charge them to re-run the cable.

I have seen here lately that certain jobs require you to be Ortronics certified or whoever. I contacted Ortronics to become certified they said that there were enough installers in the area. What sort of Monoply BS is that?

Yes this is, and has been a major problem for years. I normally ask the customer if they will ask a plumber about a problem with there washing machine at home. A plumber might be able to fix the washing machine, but if he breaks it, then who is responsible for repairing it. Many customers will see the logic in it. As for going in and fixing someone elses problems during your install, all that does is make you look bad. You can never prove to the customer that it was his cabling peoples fault.

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Voice and Data Cabling in DFW, [email protected]
DnR Communications

At one time I was adament about our having to provide the premises wiring for our systems, not any more. I have pretty much given up trying to convince customers when the EC, computer guy, brother-in-law, retired Verizon guy yada yada yada ad nausium will do it cheaper or for nothing. And of course if there is a union EC they have to do it- it's the law you know.

Obviously most customers have no appreciation for wiring and I'm tired of talking to a wall trying to educate them. All they care about is the lowest price so the hell with them.

If they want us to do it fine, if they have it done by someone else fine too. If there is a problem with a run it's their problem and if they want us to fix it (always the case because they can never get whoever installed it to be responsible- surprise, surprise!) it's time and material.

But even then they never learn...

-Hal

But can they offer zero bit loss and a 20 year warranty? I always find the 20 year part a bit amusing. Our warranty comes directly from ADC and has nothing to do with the vendor so should they go out of business the customer is still covered.

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One stop Voice and Data Solutions VoIP

Those 20/30 year warranties kill me. I mean, come on. What customer have you ever seen that stays in one place or at a minimum continues using the same wiring for that long? We do a lot of cable removals where very expensive cabling was installed by a prior tenant and they probably got a lengthy warranty with it just a few years ago. Doesn't do much good when it's in the recycling bin! We are starting to see a lot more landlord enforcement of removals by the tenant when they vacate a building.

As for wiring installed by "the other people", yes that is a huge problem. We show up to do the system installation and half of the cables don't work. Of course, the installing contractor is long gone and we are faced with a choice. Either fix it or return after their contractor fixes it. Even if we charge extra for our troubleshooting time, it still delays our system installation (and of course, the final payment). You can't win when someone else does the wiring. It never works and you always end up biting the bullet to make yourself look good. Most of the time, we are in there the day before the customer moves in. If we don't fix it NOW, we won't be able to deliver a fully-operational system. Someone else makes all the money and we deal with the headaches!

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Ed
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How come there's always enough time to go back and fix it a second time?

[This message has been edited by ev607797 (edited April 26, 2005).]

We just wrecked out cat6 to put in cat5, they wanted all the wiring to match the new 2 drops requested. So we pulled out 10 drops and rewiried them. Makes great pull string doesn't it?

I like what Hal said "Obviously most customers have no appreciation for wiring and I'm tired of talking to a wall trying to educate them. All they care about is the lowest price so the hell with them."