Should we do the tiling?

Last week we were called in to replace an electric shower by a customer that had a 15 year old electric shower that had finally given up the ghost. She was a little upset that her trusty shower had broken but realized that due to its age it was probably time for a replacement. Shower repairs and shower replacement is something we do on a regular basis so I explained we could replace the shower and would only need one visit if she could give me the details of her current shower, which she did.

I searched the Internet for details of the old shower so I could check what power rating and what plumbing and electrical connections it had so I could get the closest match that would not require too much adjustment of the current plumbing or electrics. Eventually I found the details and a diagram of her current shower which as it turns out was a shower cross mirrored vanity unit that fitted to the wall. I had not seen anything like it before and the site I was looking at confirmed its age and also that there were no spares available for it. The diagram showed the size of shower which was far bigger than any modern shower which means that a newer smaller shower might expose some of the wall behind the old shower depending on weather the tiles have been laid up to the shower or behind the shower. The customer was confident the tiles ran all the way behind the shower.

I found a suitable electric shower that had similar connections and the identical power rating and the job was booked in. The handyman arrived and proceeded to fit the shower but when he removed the old shower he found that the tiles protuded only marginally behind the shower and there was a mainly just bear wall behind the old shower at which point he though it best to confer with the customer and explain there will need to be some tiling done as the new shower would not cover up the exposed wall. The customer understood the what was required but asked the handyman to continue to fit the new shower and she would do the necessary tiles herself. The handyman continued.

Early the next morning I received an email with pictures attached from the customer who was very upset with the condition of her wall and level of finish of the installation. She was right the finish was not great but not surprising either as the handyman had fully explained the situation and she literally told him that she only wanted to pay him for the shower installation and that she would do the tiles herself. This is an incredibly frustrating situation for us as we had tried to explain that this issue would arise but to avoid leaving one of our customers unsatisfied we are going back to the property to re tile the wall as necessary at our own expense. Sometimes it is impossible to do everything right but it is mostly the way you handle the complaint when things do go wrong that people will remember you for.