I would not deliver anything, nor pay a penny, writing off my losses to
experience. I would also write them a letter, using a delivery method
that requires a receipt, stating that you are renouncing the order for
just motives (the impossibility to use the data that they have supplied
to provide merchandise to their requirements). Be very firm and polite.
In the unlikely event that they try to take it further, respond to them
only with the name and address of your lawyers, whom you will
commission, at this point, to write them a letter along the same lines
but with an additional veiled threat of costs (including the cost of all
the work you did). If that doesn't work and if, where you are, there is
a small claims court, sue them for all your costs, as a last resort.
Brian
H. S. Miller wrote:
> My company has found itself ensnared in a frivolous attempt of extortion on
> behalf of one of its newest "partners" cum customers.
>
> The purpose of this message is to get as many people to respond with "what I
> would do....." feedback to the following questions (I have structured the
> survey in a multiple choice format for ease of use; only 5 questions):
>
> a. Your customer hands you three different design packages for one PCB; one
> version in Gerber and two versions in CAM350 (one is for manufacturing and the
> other is a previous revision for reference only) and tells you that the
> GERBER and CAM350 versions are the same and to release the requirement to
> manufacturing. What do you do?
>
> 1. Believe them because the customer is always right.
> 2. Verify through a comparative analysis if both designs are identical.
> 3. Blend both formats and see what comes out of the oven.
>
> (We did number #2 and were punished for the delays it caused, even though the
> two design packages were different and we were later told to ignore the
> Gerber version)
>
> b. Your customer then tells you to ignore the Gerber version, and instructs
> you to use the CAM350 version only and to release to manufacturing immediately
> (because of the time lost in matter outlined in item #a). When asked, "but
> we might have design related questions that need clarification......", the
> customer responds with "There should be no questions, this has been manufactured
> many times with no problems......"What do you do?
>
> 1. Believe them because if our competitors can build it, what is our
> problem?
> 2. Conduct a proper DFM/DRC review to determine if their are any design
> conflicts requiring resolution.
> 3. Take out your wallet and hand it to your customer.
>
> c. We did number #2, and problems were found with the design. Our customer
> then proceeded to inform us of our engineering incompetence and asked why we
> didn't compare the previous revision (the CAM350 file that was marked for
> reference only) to the current revision because all the "answers" are there. What
> do you do?
>
> 1. Tell the customer that you are sorry for your incompetence and explain to
> him that your company is only use to receiving one PCB design for one PCB
> manufacturing requirement.
> 2. Do a comparative analysis between the old revision and new revision to
> see if differences exist and seek the "answers".
> 3. Explain to your customer that ISO, IPC and industry standards mean very
> little to your company and that although we experienced some difficulties in
> manufacturing one PCB from four PCB designs this time, tell him that your
> internal targets are to be able to manufacture one PCB from 12 PCB designs by year's
> end.
>
> (We did numbers #1 and #2 and it proved to be "strike 3" in the customer's
> eyes. Our incompetence is unprecedented. Both designs contained the identical
> problems/conflicts)
>
> d. Our stated leadtime was X after all engineering questions have been
> answered and production A/W has been approved; our "incompetence" lead to a missed
> delivery (but product was delivered within stated leadtime after all prestated
> conditions were met). What do you?
>
> 1. Apologize for your incompetence, and explain that the parts were
> delivered under the agreed upon conditions.
> 2. Fire your entire engineering department because your customer clearly
> knows more about this industry then they do.
> 3. Offer your customer an advisory position in your engineering department
> to spearhead the "Build 1 PCB from Many PCB Designs" initiative to be rolled
> out later in the year.
>
> e. The total value of the purchase order is 3200 (Production + Tooling);
> your customer wants a penalty of 9000 (the cost of quickturn boards to make up
> for our incompetence) + FREE PCB's + FREE TOOLING + FREE TRANSPORTATION. What
> do you do?
>
> 1. Offer FREE PCB's + FREE TOOLING + FREE TRANSPORTATION, not as an
> admittance of guilt but in the spirit of partnership and the expressed willingness to
> "take one for the team" and hope for breakeven on the backend.
> 2. Agree to pay the full extent of the extortion amount and then immediately
> seek a testimonial letter from the customer.
> 3. Agree to pay the full extent of the extortion, and ask the customer for
> references to individuals that do business the way he does; because the
> economy, offshore competition, and rising material costs has "lost its bite" and you
> are looking for a new challenge.
>
> I know that I have used a dose of levity to explain an otherwise very serious
> situation.
>
> I am attempting (in an off color manner) to show the customer the "follies"
> of their posturing and hope that the industry can assist me in telling them
> what is wrong with this situation and behavior.
>
> EVERYONE PLEASE CHIME IN
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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>
>
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Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e
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Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives
Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315
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