Re: An ethical conundrum... Opinions welcome!

[Frank Olson <use_the_email_links@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jim wrote:
> On Nov 29, 1:26�am, Frank Olson
> <use_the_email_li...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> First, I'm not worried about not being paid. �There's a generous
>> progress payment schedule that's being very strictly monitored by both
>> the client's bank and his new partner. �He's not going to get to play
>> any games with us.
>
> Ok .... that's a good thing.
>> It's not a matter of my feeling they need a new system. �They're under
>> order to install it.
>
> Alright! ..... that's great.
>
>> �As for the old alarm company, they're welcome to
>> come and collect their junk anytime they want. �I lost all sympathy with
>> them when I discovered they even stooped to offering this kind of
>> "non-service". �As far as I'm concerned this amounted to nothing more
>> than a "money-grab". �The owner may just as well have burned the $22.00
>> a month for all the good it did him.-
>
> That may all be true but, If the owner has a contract with the old
> alarm company, what's stopping them from accelerating the contract to
> obtain the balance due? Whether they were right or wrong, they can
> still attempt to enforce the contract and the owner will have to
> afford the defense fees, if to obtain only the fact that they were
> negligent (and probably not grossly negligent). Rather than do that,
> ( again, regardless of who is right or wrong) At that point the owner
> can just tell you to forget the monitoring and they'll just continue
> the monitoring contract with the old alarm company or ..... worse, the
> owner signs your contract, for what ever  your term is and then he
> finds out the old alarm company wont let him out of their contract.
> Now he's obligated to two contracts both of which are enforceable.
> What do you do? Back down or take him to court if he decides to go
> with the other alarm companys monitoring?  Either way you lose.
>
> Maybe this is something you should bring out into the negotiations
> now, just so there's no surprise. If you're going to potentially miss
> out on the monitoring, you may want to rethink your installation
> costs. ( However, admittedly,  I don't know how your price your jobs)


I'm not in it for the RMR on this job.  We got excellent pricing on the
parts so the margins are great, and I'm working with an installation
crew that's second to none.  There are 10 apartments on each floor and
everything has to be run in surface wiremould.  We're finishing one
floor of suites a day (that includes mounting devices).