[Greenbuilding] EZ Build Problems - SIPs

[Robert Tom]

On 1/3/08, no spam  wrote:

> We are building a SIP home and have had ongoing problems with our SIP  
> supplier. It has been 6 months since we first submitted our plans and  
> they have still
> not completed the project.

> Design errors and the inability to get them to return phone calls have  
> been an ongoingproblem.

> is there some forum in which we can warn others to avoid this company

There is a folder in the FILES sharing section at the strawbale back-up  
list (SB-r-us at yahoogroups ) whose name is "Bummers-r-Us" which was created  
specifically for this purpose.

That being said, people have been know to use the WWWeb to unfairly  
sabatoge their competition by putting up bogus complaints and through the  
courtesy of Google/Youtube/et al, anyone seeking info about that company  
will find those complaints amongst the hits thereby achieving the aim of  
creating negative impressions in the minds of potential customers.

One complaint about a specific set of issues could indicate a problem with  
the company ... or it could simply be a problem customer with unrealistic  
expectations.

Two similar sets of complaints could be a mere coincidence.

Three or more indicates a definite pattern and one could reasonably  
conclude that there are legitimate concerns about dealing with that  
particular company.

In this particular instance, we're talking about a project involving SIPs  
and "design errors" is being cited as one of the customer's complaints.

My first response was:

"If a person is designing a SIPs building, then isn't it the  
responsibility  of the customer (or the customer's designer) to design  
within the limitations of the modular material being used before  
submitting the design to the SIPs manufacturer ?

ie If an inexperienced designer submits a scheme that is essentially an  
exercise in structural gymnastics (from a SIPs PoV) which requires  
specific engineering solutions by the SIPs manufacturer that are unique to  
that one particular design, then it would be unreasonable to expect a  
quick turnaround .

As for not the company not returning phone calls, there are some customers  
who are simply a PITA who expect an inordinate amount of hand-holding and  
after a while, well, you know.

In this instance, we have a a complaint from a source "nospam at some domain  
", a contributor that I don't recognise as being a "regular".

How are we (or anyone) to know that this attempt to brownball a company is  
legitimate ?

And since the market area of SIPs suppliers is limited to a specific  
radius of a few hundred kms from the plant, wouldn't the local Better  
Business Bureau or forums like the local Kijiji site be the place to be  
making the complaint ?

(And "No" I am not defending the SIPs company. Anyone who knows anything  
about me knows that I am not a fan of SIPs.)



-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada
< A r c h i L o g i c  at chaffY a h o o  dot  c a >
manually winnow the chaff from my edress in your reply