mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Sorry to hear this is still not working.
Reading back through this thread, there are so many red flags, flashing warning signs, sirens going off. For you, it has all probably happened in slow motion, and it gets difficult to see until it is too late. For us, reading this all out on one screen, it is easy to see in its compressed form. Don't feel bad you missed it until it was too late, it's hard to see when it is happening to you.
I've run into this a few times over my career. It often materializes just like this: Someone decides that they are skilled enough to make a business out of this. After all, how hard could it be? Who knew two way radio systems were so complex? With a false sense of confidence they'll charge head first into a challenge. They'll talk a good talk, sell you fancy equipment and assure you they are experts in the field. I'm going to go out on a limb here: Young male, mid 20s, early 30's? One man shop, maybe some part time "technicians", usually a couple of friends? Fancy printed t-shirts to look professional. Talk loud about how smart they are? Probably walked around the PSAP pointing out things that the other guys did wrong? Probably had a hand held radio on their belt programmed on your radio system (without permission), radio cranked up to 11 so everyone can hear how important they are? No GROL, no formal training, but probably proud of their ham license?
They install the equipment, make a big deal of it, proud of their work. And then it doesn't work, or doesn't work right. Might not find out for a few days/weeks, might find out before they leave, either way, they are gone.
Then the excuses start. A simple issue like this blows up, and the tech will come up with all kinds of reasons why it cannot possibly be their fault. They'll blame the radio system, other techs, the equipment, the weather, the end users, anything within reach, anything but themselves. They may or may not make an attempt to fix it, but usually they try to hide from the issue. They'll delay responding, cancel appointments, will always have a higher priority issue. They may try to find an easy/cheap solution, because anything that cuts into their profits might bruise their ego, after all, they were going to make a career out of being radio experts. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they are cruising hobby sites like this one looking for free advice, free tech support and a free solution, or at minimum, a plausible sounding excuse they can use to deflect the blame. The last thing they would ever do is pay money to fix the mess they, themselves, created. The money they were paid to do a professional job has long since been spent, and fixing this would come out of their pocket. They are usually a small company, maybe only a few employees, maybe just one. There's no margin for error, no cash reserves, no insurance, no money to fix mistakes. In the end, the customer suffers, public safety suffers, the taxpayers suffer.
If they suddenly realize the mess they've created, they'll often start in on the threats, hints of a lawsuit, etc. Their ego is threatened, and they can't have that. No one can ever find out they are not the communications experts they claim to be. The lashing out begins. They are not finding free and easy solutions to the problem on the internet. The solutions they do find cost money. They'll probably try and bill you before fixing it, because they don't have the money up front to buy the parts and wait for the invoice to clear. May have even blown their credit with the suppliers. Do not, under any circumstances, give them more money, you will never see it again.
When I first got out of the service I worked for a small company that did this sort of stuff. As soon as I realized what was going on, I got out. It never ends well, and sometimes they'll try and take others down with them. It's best to walk away and preserve your sanity, take the loss and find a better solution. You'll never be able to fix whats wrong with these sorts of shops. They all eventually implode. It will -always- be someone else's fault.
Like I said, I've dealt with this a few times, and I'm getting pretty good at seeing it before it happens. It's plain as day after the fact, even though they'll put a huge amount of effort into hiding it. I've had to clean up a lot of messes made by individuals like this. Every. Single. Time. it has cost more to fix the mess than it would have cost to do it right the first time.
Wash your hands of this shop, don't try and get them to fix this mess. They can't, it's beyond their skill level. They are telling you that in very clear terms, but they are trying to hide behind excuses to protect their ego. You'll never get an apology, and you'll never get them to fix this mess. Putting the public at risk to protect one persons ego is not worth it. Someone will get hurt, the city/county will get sued, and life goes on. Hopefully no one dies in the process. What ever you do, don't let them back in the door, they will only make things worse.
Good riddance. Time to call a competent radio shop to fix this mess. I'd bet money they will have seen this guys work before. Be aware that it's going to cost a lot of taxpayer money, as they'll have to clean up the mess this guy made, bring it all up to code, install the correct equipment to make it do what you want, and probably a few other issues you have not noticed yet. I'd also bet there are more issues hiding that you have not found yet. These guys rarely do anything to code and will do the absolute minimum amount of work required.
Add these incidents to your history and move on knowing you are better off. It's these sorts of things that give you experience and will allow you to recognize it in the future.
Reading back through this thread, there are so many red flags, flashing warning signs, sirens going off. For you, it has all probably happened in slow motion, and it gets difficult to see until it is too late. For us, reading this all out on one screen, it is easy to see in its compressed form. Don't feel bad you missed it until it was too late, it's hard to see when it is happening to you.
I've run into this a few times over my career. It often materializes just like this: Someone decides that they are skilled enough to make a business out of this. After all, how hard could it be? Who knew two way radio systems were so complex? With a false sense of confidence they'll charge head first into a challenge. They'll talk a good talk, sell you fancy equipment and assure you they are experts in the field. I'm going to go out on a limb here: Young male, mid 20s, early 30's? One man shop, maybe some part time "technicians", usually a couple of friends? Fancy printed t-shirts to look professional. Talk loud about how smart they are? Probably walked around the PSAP pointing out things that the other guys did wrong? Probably had a hand held radio on their belt programmed on your radio system (without permission), radio cranked up to 11 so everyone can hear how important they are? No GROL, no formal training, but probably proud of their ham license?
They install the equipment, make a big deal of it, proud of their work. And then it doesn't work, or doesn't work right. Might not find out for a few days/weeks, might find out before they leave, either way, they are gone.
Then the excuses start. A simple issue like this blows up, and the tech will come up with all kinds of reasons why it cannot possibly be their fault. They'll blame the radio system, other techs, the equipment, the weather, the end users, anything within reach, anything but themselves. They may or may not make an attempt to fix it, but usually they try to hide from the issue. They'll delay responding, cancel appointments, will always have a higher priority issue. They may try to find an easy/cheap solution, because anything that cuts into their profits might bruise their ego, after all, they were going to make a career out of being radio experts. Wouldn't surprise me at all if they are cruising hobby sites like this one looking for free advice, free tech support and a free solution, or at minimum, a plausible sounding excuse they can use to deflect the blame. The last thing they would ever do is pay money to fix the mess they, themselves, created. The money they were paid to do a professional job has long since been spent, and fixing this would come out of their pocket. They are usually a small company, maybe only a few employees, maybe just one. There's no margin for error, no cash reserves, no insurance, no money to fix mistakes. In the end, the customer suffers, public safety suffers, the taxpayers suffer.
If they suddenly realize the mess they've created, they'll often start in on the threats, hints of a lawsuit, etc. Their ego is threatened, and they can't have that. No one can ever find out they are not the communications experts they claim to be. The lashing out begins. They are not finding free and easy solutions to the problem on the internet. The solutions they do find cost money. They'll probably try and bill you before fixing it, because they don't have the money up front to buy the parts and wait for the invoice to clear. May have even blown their credit with the suppliers. Do not, under any circumstances, give them more money, you will never see it again.
When I first got out of the service I worked for a small company that did this sort of stuff. As soon as I realized what was going on, I got out. It never ends well, and sometimes they'll try and take others down with them. It's best to walk away and preserve your sanity, take the loss and find a better solution. You'll never be able to fix whats wrong with these sorts of shops. They all eventually implode. It will -always- be someone else's fault.
Like I said, I've dealt with this a few times, and I'm getting pretty good at seeing it before it happens. It's plain as day after the fact, even though they'll put a huge amount of effort into hiding it. I've had to clean up a lot of messes made by individuals like this. Every. Single. Time. it has cost more to fix the mess than it would have cost to do it right the first time.
Wash your hands of this shop, don't try and get them to fix this mess. They can't, it's beyond their skill level. They are telling you that in very clear terms, but they are trying to hide behind excuses to protect their ego. You'll never get an apology, and you'll never get them to fix this mess. Putting the public at risk to protect one persons ego is not worth it. Someone will get hurt, the city/county will get sued, and life goes on. Hopefully no one dies in the process. What ever you do, don't let them back in the door, they will only make things worse.
Good riddance. Time to call a competent radio shop to fix this mess. I'd bet money they will have seen this guys work before. Be aware that it's going to cost a lot of taxpayer money, as they'll have to clean up the mess this guy made, bring it all up to code, install the correct equipment to make it do what you want, and probably a few other issues you have not noticed yet. I'd also bet there are more issues hiding that you have not found yet. These guys rarely do anything to code and will do the absolute minimum amount of work required.
Add these incidents to your history and move on knowing you are better off. It's these sorts of things that give you experience and will allow you to recognize it in the future.
