September 2020 – TheTimeDok

Being the responsible human that I am, I purchased some LED bulbs to cut my carbon footprint.

Not only have I removed much of my ‘footprint due to COVID and hardly ever leaving the house but, I am responsible with my use of resources.

The question is, how much Green can we afford?

After the incandescent bulb stopped, I replaced it with this beautiful LED bulb from LEDMEDTRICS.

Before the twenty-minute mark was up, the bulb ceased to function.

The bulb was in a standard non-dimmable lamp socket in a desk lamp. Many are unaware that you must purchase ‘dimmable’ LED bulbs for circuits with dimmers. I am.

If you follow me, you are aware that my curiosity knows few boundaries.

My first instinct was to contact the manufacturer. Ooops, cannot find them.

On eBay, I can find their product but as far as the company, no dice. Now I must tell you that twist pointed my mind in a different direction.

Removing the defective bulb (infant mortality), I noticed it was hot as any incandescent bulb ever was.

These things are assembled in such a way there is no disassembling them with the idea you are going to put them back together and use them again.

Saving a long drawn out discussion on what failed, it was a cold solder joint from the mainboard to the LED panel. As it heated up, the contact let loose.

“Is it worth $12?”

The circuit is pretty straightforward. We don’t know what the semiconductor is on the aluminum led substrate.

I would guess that the high tin content of the solder is most probably the reason for the cold solder joint.

For your amusement, I have taken some pictures of what is inside one of these bulbs.

There appears to be aluminum bonded to the PVC at the base of the bulb.

-Best

Your response should be crafted.

‘Recently, I took my car in for normal maintenance. Driving away from the shop, leaving from a red light, the engine stalled or hesitated. Calling the shop, their response was, “Those cars have Gremlins.”’

Even though they were obligated under warranty to fix it, I lost confidence in them immediately.

Finding another shop, I elected to pay them to fix whatever was wrong. Citing a potential catalytic converter issue, I reminded them of when the problem first occurred and then let them do their diagnostics.

The fault did not generate a check engine light. The lack of a ‘fault’ made the problem tougher to troubleshoot. If you have ever tinkered with old cars, the issue resembled a vacuum leak.

Finding a tear in a hose leading to the Mass Airflow Sensor cured the problem.

The ‘gremlin’ was the mechanic who did the original work and did not check to make sure his ‘cure’ did not introduce more problems.

While I am out a few hundred more dollars to another shop, finding an honest mechanic is worth it.

From plumbers to electricians and yes, computer professionals, it is OK to say ‘I don’t know.’

Customers would much rather hear you say ‘allow me to figure it out,’ vs. your (insert issue) has gremlins.

The original shop has lost me as a customer because the mechanic did not check their work and Gremlins.

No matter who you work for or what you do, you have customers. Identify them and treat them as you would want to be treated. Watch what you say.

-Best

TheTimeDok

A brighter idea?

Customer Service 101