Module 1: Customer Management, Professional Conduct & Job Ownership

24 sept. 2026

Introduction

Installation Partners represent EcoStride on every job. Customers judge the company by the conduct of the technician on site, and EcoStride carries the legal and commercial responsibility for what partners do, promise and record. This module sets out the standards of professional conduct expected of every partner.

Learning outcomes

On completing this module, partners should be able to:

1. state the limits of their authority on a customer's site;
2. communicate clearly and promptly with customers and EcoStride;
3. set realistic expectations of what a solar system can deliver;
4. obtain valid consent before altering a customer's property;
5. deal with requests for additional work and payment with integrity;
6. instruct a customer in the safe use of their system;
7. handle complaints calmly and establish the facts;
8. protect customers' personal information and maintain professional boundaries;
9. report errors, damage and delays promptly and honestly;
10. keep accurate records and report the true status of each job.

1.1 Role and limits of authority

Partners work independently, but customers regard them as EcoStride's representatives. Delays, promises and shortcuts on site are therefore attributed to the company. For this reason, each partner must understand which decisions they may take and which they may not.

Acting outside these limits, even with good intentions, can result in systems that overload, warranties that are invalidated, or commitments the company has not agreed. Where a request falls outside the partner's authority, the partner should explain this courteously and refer it to EcoStride by WhatsApp the same day.

1.2 The customer's experience

By the time a partner arrives, the customer has agreed a design and paid for it, often after a poor experience with a previous installer. The site visit either confirms or undermines their confidence. Customers form their view from visible conduct: punctuality, appearance and use of PPE, a clear explanation of the day's work, care for their property, patient answers to questions, and a clean site on departure. They assume that the work they cannot see is of the same standard.

1.3 Communication

Listening

Many misunderstandings arise from answering before the question has been understood. Partners should allow the customer to finish, confirm what they have heard (for example, "The inverter beeps at night and switches off at about 2 a.m. — is that correct?") and ask one question at a time.

Plain language

Customers need to understand what a technical point means for them, not the terminology. For example, instead of "depth of discharge is limited to 80%", a partner might say, "The battery is never fully emptied; this protects it and extends its life."

Timeliness

If a partner expects to be late, the customer and EcoStride should be informed as soon as the delay is known, with a realistic new arrival time. Early notice allows others to adjust their plans; notice given after the appointment time does not.

Channels

• WhatsApp is the standard channel with EcoStride, as it provides a written record. Messages should identify the job and state clearly what has happened and what is needed.
• Telephone calls to EcoStride are for urgent or critical situations only.
• Customers should be contacted only about the job, at reasonable hours.

Example of a clear update: "Job: Mrs Okafor, Wuse 2. Delayed by traffic. New arrival time 10:15 instead of 09:30. Customer informed and has agreed."

1.4 Managing expectations

A system that is working correctly will still disappoint a customer who expected more than it was designed to do. Customers should understand two limits:

1. Power (kW): the inverter can supply only a certain amount of power at once. Running several heavy appliances together can overload it even when the battery is full.
2. Energy (kWh): the battery stores a fixed amount of energy. Heavier loads empty it faster.

An effective explanation is: "The inverter limits how much you can run at the same time; the battery limits how long you can run it." The technical basis is covered in Module 3.

Where a customer asks about an appliance not included in the approved design, such as a cooker, water heater or air conditioner, the partner should not promise that it will work or test it on the system. The partner should explain what the design covers and refer the question to EcoStride. The same applies where a customer believes they were promised more than the approved design provides: the partner explains the design respectfully and ensures the matter reaches EcoStride, which is responsible for resolving it.

1.5 Consent and conduct on site

Consent

Drilling, fixing equipment to walls, routing cables and cutting trunking are permanent changes to the customer's property. Before any such work begins, the customer, or a person the customer has clearly authorised, must agree the location and method.

A security guard, domestic employee, tenant or junior member of staff may admit the partner to the premises, but that does not give them authority to approve equipment locations. Where the agreed location is not clear and no authorised person is present, the partner must obtain approval before starting. Approval sought after the work is done is not consent.

Conduct on site

Partners should:

• introduce themselves and their team on arrival;
• agree where to park, store equipment and access power or water;
• protect floors and furnishings before moving heavy equipment;
• remain within the work area and not enter private rooms without permission;
• keep noise, dust and disruption to a minimum, particularly in businesses during trading hours;
• keep the work area tidy and leave the site clean;
• respect the customer's household routines, culture and religion.

1.6 Scope and financial integrity

Customers often ask for additional work, such as an extra socket or the repair of an existing fitting. If a partner carries out such work privately, it has no EcoStride warranty or quality control, it may affect the safety or warranty of the EcoStride system, and any failure is likely to be attributed to EcoStride. It also diverts EcoStride's customer into a private arrangement. The correct response is to explain that EcoStride must approve the work and the payment arrangement, and to refer the request to EcoStride.

Partners must also not:

• collect payment from a customer unless instructed by EcoStride;
• overstate a fault in order to create additional work;
• accept money or gifts in return for overlooking a problem, hurrying a job or giving priority;
• substitute cheaper equipment or materials for those specified;
• use company materials for private work.

Modest hospitality, such as a drink offered by the customer, is acceptable. Anything that could create a sense of obligation is not.

1.7 Instructing the customer

Many reported faults are not faults at all, but the result of customers never having been shown how their system works. At handover, every customer should understand:

1. which appliances the system is designed to power, and which it is not;
2. how to read the display or monitoring app, including battery level and solar production;
3. the daily pattern of charging and use, and why heavy tasks are best carried out during sunny hours;
4. the meaning of common alarms and the action to take;
5. how to shut the system down safely in an emergency;
6. basic care: ventilation, keeping children away from equipment, and reporting any burning smell immediately;
7. how to obtain support.

The partner should demonstrate each point, ask the customer to repeat it, and include the person who will use the system day to day, not only the owner.

1.8 Complaints

The following four-step approach is recommended:

Partners should not blame the customer or colleagues, and should not promise a remedy, such as a replacement battery, before the cause is known. If a customer becomes threatening or violent, the partner should end the conversation politely, leave the site and report to EcoStride immediately.

1.9 Privacy and professional boundaries

Personal information

Partners routinely learn customers' names, telephone numbers, addresses, security arrangements and travel plans. This information is protected by the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023. It must be used only to carry out the job, shared only with those who need it for the job, and not discussed with others or on social media.

Photographs

• Photograph only the equipment and work required for the report.
• Exclude people, particularly children, and personal belongings.
• Check each image before submission.
• Submit photographs only through EcoStride's reporting channel.
• Do not publish any customer installation without the written agreement of EcoStride and the customer.

Professional boundaries

Contact details provided to arrange access are provided for that purpose only. Using them for personal contact of any kind is a misuse of information given in trust, and may result in removal from the network. All contact with customers, their families and their staff must remain work-related.

1.10 Reporting errors, damage and delays

When damage is caused or an error is made, the partner should:

1. make the situation safe, preventing further damage or injury;
2. inform the customer promptly;
3. inform EcoStride the same day by WhatsApp, with photographs;
4. record what happened and the action taken in the job report.

Concealment usually fails: the customer discovers the damage and loses confidence in the rest of the work, informal repairs may fail or not be insured, and an unreported technical error can become a hazard. A reported error is treated as an accident; a concealed one is treated as misconduct.

The same applies to problems the partner did not cause, such as an unsafe existing installation, a damaged roof, missing equipment or a site that is not ready. The partner should make safe where necessary, inform EcoStride and the customer, and await instructions.

1.11 Records and job ownership

EcoStride relies on partners' reports, readings and photographs to know what has been done, and future technicians rely on them to diagnose faults. Reports are submitted by WhatsApp in a standard format provided by EcoStride. Every report should be accurate, complete, specific ("battery voltage 52.8 V at 14:10", not "battery OK") and submitted when the job ends.

A job is complete only when all agreed tasks, including testing, monitoring set-up and customer instruction, have been carried out. Outstanding tasks must be recorded, with an agreed plan for completion, and reported to EcoStride. A partner must not accept a customer's signature confirming completion when work is outstanding.

Unused cable, protective devices, connectors and fixings remain EcoStride's property, even if the customer offers them to the partner. All materials used and returned must be recorded accurately.

1.12 Teamwork

Where several people work together, the team should agree roles, hazards and means of communication before starting, particularly when work is divided between the roof and the ground. Team members should challenge unsafe acts immediately. Experienced partners should explain the reasons behind practices to newer colleagues. Disagreements should be resolved away from the customer. Where a partner leads a crew, they are accountable for the quality and safety of the whole team's work.

Case studies

The following cases are based on situations commonly encountered on Nigerian sites. Names and places are illustrative.

Case 1: Unexplained limits. A system was installed for a pharmacy in Kaduna. The vaccine refrigerator was included in the design, but the owner also connected a large chest freezer. The battery was exhausted overnight and stock was lost. The system was correctly installed; the customer had not been told what it could support. Principle: units 1.4 and 1.7.

Case 2: Consent from the wrong person. In the owner's absence, a crew in Lekki mounted an inverter on a wall chosen by the gateman. The owner later required it to be moved and the wall repainted at EcoStride's cost. Principle: unit 1.5.

Case 3: Voluntary disclosure. A partner in Enugu found that he had fitted an undersized breaker on an earlier job. He reported it the same day and replaced it at his own cost. The customer subsequently recommended EcoStride to other businesses. Principle: unit 1.10.

Relationship to performance rating

Practical activities

1. Explain three technical terms to a person with no technical background, and confirm that they have understood.
2. Draft WhatsApp messages to a customer and to EcoStride reporting a two-hour delay.
3. With a colleague acting as a dissatisfied customer, practise the four-step approach to complaints.
4. Using any inverter display or app available, practise instructing another person to read the battery level and solar production.
5. Photograph electrical equipment at home and check each image for private content.

Glossary