Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Customer No Service
I have heard the consumer guru Clark Howard talk about Customer No Service before but I recently experienced my worst case scenario with Dish Network and my gas company.
On July 28, 2007 there was a very large thunderstorm system in my area and I witnessed two lightning strikes very close to my house. My daughter and family were there and getting ready to pack up the car and drive home. We were talking on the screen porch when we saw lightning strike my neighbor's yard just past the fence. Whew, loud and scary was what we all thought. Then about 20-25 minutes later another strike occurred just a few feet beyond the back door in my yard. My daughter and son-in-law said they could smell the burning from the strike. Very lucky, we all agreed.
Not long afterwards I noticed the phone was dead and the remote for my Dish Network was working very slowly. It occurred to me that the last time that happened was the previous summer when another nearby lightning strike hit by my house and caused the Dish receiver to start acting strangely and also blew out my DSL box. Great, I thought. Another problem with my phone line and satellite system. If only that were the end of this story.
Venus and company decided to go out for dinner and wait out the storm so they could finish packing. Knowing my dog's fear of storms and thunder, I decided to stay home and they would bring me something. Good decision on my part.
About 30 minutes after they left I heard what sounded like a jet engine coming from the south side of my house. I rushed to the back bedroom and saw a wall of flame shooting past the window. Holy crap! So I rushed outside to see firsthand and there were flames shooting 10-15 feet above the roof of my house from a propane tank. The flames were licking at the siding, the eaves and the two tall oak trees. Holier shit, I thought! My house is going up in smoke.
I started to run into the house to call 911 when I remembered I had no phone. Panicky, I ran across the street and my neighbor was already on his phone talking to 911. It seemed a lot longer but the flames subsided in probably 20 seconds or so and left a slow leak coming from the bottom of one of my propane tanks. So the house isn't going up in smoke after all. Wow!
The two propane tanks had just been filled the day before as I had run out. There were two tanks, each holding about 20 gallons of fuel and one of them had a hole in the bottom presumably from the lightning which leaked for a good 45 minutes. Luckily the other one was untouched.
The fire department sprayed water on the leaking tank until a guy from Ferrellgas came out and they removed the tank to an open field and burned off the residual gas. I really wanted to talk to the gas man but he left without so much as saying a word to me. He left the remaining tank there sitting in the sand and leaning at an angle looking like it was going to fall down. He never should not have left the tank in that state. Jeff and I managed to maneuver it up on the concrete blocks so it would stand straight and not fall over.
My daughter and family left for home about an hour or so later and the following morning I caught a flight for a week of training in Toronto. Great timing! I would deal with my issues when I got home.
Dish Network technical support was a nightmare. They have this helpful computer voice that tries to understand what you are speaking and suggest ways to fix your problem. This concept needs a whole lot more work. I finally got frustrated with the voice and managed to persuade it to let me talk to a real person. I got help with the DVR receiver, they would send me a new one but for some reason, they wanted me to troubleshoot the unit I keep on the porch. I had to move it into the computer room which was unaffected and see if it worked OK there. It didn't. But now I had to go back through the talking voice for help and that led to more frustration and one 25 minute wait for no one. I finally gave up.
The new receiver came and worked alright but I had to get back on the phone, maneuver my way to a real person again to get the service reactivated. I tried to get the support person to help me with the broken porch receiver but she put me back in another queue to talk to someone else and I gave up on that wait as well.
A week later the new DVR receiver started having problems and I found myself back on the horrible phone system trying to get help once more. This time, after a long, long wait listening to elevator music punctuated with ads about their services, I got them to send a person to the house to fix both receivers. Hooray. The tech came out two days later and fixed all of the problems, including installing a new, supposedly more reliable dish and a new porch receiver. But the DVR receiver was still broke and it took another day and another trip to bring another DVR receiver, my third of the summer and fifth in 2 1/2 years before it was all better. Now this tech guy said I can call them if I have any more problems and not have to go wading through the horribly inefficient phone system anymore. Double yey! He also grounded the system as it wasn't grounded before which explains why it is so susceptible to lightning.
My experiences with Ferrellgas was less rewarding. As I said, both tanks had just been filled the day before the lightning strike. Those tanks had no gauges on them so there was no way to know how much gas I had left until I ran completely out. Then it would be a waiting game because the gas company only delivered to my area on Fridays, that's it. Even if I were completely out and had a house full of company, as I did this time.
As I mentioned, the gas guy didn't come and speak to me the night of the incident. I looked around for him to ask him about the remaining tank and he was gone. Once I got back home from Toronto I called Ferrellgas and asked them if it was OK to use the remaining tank. I had to leave a voice mail and wait two days for someone to even call me back. Then they scheduled a day for the gas guy to come check out the inside of the house to ensure all was OK and I could turn on the gas. I took the day off work and waited. He was supposed to be there between 8 and 10 in the morning. By 4:00 I decided to go outside and just turn on the gas anyway, I didn't think it would be a problem. When I got to the tank, it was gone and in its place was a note that said DO NOT USE. What? How rude is that!
So the gas man comes out to the house again on a pre-arranged meeting and he doesn't even bother to knock on my door to talk to me. He just takes the tank away and slaps up a sign. Wow, such superior service! I had just had a conversation with Venus about maybe switching from gas to electric but I was hesitant because I prefer cooking with gas. The explosion of the propane tank had me thinking perhaps it was time to switch.
But since I didn't have the outlets necessary for a stove and a water heater I thought I would use up the last gas tank and be able to take my time in getting the electric upgrade and buying new appliances. Now my mind was made up for me, it seemed. I had the bill for the tank fillup at home and was going to pay it but the crappy service I had gotten and the complete lack of customer service concerning this incident changed my mind. I was not going to pay for the gas. I wrote a letter stating such and pointed out the lack of attention by their company and sent the bill back. I then started looking for an electric stove and water heater.
A week or two later I got a call from Ferrellgas from someone in their Risk Management Department. I called her back and gave her an earful about their lousy customer service and lack of communication with me and told her I wasn't paying the bill and wanted no further communication with this company ever again. She apologized but sympathized. I haven't received another bill or any other communication from them since then. Good.
I called a local electrician and he seemed eager to help. He made a date to some give me an estimate for the job and then didn't show up nor did he call. No customer service here. I wasn't as surprised by that action as it seems commonplace with anyone in the trades and I have experienced such attitudes in the past. But I still need an electrician. I had thought Home Depot would be good as I could buy the appliances there and they would take care of the install but Home Depot doesn't do electricity. I was on my own for that.
Really feeling lost in Customer No Service a friend of mine came through for me. Wendy has a cousin who is an electrician and he is a man of his word. He called me, came out to the house the next day, gave an estimate and is coming on Friday to do the work. Finally somebody who actually provides true customer service.
I guess I shouldn't be so surprised about the lack of customer service these days. It seems to be a widespread occurrence not simply isolated incidents. It still leaves me wondering, though. How is a business supposed to stay in business and be successful if they don't take the time and attention to care for their existing customers when they have a problem?
I guess that is really just a rhetorical question anymore?
Heavy sigh,
OH
On July 28, 2007 there was a very large thunderstorm system in my area and I witnessed two lightning strikes very close to my house. My daughter and family were there and getting ready to pack up the car and drive home. We were talking on the screen porch when we saw lightning strike my neighbor's yard just past the fence. Whew, loud and scary was what we all thought. Then about 20-25 minutes later another strike occurred just a few feet beyond the back door in my yard. My daughter and son-in-law said they could smell the burning from the strike. Very lucky, we all agreed.
Not long afterwards I noticed the phone was dead and the remote for my Dish Network was working very slowly. It occurred to me that the last time that happened was the previous summer when another nearby lightning strike hit by my house and caused the Dish receiver to start acting strangely and also blew out my DSL box. Great, I thought. Another problem with my phone line and satellite system. If only that were the end of this story.
Venus and company decided to go out for dinner and wait out the storm so they could finish packing. Knowing my dog's fear of storms and thunder, I decided to stay home and they would bring me something. Good decision on my part.
About 30 minutes after they left I heard what sounded like a jet engine coming from the south side of my house. I rushed to the back bedroom and saw a wall of flame shooting past the window. Holy crap! So I rushed outside to see firsthand and there were flames shooting 10-15 feet above the roof of my house from a propane tank. The flames were licking at the siding, the eaves and the two tall oak trees. Holier shit, I thought! My house is going up in smoke.
I started to run into the house to call 911 when I remembered I had no phone. Panicky, I ran across the street and my neighbor was already on his phone talking to 911. It seemed a lot longer but the flames subsided in probably 20 seconds or so and left a slow leak coming from the bottom of one of my propane tanks. So the house isn't going up in smoke after all. Wow!
The two propane tanks had just been filled the day before as I had run out. There were two tanks, each holding about 20 gallons of fuel and one of them had a hole in the bottom presumably from the lightning which leaked for a good 45 minutes. Luckily the other one was untouched.
The fire department sprayed water on the leaking tank until a guy from Ferrellgas came out and they removed the tank to an open field and burned off the residual gas. I really wanted to talk to the gas man but he left without so much as saying a word to me. He left the remaining tank there sitting in the sand and leaning at an angle looking like it was going to fall down. He never should not have left the tank in that state. Jeff and I managed to maneuver it up on the concrete blocks so it would stand straight and not fall over.
My daughter and family left for home about an hour or so later and the following morning I caught a flight for a week of training in Toronto. Great timing! I would deal with my issues when I got home.
Dish Network technical support was a nightmare. They have this helpful computer voice that tries to understand what you are speaking and suggest ways to fix your problem. This concept needs a whole lot more work. I finally got frustrated with the voice and managed to persuade it to let me talk to a real person. I got help with the DVR receiver, they would send me a new one but for some reason, they wanted me to troubleshoot the unit I keep on the porch. I had to move it into the computer room which was unaffected and see if it worked OK there. It didn't. But now I had to go back through the talking voice for help and that led to more frustration and one 25 minute wait for no one. I finally gave up.
The new receiver came and worked alright but I had to get back on the phone, maneuver my way to a real person again to get the service reactivated. I tried to get the support person to help me with the broken porch receiver but she put me back in another queue to talk to someone else and I gave up on that wait as well.
A week later the new DVR receiver started having problems and I found myself back on the horrible phone system trying to get help once more. This time, after a long, long wait listening to elevator music punctuated with ads about their services, I got them to send a person to the house to fix both receivers. Hooray. The tech came out two days later and fixed all of the problems, including installing a new, supposedly more reliable dish and a new porch receiver. But the DVR receiver was still broke and it took another day and another trip to bring another DVR receiver, my third of the summer and fifth in 2 1/2 years before it was all better. Now this tech guy said I can call them if I have any more problems and not have to go wading through the horribly inefficient phone system anymore. Double yey! He also grounded the system as it wasn't grounded before which explains why it is so susceptible to lightning.
My experiences with Ferrellgas was less rewarding. As I said, both tanks had just been filled the day before the lightning strike. Those tanks had no gauges on them so there was no way to know how much gas I had left until I ran completely out. Then it would be a waiting game because the gas company only delivered to my area on Fridays, that's it. Even if I were completely out and had a house full of company, as I did this time.
As I mentioned, the gas guy didn't come and speak to me the night of the incident. I looked around for him to ask him about the remaining tank and he was gone. Once I got back home from Toronto I called Ferrellgas and asked them if it was OK to use the remaining tank. I had to leave a voice mail and wait two days for someone to even call me back. Then they scheduled a day for the gas guy to come check out the inside of the house to ensure all was OK and I could turn on the gas. I took the day off work and waited. He was supposed to be there between 8 and 10 in the morning. By 4:00 I decided to go outside and just turn on the gas anyway, I didn't think it would be a problem. When I got to the tank, it was gone and in its place was a note that said DO NOT USE. What? How rude is that!
So the gas man comes out to the house again on a pre-arranged meeting and he doesn't even bother to knock on my door to talk to me. He just takes the tank away and slaps up a sign. Wow, such superior service! I had just had a conversation with Venus about maybe switching from gas to electric but I was hesitant because I prefer cooking with gas. The explosion of the propane tank had me thinking perhaps it was time to switch.
But since I didn't have the outlets necessary for a stove and a water heater I thought I would use up the last gas tank and be able to take my time in getting the electric upgrade and buying new appliances. Now my mind was made up for me, it seemed. I had the bill for the tank fillup at home and was going to pay it but the crappy service I had gotten and the complete lack of customer service concerning this incident changed my mind. I was not going to pay for the gas. I wrote a letter stating such and pointed out the lack of attention by their company and sent the bill back. I then started looking for an electric stove and water heater.
A week or two later I got a call from Ferrellgas from someone in their Risk Management Department. I called her back and gave her an earful about their lousy customer service and lack of communication with me and told her I wasn't paying the bill and wanted no further communication with this company ever again. She apologized but sympathized. I haven't received another bill or any other communication from them since then. Good.
I called a local electrician and he seemed eager to help. He made a date to some give me an estimate for the job and then didn't show up nor did he call. No customer service here. I wasn't as surprised by that action as it seems commonplace with anyone in the trades and I have experienced such attitudes in the past. But I still need an electrician. I had thought Home Depot would be good as I could buy the appliances there and they would take care of the install but Home Depot doesn't do electricity. I was on my own for that.
Really feeling lost in Customer No Service a friend of mine came through for me. Wendy has a cousin who is an electrician and he is a man of his word. He called me, came out to the house the next day, gave an estimate and is coming on Friday to do the work. Finally somebody who actually provides true customer service.
I guess I shouldn't be so surprised about the lack of customer service these days. It seems to be a widespread occurrence not simply isolated incidents. It still leaves me wondering, though. How is a business supposed to stay in business and be successful if they don't take the time and attention to care for their existing customers when they have a problem?
I guess that is really just a rhetorical question anymore?
Heavy sigh,
OH
# posted by OH @ 10:49 AM 
