It Seems So Obvious [to me]

Ryan's Blog

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

The Latest Battle

Here are the notes from the latest battle with service oriented companies with shitty customer service:


Basement Clogged Drain

  • Discovered flood in basement on Thursday, October 1 
  • Created service request through AHS
    • AHS Contracted Waldorf Water and Gas for Friday between 11-3 
    • I received an invoice for a service fee of $60
  • Waldorf showed up at 4PM and said it was a clogged drain and he didn't have the right tools
    • The plumber calls the office and diagnoses a drain clog
    • New appointment is scheduled for Monday between 11-3
  • Monday 
    • I called Waldorf at 10AM to confirm and was told I was 2nd on the list 
    • At 12PM I called again and was told they would arrive by 3PM
    • At 2:00PM I called again and was told he was running late and would arrive by 4PM
    • At 3:00PM I called again and was told he was running later than usual and he would be there by 6PM
    • At 5:30PM I called again and was told he was not coming because the "truck broke down"
    • I called AHS to see if I could schedule a new contractor
      • The rep was very nice and explained that there were lots, and she would call a bunch to see who could come and call me back 
      • 1 hour later I called for a status update. They had no record of my previous call, but noted there were no "attempts" made
        • I spoke to a different rep who told me I could not switch, there was no record of the clogged drain, and the issue under "water heater" was deemed completed 
        • She also said that I could not switch contractors, and she would call Waldorf in the morning to clear up the issue 
    • For and estimate, I called Roto Rooter. They arrived within 1 hour with a $411 estimate. I sent them packing
  • Tuesday
    • I called AHS at 9:30 for a status and they had no record of anything being done on my behalf
    • The rep conferenced in Waldorf who said I was on the schedule today as the LAST CALL around 2:30 and to call them at 2PM if I had not heard
    • I explained how upset I was to be blown off the day before and pushed to the bottom of the priority list for the next day
    • The rep upgraded my ticket to emergency and promised Waldorf would come today 
    • Following the call, I received a 2nd invoice for a 2nd service fee of $60
    • Called AHS at 2PM and communicated that I had not heard from Waldorf
      • The rep called Waldorf and assured that I was still on the schedule
      • He would not ask or indicate whether they would be on time 
    • Called AHS at 3:15PM and communicated that I had not heard from Waldorf
      • The rep called Waldorf and they stated they were backed up 
      • They offered to come between 5-7pm 
      • AHS stated that they will look for another company to come out 
        • I expressed deep frustration and told them I can not stay home from the office for a 3rd day in a row with a flood in my basement
        • AHS transferred the call to ARBOGAST PLUMBING SERVICES, LLC and said they would be at the house within 2 hours
        • ARBOGAST PLUMBING SERVICES, LLC
        • (540) 868-2839
        • ARBOGASTPLUMBING@YAHOO.COM
      • The rep promised to send me a coupon for a free service call 
      • The rep promised that there would be only 1 service fee
    • Arbogast Plumbing called at 3:45PM and said they were definitely coming tonight, but the drive would need to return to the shop for the large snake. 
    • Kelly from Arbogast called at 5:00PM to let me know the technician (Gary) was in Manassas on a call and then was heading to Arlington, then he would drive to Winchester to get the snake and come to me. She told me to expect 9 or 10 PM. 
      • I explained to Kelly that I needed to have this completed, I would stay up all night
      • She told me she was headed to pick up her daughter from cheer leading and not to worry if I called and got voicemail. She assured me that Gary's number was on the voicemail and he's available 24/7
    • Called Kelly at 9PM, no answer - called Gary no answer - left messages
    • Called Kelly at 11PM and 11:30PM - called Gary no answer - left messages
    • Called AHS at 11:30 and explained the situation again
      • AHS stated that in their notes from 4:30PM, they see that Kelly spoke to me and I said someone had already fixed the problem
      • WHATTTT? How is that possible that Kelly thinks the situation is resolved at 4:30, but calls me at 5:00 to let me know the tech was coming at 9?
      • AHS "nothing I can do" 
    • Called Gary 1 more time. He answered and said he wasn't going to make it tonight.  I called him a moron and hung up. I shouldn't have taken it out on him
    • Called AHS and they did nothing
  • Wednesday
    • I called AHS to get the status of the case
    • 9:15 - AHS told me I was authorized to get my own contractor and they would reimburse me
      • After telling me I would be transferred to the department to authorize the reimbursement, AHS transferred me to yet another rep who asked me what I was calling about
      • The rep put me on hold, came back and told me that I was now assigned to C & P PLUMBING, INC and was no longer authorized to get my own plumber. I almost passed out
    • 10AM - I called C&P to tell them the story and pleaded with them not to accept the job unless they were 1000% sure they could come today. 
      • They assured me that they would come between 10:00AM and 2:00PM today

Friday, November 14, 2008

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Project Completion

As quickly as it begun, the project to move the pedestal has been completed. From concept (July 29) to completion it took roughly 3 months. Pictures below:


The old location


The new pedestal location outside the fence




Thursday, October 23, 2008

Phase II?

Last night Cox called to make sure the gates would be open for the Phase II completion. They came around midnight and worked for a few hours very quietly with flashlights. When I woke up this morning, I checked the internet and cable connections, all seem to be working.

The huge mound of dirt is still next to the gaping hole outside the fence, and the pedestal is still inside the fence. So what exactly did they do? I guess we'll wait for the next phone call to find out.

This chapter hasn't ended yet.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Implementation Phase

Cox started digging on Monday morning... and boy did they dig. It took about 8 guys... 1 guy to dig and the other 7 stood around and spoke in Spanish about the guy who was digging.

So Phase I is complete. Unfortunately it's Tuesday night and Phase II has not yet started.






Friday, October 17, 2008

The Delay Phase - Cox cancels

Cox (or a Cox sub) called today to apologize and say that they would not be out today to start Phase I. They stated that they had numerous trucks break down and Monday is the new start. No big deal, I think we were expecting at least 1 delay. 

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Implementation Phase - Work is scheduled

Cox will be here in the morning to begin the pedestal move. They will accomplish the task in two phases.

  • Phase I (Friday morning) will be to expose the cables and dig the trenches for the work.
  • Phase II (Saturday 12AM - 6AM) will be to move the pedestal, fill in the holes, and call the job a success. Unfortunately the move will cause an outage for the entire neighborhood so the work must be performed during the night.
I sure hope there is nothing exciting on at midnight. Hmm, perhaps I should alert the HOA.