Customer service?

[dennis thompson]

I had my air conditioner repaired, a few pounds of Freon and a sealer were added, and I got a $450 bill. As he was repairing the air conditioner, he broke one of my sprinkler heads. He brought in the broken piece and showed it to me, no apology, no offer to get it repaired. I told him I'd get it repaired, I did and got a bill for $150 which I paid. I then sent a copy to the air conditioner repairman asking him to reimburse me. He called me outraged that I would send him the bill. He said that I said I would take care of it, well I did, but I surely did not mean that he shouldn't pay for the sprinkler repair. He told me he'd pay the $150 but not to call him him the future (I had no intention of calling him).
What's even more interesting is that I had discussed with him possibly replacing my units, we have three, one for each floor of the house, so for the sake of a $150 bill he was willing to throw away a potential much larger and more expensive job. This is what we now call customer service?

[Jim Koepke]

Some folks cannot see the bigger picture.

It would surprise me if he didn't know someone who could have done the repair to the sprinkler head. Though my thoughts spring from my folks having an appliance & furniture store that also did repairs. My father seemed to network with all kinds of trades people and would call on them when needed and of course many would call on him.

jtk

[dennis thompson]

Some folks cannot see the bigger picture.

It would surprise me if he didn't know someone who could have done the repair to the sprinkler head. .


When he called me he told me he knew someone who would have done the repair for a lot less than $150. He should have told me that when he broke the head, not after I had the repair was done. I certainly would have used his repairman

[Frederick Skelly]

I think I'd have asked him to pay for the damage, when he brought it to me. No surprises that way, for either of you.

But like you, I've "gotten attitude" from an AC guy with whom I was discussing a new unit.

[Dave Lehnert]

Customer service is gone.

I worked in retail for 25 years. I think customers put up with way too much and need to complain more and vote with their $$$$$

[Frank Pratt]

Customer service is gone.


Sorry to sound harsh, but that statement is just ridiculous. I get great customer service everyday. It's that bad customer service that is the anomaly.

[Jim Koepke]

Sorry to sound harsh, but that statement is just ridiculous. I get great customer service everyday. It's that bad customer service that is the anomaly.

My tendency is to treat people who work in retail with respect and kindness. They in turn always seem to do the same for me.

I often get a thanks and a smile when leaving by saying, "go tell the boss I thought you are doing such a great job you should get the rest of the day off with full pay."

If you want to understand what people in retail have to endure, search > tales from retail < on YouTube. Some customers do not deserve the courtesy with which they are treated.

NO! The customer is not always right.


When he called me he told me he knew someone who would have done the repair for a lot less than $150. He should have told me that when he broke the head, not after I had the repair was done. I certainly would have used his repairman

Right, maybe he would have come out and while fixing the sprinkler damaged your AC! :eek:

jtk

[Ron Citerone]

He should have offered to fix it, sent someone to fix it or offered to reimburse you if you had it fixed. Plain and simple.

[Brian Elfert]

Sorry to sound harsh, but that statement is just ridiculous. I get great customer service everyday. It's that bad customer service that is the anomaly.

Right, we rarely remember the good customer service, but we are likely to remember bad customer service for a long time. The Internet has made this worse. People experience what they believe is poor customer service and post it all over the Internet. Those who get good service rarely post it online.

Quite a few of the complaints I see online are just laughable. The vendor didn't call you right back with a price quote so they are a bad company. Poor you, your package arrived a day late! How is that the seller's fault if they shipped it on time? Most of the time the buyer didn't need the item right away. They are just upset it didn't arrive on the estimated delivery day.

[Doug Garson]

Perhaps when you told him you would get it fixed you should have added "and send you the bill." It's not that unreasoable for him to assume you were willing to cover the repair cost if all you said was "I'll get it fixed. "

[Ric Jones]

its a hit and miss deal, at least for us, am in const. biz and our success has been our customer service during and after project, 42 years of great work, with less than a couple unhappy clients. says a lot for the quality of the work and the employees we had, or used to, hired over 50 since jan 1 of this year, only have one left so to speak.
even with a slow education of how we treat our clients, several just didn't get it, rude, indifferent to their inquiries, several had to be removed for their lanquage, they all seemed to be angry at something or other,
i'm done in a few weeks 42 years of biz and i'm outta of there, the employees left have great opportunities with several of my competitors, and hoping they are able to use their time here to better their future, several have been here almost 20 years.

customer service, comes and goes with the economic times, imo
rj in az

[dennis thompson]

Perhaps when you told him you would get it fixed you should have added "and send you the bill." It's not that unreasoable for him to assume you were willing to cover the repair cost if all you said was "I'll get it fixed. "

I can’t agree with you on this. Why would or should the repairman, who just broke my sprinkler, expect me to pay for it? I guess I could see your point if it were a $5 or $10 repair, but not $150. In any case he should have said; “I broke your sprinkler, I’ll have it repaired” that’s just common courtesy much less good customer service

[Doug Garson]

I can’t agree with you on this. Why would or should the repairman, who just broke my sprinkler, expect me to pay for it? I guess I could see your point if it were a $5 or $10 repair, but not $150. In any case he should have said; “I broke your sprinkler, I’ll have it repaired” that’s just common courtesy much less good customer service
I don't disagree that he should fix it just that there was a misunderstanding when you said you would get it fixed and assumed he would hear "and he would pay for it" without you saying it. In my experience misunderstandings are never 100% one persons fault, in this case I'd assess you 50% (arbitrary number) of the blame, not for the repair but for the missunderstanding. Not familiar with sprinkler heads, had no idea it could cost $150 to fix one and maybe he didn't either. If he thought it was a $10 fix maybe he assumed you would be ok with paying for it.

[Jim Koepke]

Not familiar with sprinkler heads, had no idea it could cost $150 to fix one and maybe he didn't either.

Are there any service people who will come out and look without charging a fee for just showing up?

During my days as a field service technician, we charged depending on milage as much as $150 for just walking in the door.

With a sprinkler head there might have been some digging involved. Labor is not cheap in many of the trades.

jtk

[Doug Garson]

Are there any service people who will come out and look without charging a fee for just showing up?

During my days as a field service technician, we charged depending on milage as much as $150 for just walking in the door.

With a sprinkler head there might have been some digging involved. Labor is not cheap in many of the trades.

jtk
Again, not familiar with them, I assumed you could take in to a shop, have it repaired and reinstall it yourself, obviously the only part I got right was "not familiar with them". Still say if there was a misunderstanding both sides usually share some of the blame for the misunderstanding, remember the old saying if you assume you make an a$$ out of you and me.

[Frank Pratt]

$150 is not unreasonable at all for having someone come out to replace a head.

[Lee DeRaud]

I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea of $150 to repair a sprinkler head. A valve or long section of pipe, sure, but a head?

I do my own yard work now, but when I had a gardener, he'd fix broken heads as part of the normal lawn service. That appears to be true for the ones my neighbors now use as well. They usually even have the parts on their trucks, since dealing with that sort of thing is pretty much an everyday thing for them.

The only way something like that should cost $150 is if you called out a plumber to do it. But that's a bit like having an electrician come to your house to change a lightbulb.

[Ronald Blue]

When you say "I will take care of it" that implies you are taking care of it. Is he responsible? Yes, but if that is the exact statement it implies discussion is over. Probably what you should have said is do you want to take care of it? I am unfamiliar with sprinkler systems and what you might have. A quick search comes up with many different ones for under $10. As I said I am unfamiliar with those systems. $150 does seem like a lot.

[Frederick Skelly]

My folks have sprinklers. Their guy charges a $75 trip charge. So I could see $100 around here, if you call a repairman. But the cost of living may be higher where the OP lives.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm having a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the idea of $150 to repair a sprinkler head.

For all we know the AC person drove over it and not only broke the sprinkler head but also some underground pipe.

Even if it was just the sprinkler head, there was likely a trip charge, a minimum hourly charge and parts. It can add up real fast.

Plumbers do not drive to a job for free. They do not learn how to do their job for free. They do not get parts for free. It all gets billed to their customers.

jtk

[Lee DeRaud]

For all we know the AC person drove over it and not only broke the sprinkler head but also some underground pipe.

Even if it was just the sprinkler head, there was likely a trip charge, a minimum hourly charge and parts. It can add up real fast.

Plumbers do not drive to a job for free. They do not learn how to do their job for free. They do not get parts for free. It all gets billed to their customers.
Again...plumber?!? For a sprinkler head?

As my dad said many years ago, "Don't pay a $25/hour guy to do $5/hour work." Adjust for inflation as necessary, YMMV.

[dennis thompson]

It was a sprinkler company not a plumber. $150 didn’t surprise me, around here you don’t a many repairs for less than that.

[Dave Zellers]

As my dad said many years ago, "Don't pay a $25/hour guy to do $5/hour work." Adjust for inflation as necessary, YMMV.

Ok, I know that Dennis has already said that it wasn't a plumber, but that phrase is a keeper. I love it.

[Derek Meyer]

I have a sprinkler company that comes out every Spring, does a backflow test and a Spring startup test, and they will repair or replace any damaged heads. They usually only charge for parts as they are already there. If I have to call them for a repair at another time it is usually $40 to $60 for the call plus parts cost. I think that they are pretty reasonable. Of course, they installed my system when the house was built and have been servicing it for 19 years now.

Derek

[Jim Koepke]

I have a sprinkler company that comes out every Spring, does a backflow test and a Spring startup test, and they will repair or replace any damaged heads. They usually only charge for parts as they are already there. If I have to call them for a repair at another time it is usually $40 to $60 for the call plus parts cost. I think that they are pretty reasonable. Of course, they installed my system when the house was built and have been servicing it for 19 years now.

Derek

That could be the difference between locations (New Jersey vs Idaho) and having continuous service with the company.

Also without knowing the extent of repair needed on Dennis's system it makes little sense to chastise the service company. If it was a simple remove broken head and install new head, $150 does seem a bit high. The installer likely had to do some system testing and we do not know what all else.

There was a problem with a field hydrant in my greenhouse:

483107

Fortunately my abilities to use a shovel and repair things likely saved more than what Dennis was billed if a "professional" was called in to do the job.

jtk

[Doug Garson]

Interesting where this thread has gone. The majority of discussion is whether $150 is a reasonable to repair a sprinkler head rather than what I think is the issue which is the lack of communication between the service guy and the homeowner.

[Jim Koepke]

Interesting where this thread has gone. The majority of discussion is whether $150 is a reasonable to repair a sprinkler head rather than what I think is the issue which is the lack of communication between the service guy and the homeowner.

Isn't that why this is the Off Topic Forum because people often go off topic? :eek: :D

jtk

[Doug Garson]

Isn't that why this is the Off Topic Forum because people often go off topic? :eek: :D

jtk
Still on topic, just not what I thought was the more important issue, I've been wrong before, some say more often than not.

[Rich Engelhardt]

We're in the process of building a new house right now.

Customer service is not only dead, it's rotting carcass is stinking up the whole neighborhood....

My wife had a plumber tell her right to her face he didn't care if what he was doing wasn't up to code and didn't pass inspection.
The builder was right there too BTW and said nothing.

[Brian Elfert]

I was at a flooring store yesterday looking at hardwood flooring. It is not a fancy store. Bare concrete floor with rolls of carpet piled on the floor and displays of LVP and hardwood along one wall. The employee had no sense of good customer service. He apparently had worked there a long time. I asked about pricing on some samples with no prices listed and he didn't want to look up the price for me.

[Kev Williams]

We're in the process of building a new house right now.

Customer service is not only dead, it's rotting carcass is stinking up the whole neighborhood....

My wife had a plumber tell her right to her face he didn't care if what he was doing wasn't up to code and didn't pass inspection.

--then maybe he'll understand why YOU won't care if he gets upset when you stop his payment...

[Rich Engelhardt]

--then maybe he'll understand why YOU won't care if he gets upset when you stop his payment...We can only dream of that.
One reason it's taken months to get him to come back and finish his work is that he's already been paid.

The idiot builder pays all these subs when they say they are done.

We go to the house to look at it and find they have left all sorts of things undone.

The jerk excavator overlooked digging the trench for the waterlines. It took him months to come back and do that.
He had been paid to do it back in January.
He finally graced us with his presence in June and dug the water lines.
The city came out to install the meter and wondered why he had used plastic for the line.
He said they just went through this exact same thing with this exact same person - on the house across the street!

After he was done he gave us a bill for an extra $1800. For a job he had already been paid to do.

Did I mention how much I hate this house?
I do. I hate this house.
I almost hope I die before we move into it.

[dennis thompson]

So I just signed a contract to replace all 3 of our central air conditioners and furnaces for $30,000. After it’s finished I plan to send a copy of the receipt to the air conditioner repairman who broke my sprinkler and told me never to call him again, all over $150. So, per his request I didn’t call him.