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Thread: Customer service?

  1. #1
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    Customer service?

    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?
    Dennis

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    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  3. #3
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    Repair of my sprinkler

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    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
    Last edited by Jim Becker; 07-13-2022 at 8:12 PM. Reason: fixed quote tagging
    Dennis

  4. #4
    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.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #5
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    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 $$$$$
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave Lehnert View Post
    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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by dennis thompson View Post
    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!

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  8. #8
    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.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    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.

  10. #10
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    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. "

  11. #11
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    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

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Garson View Post
    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
    Dennis

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by dennis thompson View Post
    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.

  14. #14
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    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
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    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.
    Last edited by Doug Garson; 07-15-2022 at 9:41 PM. Reason: Spelling

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