home improvement
The erosion of customer service: the water heater story
28/June/2008 18:07 Filed in: Home
I love doing things online. I love to order my pizza
online, and pay online. I like to send off emails to
contacts rather than calling. Recently I discovered
that I like online classes (at least up to now)…but
there are some times that you want some face-to-face
interaction with people providing a service!
As was mentioned before, my water heater died. It wasn’t flooding the house or anything, so we looked at a few different models online, saw what people were saying about them, online, and tried to find a plumber, online (no customer ratings for plumbers in my areas online though).
We looked at Home Depot online and decided to tentatively go with them since they hire local contractors. We decided to NOT order online, so that we may speak to a Home Depot associate about it and arrange things face to face. After all, major home repairs do require more TLC than ordering a pizza!
We went to the store, saw the hot water heater, it was in stock. I go up to the service desk, smile, and tell the person at the desk that I wanted to purchase a hot water heater. She smiled back and said I could do it at home (online or phone), or I can do it in the store. OK, well, I was in the store, so I wanted to do it at the store!
She pointed to a phone, and said that I can pick up the headset, and I will be connected to the hotline. “Sorry, what?” I asked. I then reiterated that I wanted to buy a hot water heater that I just saw 30 seconds ago. She said that I had to do it over the phone. “What about installation?” I asked. She said that I could do that over the phone too!
Well why did I drive in here, I thought to myself, and why would no one at my local store take my credit card, charge me for the water heater of my choice, and then act as an intermediary between me and a contractor to get me a quote? Is it that hard?
I humored them, sat down for 3 minutes, fiddling with the system - none of the options were “buy a hot water heater” so I hit the button for a customer service representative. I was on hold for 30 seconds when I decided to give up, and go home. What kind of customer service is this?
Now I know that I like to do most things online, but I don’t want any misunderstandings when I am about to pay $800 or more to replace my heater! According to our research there are a number of complaints against Home Depot’s contractors, so I wanted a real person to explain to me, face to face, exactly what the costs are for this kind of job. I don’t want to purchase online, I don’t want to call someone, I just wanted an associate to ring me up, and help me get a quote and arrange for installation. Is that too much to ask in this i(nternet)Age?
As was mentioned before, my water heater died. It wasn’t flooding the house or anything, so we looked at a few different models online, saw what people were saying about them, online, and tried to find a plumber, online (no customer ratings for plumbers in my areas online though).
We looked at Home Depot online and decided to tentatively go with them since they hire local contractors. We decided to NOT order online, so that we may speak to a Home Depot associate about it and arrange things face to face. After all, major home repairs do require more TLC than ordering a pizza!
We went to the store, saw the hot water heater, it was in stock. I go up to the service desk, smile, and tell the person at the desk that I wanted to purchase a hot water heater. She smiled back and said I could do it at home (online or phone), or I can do it in the store. OK, well, I was in the store, so I wanted to do it at the store!
She pointed to a phone, and said that I can pick up the headset, and I will be connected to the hotline. “Sorry, what?” I asked. I then reiterated that I wanted to buy a hot water heater that I just saw 30 seconds ago. She said that I had to do it over the phone. “What about installation?” I asked. She said that I could do that over the phone too!
Well why did I drive in here, I thought to myself, and why would no one at my local store take my credit card, charge me for the water heater of my choice, and then act as an intermediary between me and a contractor to get me a quote? Is it that hard?
I humored them, sat down for 3 minutes, fiddling with the system - none of the options were “buy a hot water heater” so I hit the button for a customer service representative. I was on hold for 30 seconds when I decided to give up, and go home. What kind of customer service is this?
Now I know that I like to do most things online, but I don’t want any misunderstandings when I am about to pay $800 or more to replace my heater! According to our research there are a number of complaints against Home Depot’s contractors, so I wanted a real person to explain to me, face to face, exactly what the costs are for this kind of job. I don’t want to purchase online, I don’t want to call someone, I just wanted an associate to ring me up, and help me get a quote and arrange for installation. Is that too much to ask in this i(nternet)Age?
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Slow, slow progress…
14/June/2008 06:17 Filed in: Personal
Painting is going slower than I had anticipated.
On the plus side, I am done (or almost done) with sanding most of the re hard-to-remove paint off most of the wall. Now the hard part starts: using a heat gun and a scraper to remove pain off the door, door molding and window molding. Hopefully the weather this weekend will be sunny and I can get (most) of this done. I am looking forward to the cleanup, and the painting, so we can use our deck.
On the plus side, I am done (or almost done) with sanding most of the re hard-to-remove paint off most of the wall. Now the hard part starts: using a heat gun and a scraper to remove pain off the door, door molding and window molding. Hopefully the weather this weekend will be sunny and I can get (most) of this done. I am looking forward to the cleanup, and the painting, so we can use our deck.
Not a happy camper!
07/June/2008 18:23 Filed in: Personal
OK...
I am not a happy camper!
My car made weird sounds when I turned the steering wheel. I took it to my local place for an oil change (regular maintenance) and asked them to look into it. They told me that the steering column was leaking power steering fluid and it will need to be replaced by the dealer. I am not upset that its leaking, after all my car is 8 years old, so some major maintenance is expected at some point. I am upset because in mid-february I paid close to $1000 for a new steering column at the dealer because the old was leaking.
So... they charged me for something they did not do, or the parts the put in were bad. I don't see anyway that my day to day driving could cause this damage, because it's the same route I have taken to work for the last four years! I filled up my power steering fluid and I will be going back to the dealer soon...
The other thing that went this past week was my hot water heater! Well, it was 14 years old, so it was expected...it's just an inopportune time.
Salavabitsch!
I am not a happy camper!
My car made weird sounds when I turned the steering wheel. I took it to my local place for an oil change (regular maintenance) and asked them to look into it. They told me that the steering column was leaking power steering fluid and it will need to be replaced by the dealer. I am not upset that its leaking, after all my car is 8 years old, so some major maintenance is expected at some point. I am upset because in mid-february I paid close to $1000 for a new steering column at the dealer because the old was leaking.
So... they charged me for something they did not do, or the parts the put in were bad. I don't see anyway that my day to day driving could cause this damage, because it's the same route I have taken to work for the last four years! I filled up my power steering fluid and I will be going back to the dealer soon...
The other thing that went this past week was my hot water heater! Well, it was 14 years old, so it was expected...it's just an inopportune time.
Salavabitsch!
Painting is a no go - yet
26/May/2008 18:12 Filed in: Personal