Service Company Vent

[Diegosmom]

We are having trouble with our hot water heater and decided we would just get it serviced (I got a coupon for $49) so I called last night and was trying to set up a time for today. I was trying to take late afternoon so I could just get out of work early but hubby said if we got first thing then he could go to work late. So I asked the guy. He said they start at 8am and would put us in for first service call. Ok great.

Well during the night DS got sick so had to stay home today. So I went into work early and then came home at 9 (working from home) so hubby could go to work. Well when I got here ARS (service company) still wasnt here. I called at 10:45 and was told that I was scheduled for 11-1...what the heck.

My husband is self employed and if he doesnt work he doesnt get paid. So it is now noon and still no ARS. If hubby was home right now by the time they get here and finish there would have been no point in him working today and he would have lost an entires day pay.

I don't understand why he told me he was putting me in for 8am when he did 11-1. I would have just taking a late appointment and gotten out a little early.

When I called the lady just said sorry I can connect you with dispatch and they can tell you what time he'll be there. I declined since I am home anyway with sick DS and obviously we arent going anywhere but still...

Ok vent over...

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

We had this happen before with a different company. We were told pretty much the same as you we were the first "service call" and but no one decided to mention emergency calls could bump us into a later time frame. Yeah, I was ticked!

 

[Diegosmom]

It is working out fine for us since like I said I'm home for DS but DS never gets sick so this is rare. They did say they could call 30min before so if I had set it up that way I could have just left work when they called. But we have used them before and most of the time they call me from my driveway so I didnt want to set it up that way. And actually we have no Hot water so won't that be an emergency.

 

[jen0610]

It is working out fine for us since like I said I'm home for DS but DS never gets sick so this is rare. They did say they could call 30min before so if I had set it up that way I could have just left work when they called. But we have used them before and most of the time they call me from my driveway so I didnt want to set it up that way. And actually we have no Hot water so won't that be an emergency.

Only if you deem it an emergency. And if you want the emergency response, your service call fee bumps up to the very much higher fee. For our service people it goes from $49.00 for a regular svc call up to $99.00 for the emergency svc call.

The last time we had no hot water started on friday night. I called and scheduled for a Monday appointment. Like I told DH, we can take a sponge bath with boiled hot water. I wasn't paying for the emergency charges - not just the servcie call, but the hourly charge for the time that it takes to get the repair done.

But I know what you mean, when they tell you they start at X time and you are at the top of the list, you kinda expect them to show up within an hour of that start time.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

And actually we have no Hot water so won't that be an emergency.

I'd consider that an emergency!!!

But I think leaks and frozen pipes are more of what they consider emergencies.

Either way it's frustrating that they tell you one thing and that's not what happens.

 

[pixiefairy]

I love the ones that give you between 10 and 4 as your time frame. GE was good for that. Gotta love staying home and they show up at 3:59. I'm sorry they did that...sometimes I think something more urgent pops up AFTER the initial appointment is made, but a courtesy call would be nice.

 

[tvguy]

I've been in that same frustrating situation too.

However, to play devil's advocate, doing that scheduling has to be tough. You never really know how long each call is going to take. So does a company tell a customer whose job is taking longer than expected, "sorry, I'll have to come back tomorrow because I have another appointment scheduled"......or do you just push back the other appointment?

 

[Diegosmom]

I understand that scheduling is difficult and knowing how long each call will take but don't tell me I am first when really I am slotted for 11-2. That is what really annoyed me.

And they charged me a fortune just to relight my pilot, but that is an entirely different vent...

 

[ols386]

I understand that scheduling is difficult and knowing how long each call will take but don't tell me I am first when really I am slotted for 11-2. That is what really annoyed me.

And they charged me a fortune just to relight my pilot, but that is an entirely different vent...

That's the thing. Why tell you that you are the very first one on the schedule, if you really aren't? And when they say, first on the scedule, I take that to mean around 9am, unless they specify otherwise.

We had service work done recently, and they did the same thing. Said we were first on the schedule, and the guy should arrive around 8am, and then he doesn't get there till 11am. Sorry, but there's a big difference between 8am and 11am. If something came up that they could not be there around 8am, then call me and let me know.