Do pool companies and other service workers think we are stupid? UPDATE UPDATE

[Talk Host]

A couple of weeks ago, I went into Florida Pool and Spa on 466 and ordered a new solar blanket for our pool. I was told it would be delivered "first thing tomorrow morning." Well, as you guessed, I had to call at 11 a.m. and demand that somebody come out. When they arrived at 11:30 or so, they denied that I was told it would be delivered "first thing in the morning."

Then they forgot to leave the plastic solar protection cover. I called last Thursday and was told that it would be brought out Friday morning. NO SHOW. I waited until Wednesday and called again. I was told that it would be brought out first thing Thursday morning. It is now Thursday evening and NO SHOW. Still no cover.

What is a person to do. It is maddening. Do service industries in this area think that Villages residents are stupid, or senile, or worthless, or what?

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

When the cover did not arrive last night, I called Florida Pool and Spa about 4:30 to find out why. The person with whom I have been dealing had gone home. I was assured that they would leave a message and tell her to call me first thing in the morning. It's 11 a.m. and no call. It's 11 a.m. and no cover delivered. I called at 11 a.m. and she was busy and could not come to the phone. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA :cus: :cus:

[chuckinca]

Answer to your question is: All of the Above

[mcelheny]

I think this company which is owned by the family is the worst. A friend just told me his story of them not keeping their appointments and not returning 10 of his phone calls etc.

[Muncle]

I've found service personnel and organization here to be much more responsive than their counterparts in big cities up north. There are exceptions, but in most cases the people have been there when promised or close enough and have been able to help. Now the "customer service" technician for Comcast is a different matter entirely.

[Sailor17]

I am so glad you mentioned Comcast.......My husband called from here (NY) a week before the closing (3/20/'08) and Comcast scheduled an appointment to have service turned on 3/25/08........well, he rushed to buy a television and guess what?
Comcast never showed and when he called they said he never spoke to anyone at C

[SteveFromNY]

Talk Host - I don't think these service companies that are non-responsive think their customers are stupid. I think the issue is more that THEY are stupid. They probably mean what they say when they say it, but forget over the course of a day. I realize there are myriad ways for them to remember (make a "To Do" list for tomorrow is one), but they stupidly do not. I'm guessing there is no malice in their actions, just downright stupidity. And that is one of the reasons the majority of business fail in the beginning - they just don't know what it takes to succeed as a service provider.
But yes, it does come off like they are purposely ignoring their customers!

[chuckster]

The point of contact is the problem in all of these cases. Poorly trained minimum wage with minimum skills. ???

[Sailor17]

Oops again, sorry I forgot how to correct this..

Needless to say, it took another few days for Comcast to hook us up. Living here in NY, we are not shocked that this happened. Sadly, this seems to be the, "way things are done".

[Muncle]

When I moved in here into a new house, I had tons of appointments with seemingly everybody within a 100 mile radius. My calendar was filled with visits from the builder, the cable guy, the phone company, the irrigation system folks, the furnace guy, the blinds lady and later her installer, the washer/dryer installers, the ceiling fan installer, the garage door installer, the indoor bug people, the outdoor bug guy, the grass cutter, some furniture delivery people, and god only knows who else. Thank goodness for the great calender my old realtor had been providing for years. Finally put it to good use.

In all these appointments laid out over a two week period (except for some furniture and window treatment installation which took 5-8 weeks as expected), EVERY appointment was made. My only complaint was that they were disgustingly prompt, even early. I'd just moved from the DC area. I wasn't used to that.

Since then I've had a few issues, like with a landscaper who never returned calls and the aforementioned COMCAST "customer service", but most have been prompt, friendly, reasonably priced, and at least moderately competent.

[Midge538]

Be careful ... that's the Yoder family. Tight with the developer and in control of all of the concrete that: was poured, is poured or will be poured here. Have you ever seen any T&D Concrete trucks go by? They have the most gate passes to TV. Commissioner Gilpin was brought here from Michigan and provided with a six figure job, a campaign war chest of over six figures and a large home by the Yoders. Interesting scenario ...

[Sidney Lanier]

I think that all we can do is continue to share info about our merchant experiences, both the good and the bad, with our fellow Villagers through this forum and at the same time let these merchants know what TOTV is about and what we are doing. There's great value in citing the buying power of the number of people living here, and I feel perfectly comfortable using this as a 'motivating factor' in dealing with those who are as bad as the company described at the beginning of this post.

We have tried for several months to get an issue resolved with a local chain store, finally reached the end of our patience, sent a pointed letter to the store manager with copies to the director of customer services, the CEO, and the CFO, all located in the corporate offices in another state, and gave them one week to resolve the issue before I would post our experience on TOTV. I even gave the link about the Ace Hardware store that was posted a while back in Belleview to show them the potential power of boycott. I just got a call today (Thursday) with a promise of exactly the resolution we expected after having explained that we would wait no later than the coming Monday before posting on TOTV.

There is no reason anyone has to put up with this kind of garbage customer service. We MUST consistently take advantage of our numbers to 'force' appropriate service from those companies sadly lacking, no matter what their sorry excuses! The real problem is when we're dealing with monopolies like Comcast (mentioned earlier, with whom we have no relationship, gratefully...) and Embarq (with whom we had a miserable experience when we started our phone service in December). Outrageous!

[Talk Host]

bump for update

[Russ_Boston]

And the update is?

[Talk Host]

And the update is?


It was added to the orignal post. Sorry. I'll put it here too.

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

When the cover did not arrive last night, I called Florida Pool and Spa about 4:30 to find out why. The person with whom I have been dealing had gone home. I was assured that they would leave a message and tell her to call me first thing in the morning. It's 11 a.m. and no call. It's 11 a.m. and no cover delivered. I called at 11 a.m. and she was busy and could not come to the phone. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[Talk Host]

It's here, It's here, It's here..... :hot: :2excited: :beer3: :beer2:

[Sidney Lanier]

Unbelievable.... Any apology? Any explanation? Geez!

[Talk Host]

Unbelievable.... Any apology? Any explanation? Geez!


No. >:(

[captain1202]

I was involved in in-home sales for sunrooms for a couple of years. Can't tell you how many sales I would get simply because I showed up on time.

On the sales side, my gripe was homeowners who would make an appointment for a sales call, then be a no-show when you arrived on time. Heard all the excuses, but the bottom line is if you can't make the appointment, call and cancel. The commissioned sales person who has just driven 1 1/2 hrs (I covered the state of NH) will thank you for not wasting his gas and time.

An earlier post said it all...it is WE the consumer who now have the power. With the advent of the 'net and blogs such as this, the tables have been turned on providers large and small. Don't let them get away with it..hit 'em where it hurts, the pocketbook by posting your experiences and sharing with friends.

I'm not sure why I need to "be careful" of the Yoder's as was suggested. If they provide crappy service, they don't get my business, period. I'm sure there is another spa/pool company in Florida. Jan, will you patronize them again?

[samhass]

This may be part of the problem. Employees can be unreliable..or having a bad day, and the owner gets skewered. I have had many dealings with T&D and Florida Pool and Spa. I have found them to be forthright and superb to work with. They seem to uphold a high standard in their workmanship. The best pools in my neighborhood have been built by T&D. I'm not sure why having ties to the Developer is a bad thing. The Morses have built an incredible community here in TV. I admire them tremendously, but then I am a capitalistic wench at heart. ;D I will not pretend TV has no flaws, but with the scale of this project, it's surprising there aren't more. Am I angry that the Morses got rich from all of us? No way. More power to them. They put their collective arses on the line, gambled and won. It's the American way.





The point of contact is the problem in all of these cases. Poorly trained minimum wage with minimum skills. ???

[Barefoot]

Great post Samhass. :agree:


Am I angry that the Morses got rich from all of us? No way. More power to them. They put their collective arses on the line, gambled and won. It's the American way.


I haven't dealt with the Florida Pool Company. It sounds as if they suffer from disorganization at the front desk. But I have had outstanding service from contractors, painters, construction workers, lawncare companies, Comcast installer, landscapers, and just about everyone I've dealt with in Florida. All estimates I've requested have been promptly and cheerfully provided.

I've never been treated as if I'm stupid, senile or worthless. And sometimes I yam!

[Rokinronda]

Jan, it was good to hear it arrived...phewwwwww! I was in customer service my entire life and am still involved. Sounds as though many many co's. here need customer service counsultation. BIG TIME!

[Villages Kahuna]

Florida Spa & Pool built my pool, maintains it on a weekly basis and has added two separate additions to my birdcage and pool deck. I have found them to be extremely responsive, polite and the pricing for their construction and services are very fair. I wouldn't even think about contracting with another provider of pool products and services.

[Russ_Boston]

Just an observation:

It seems that VK and Talk Host live in different communities from their comments (not just on this particular subject either). This makes it difficult for us future TVers to gather good intell. In the end I guess we all have to do our own homework anyway so I apprecate hearing from both sides.

[needleptdoc]

If you want to see bad customer service , go to South Florida. The rudiest uncaring merchants in the country !!! I lived there 30 years and it really is awful!!! I find the merchants in central fl. WONDERFUL, Comcast, embarq, seco included. I have problems with Publix up here. There is always a mistake on my bill. The wrong price, they charge twice for an item, buy one get one don't come off. This happens almost every week. Don't just assume your bill is correct. Check each item.

[Sidney Lanier]

I have heard that repeated time and again about bad customer service in south FL.

As far as our dealings with local merchants is concerned, sure, we can go only by our own experience, and not everyone's experience is the same. Buying anything, whether an actual item or a service, carries with it a caveat of 'buyer beware' (which I often find myself saying regarding things as crucial as medical care), and yes, we have to find out for ourselves, hopefully not by getting burned. However, I do NOT accept as an excuse for any company that the employee is minimum wage or had a bad day or is not well trained; there is a bottom line, which is that the employer has to be responsible for all aspects of his business, including (and maybe particularly) his or her employees who are the 'face' of the company as far as the public is concerned!

Related to this, I strongly feel that we need to complain when appropriate and not accept and make excuses for poor service, but we also have to be more conscious of paying compliments for quality service. I do this when it's appropriate and often there is a pause and confusion, and occasionally a quiet gasp (!), as it's such a rarity that businesses don't know how to handle it!