Doing business in the U.S.

[skyhightree1]

This isn't a post about politics its a post about something that has plagued me in recent years which is the lack of companies customer service or lack thereof. True story happened to me today.

I put a deposit down on a metal garage soon as I put the deposit down they wanted me to pour the cement asap I said fine no biggie I do cement so ill pour it well took a while with all the rain we had. Meanwhile the contractors for the company kept calling asking can they come install it tell them no slabs not done ill call u when it is. I finished slab couple weeks ago and called they scheduled to come today to do it and confirmed on Tuesday they will be here to put it up.
7am -2pm no call no show I called the foreman no answer no call back... 230 call guy I did the order with he said there not there and was shocked tells me ill call you back in a few mins fast forward no call call him back at 326 ask why didn't he call me back he says because he has no answers to give me so hold on a second. He comes back says the truck broke down I said ok so why didn't they call me he said he has no idea I said well there not putting it up now he said they may get there with 20 guys and put it up before dark I said no there not if they come there going to jail for trespassing I told him I don't pay thousands of dollars for you all to tell me what your going to do I tell yall and that he wasn't doing it for free nor paying me to put it up on my place so he is going to do what I say. He said well im trying to help you I said no your trying to get paid but I want my money back.. he said can I get with my general manager and see if we can give you a discount I said sure he says he will call me back fast forward 445 yea umm can we just put up the building then work on the discount later I told him #$#^%^$$% no you AH I said what did your manager say he says hes not available and he doesn't know about this issue yet.... WTF I told him he should have known when the crew did a no call no show regardless just give my money back he said umm the General manager has to do that. I hung up ill be having my cousin whos an attorney call him first thing Monday morning. I said all that to say this... I am so sick of these companies actions towards there customers and I strive daily to meet my obligations with my customers or atleast give a warning if something changes. Is it because these companies are paying people peanuts and they just don't care about doing a good job and gaining repeat business ? Or is it because the world is just a S... hole now?
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[dun]

Sadly I see that kind of crap often. That;s why when I do find a company that does what they should when they should and keeps me informed I let everyone I know about it. Same goes for the AH companys.

 

[skyhightree1]

Sadly I see that kind of crap often. That;s why when I do find a company that does what they should when they should and keeps me informed I let everyone I know about it. Same goes for the AH companys.

Very true. I know one thing I would never get them to build me a dog house.

 

[True Grit Farms]

Stuff happens for sure, but a phone call to the customer is manatory.

 

[M-5]

It's the economy , no profit and poor choices for employees , and competitive prices have Eliminated customer service

 

[dun]

It's the economy , no profit and poor choices for employees , and competitive prices have Eliminated customer service

It isn;t a recent thing. 20 years ago when I had the gunshop my accountant asked how I increased my business by 50% every year. Told him it was simple, customer service. When we first moved to the Ozarks we saw the same thing. I needed concrete poured and called 4-5 contractors before 1 finally returned my call.

 

[JW IN VA]

I think good customer service always wins.Years ago I was in "town" driving in a light rain.Wipers weren't cleaning.Pulled in to NAPA parts store and asked the counter guy for a replacement blade.He says the book calls for the whole blade but I think you can use a refill.Put on his jacket, fixed blade so only needed to use a refill.Could have stayed behind the counter,sold me a whole blade,and I'd been gone.
Guess where I started taking a lot of my parts business.

 

[greybeard]

It's the economy , no profit and poor choices for employees , and competitive prices have Eliminated customer service

It isn;t a recent thing. 20 years ago when I had the gunshop my accountant asked how I increased my business by 50% every year. Told him it was simple, customer service. When we first moved to the Ozarks we saw the same thing. I needed concrete poured and called 4-5 contractors before 1 finally returned my call.

Yep, it's been going on for at least 20 years. I've had people come out, look at a job, say they want the job, give me a bid and I accept the bid, then they never call or come again. When ya call and ask why, they find every excuse in the world--sounds like a schoolkid trying to explain what happened to their homework, when the real deal is, they simply lied---their word was not their bond.
Sometimes, unforeseen crap does happen, but there is absolutely no excuse for not keeping the customer fully informed. None.

 

[callmefence]

It's the way of big business. Even big little business. People have learned it because it's how all government offices work.
You put enough obstacles between the customer and the big boss so that it's almost impossible to complaint to someone with authority.

We make calls every morning. We're coming, we're late, we ain't coming. Even if it's pouring rain, we call.

With that being said. If a customer tells me what to do as far as methods or how many people I'm gonna use. I'll give him my competitor number and go on down the road.
I don't require deposits so there would be no money to give back.

 

[SteppedInIt]

I comprehend you're upset they didn't call and show up and I agree. I don't comprehend why you're asking for a refund because the truck broke down and they didn't show up. Seems your emotion over rules reasoning. Shouldn't you give them a chance to make things right? You bought a building, you didn't hire employees. When you contract, you have no say. If you want to run the show, buy the materials and hire your own labor.

If a customer tells me what to do as far as methods or how many people I'm gonna use. I'll give him my competitor number and go on down the road.

+1

 

[arkie1]

I think what skyhigh is getting at is the fact that he didn't even get a call to say that the truck broke down (sounds like a bs excuse to me as well). We deal with issues everyday at my job. Like fence we always call. Most customers understand that stuff happens they just want to be kept up to date on things so they're not sitting waiting on you for no reason. I've gained quite a few customers from simply treating customers the way I expect to be treated.

For sure very few places have decent customer service these days. Perfect example, I've had horrible service from the local tractor dealer who's about 20 minutes away from the place. I order parts and never get a call. When I finally have to call them and ask about my parts it always seems that the "system screwed up" or that its coming from some warehouse in the farthest parts of outer Mongolia. This is if you can even get them to answer the phone to begin with. After having this happen several times along with some shoty work from their service department and I'd had enough. If you don't want
to answer the phone so you can make money off of me then you obviously don't need my money to begin with. I now go
out of my way (about a 45 minute drive) to another dealer whom I get excellent customer service from. Those guys farm as well so when I have a baler down with hay on the ground and a rain moving in they understand what kind of situation I'm in. They even have an after hour parts service and will meet me up there on a Sunday evening if I need something. I find myself more and more willing to drive a little further or spend a little extra money if I know I'm going to get good service.

 

[dun]

They even have an after hour parts service and will meet me up there on a Sunday evening if I need something. I find myself more and more willing to drive a little further or spend a little extra money if I know I'm going to get good service.

Our local JD dealer does that too through all of their 9 locations.

 

[BobbyLummus1]

sounds like good free market capitalism to me . I guess you would rather do business somewhere else outside of the US ? Fire them and move on , go online and complain , shoot them for trespassing , reschedule and accept a discount ..

 

[SJB]

Customer service (and quality) is dead because the average consumer doesn't care about either. They only care about how cheap it is or what the financing terms are.

 

[JMJ Farms]

It's the economy , no profit and poor choices for employees , and competitive prices have Eliminated customer service

Yes sir you're exactly right.

Customer service (and quality) is dead because the average consumer doesn't care about either. They only care about how cheap it is or what the financing terms are.

And you sir are right also.

 

[skyhightree1]

I will try to answer everyones comments if I missed it it wasn't on purpose... I own a business and if issues arise in which I know they do the customer would know about it well before them having to call me. They told me they would be there 730 to do a job and needed someone there so they never called I had started calling and the foreman ignored my calls never returned my calls and then called the person I ordered it from at 230 is bad business if im forking out 7000 im not going to put up with that I work too hard to spend my money with folks that don't do as they say. I also think truck breaking down is crap too. I spoke with the guy I started dealing with and he advised a lot of there customers complain about the contractors so he understood. Reason I want my money back if your contractor is crappy and get complaints maybe them not showing up did me a favor because I don't need shabby work. They were not the cheapest but were from VA so I tried to use them to keep the money at home. I found another dealer in NC that is 1100 more expensive and am going to have them put up the shed. I told them my expectations just as I told the first company. Bobby also not sure of any steel building companies from outside the U.S. that put up buildings in the U.S. since that's what I'm talking about. Maybe you know of some but I sure don't.