2-24-12 Friday (Gripe 4 Of Unknown)

Warning: This post is filled with unspeakable (yet writable) rants.

You may remember that the drywall people didn’t show up Saturday.  I emailed the warranty coordinator on Saturday. 

“Misty, I sat in my house on Saturday from 8 till 1pm and no one showed up.  You and your subs make me very angry.  Shall I erect a sign in my front yard warning potential buyers?  Shall I call the Better Business Bureau?  Do I need a lawyer?  Magnetic signs on my vehicle?   Do I need to call the news media?  What do I need to do to get my home fixed?    Does Adams Homes care?

I'm so angry right now... really you have no idea.  I believe you should escalate my concerns to your project manager.  As many problems as I've had and not one single call or acknowledgement from management.  Just you.  I'd like the name and the address of Adams Homes President.  I'd like the phone number for the corporate office.”

It was now Wednesday and still no call or reply from Adams.  I swapped with a coworker today to get to a dentist appointment so I had some time to call Adams.  I prefer email for documentation but what else can I do?  I spoke with Sonya, explained a little of the situation and she said she’d have Ted, the supervisor, call me.  By Thursday morning, no call.  I called and spoke with Dana.  She said Ted left early sick yesterday and was out sick today.  What, and he didn’t think to have her call me back and explain that knowing I was so pissed and stewing over the situation?  I asked for Ted’s boss.  She said she’d have Chris call me when he got in.  At 11:23am I get an email from Misty:

“I am really sorry for the mix up again and I am sure you are tired of the excuses.  I was out Monday and Tuesday and Sonya told me she had taken a message from you for Ted to call you back and now he is out sick.  I did talk to F& Painters this morning to see what happened to drywall on Sat and she said she had you on schedule for this coming Sat by mistake.  We had confirmed last week but she must have been looking at her calendar wrong.  She says they can still be there this Sat if you are willing to let them try again.  I have let Ted know and Dana left a message for my General Manager this morning.  Again, I am sorry for the delay in getting your home finished and if you will please let me know about this coming Sat the 25^th.”

What about an email “out of office” auto reply?  C’mon people.  AND as of Friday morning, no call from Ted or Ted’s boss, Chris.  I’ve not been supplied any information I requested as far as corporate or anything.

I temporarily replied to Misty that Jim would be home this weekend.  This morning (Friday morning), I let loose through another email:

Misty, sometimes I don't necessarily mind excuses when they come with an apology.  I will tell you though that I think you should have used an "out of office" reply and if your company doesn't have that capability then that's another whole issue in itself.  When I called Wednesday and Spoke with Sonya and gave her a tid bit about what had happened, she never said anything about you not being in... that may have diffused the situation.  Then, adding more to the problems, I asked for a call back from Ted and never received one.  It wasn't until I called back on Thursday morning when Dana said that Ted had left early and called in sick the following day.  Wouldn't it have been very professional for Ted to tell Sonya to call me and explain the situation or perhaps for Sonya to make that decision on her own.  Overall I got that feeling that Dana didn't like that suggestion so I asked to speak with Ted's boss.  She said she'd have Chris call me.  That was Thursday morning.  You then email me.  I still haven't received the information I wanted.  Corporate office, owner email, whatever.  Here I am, Friday morning and still no call from Chris or Ted.  Did they stamp this as resolved and not bother?

I haven't been seeking compensation.  Hell, when all this started I complained about drywall dust all over the place and you offered to have professional cleaners come in.  I haven't and probably won't bother with that offer but I do thank you for it.   I wasn't looking for compensation.  I've been in customer service many, many years and I know those people who always wanted me to comp them for their troubles.  I'm not like that.  I've been looking for swift repairs, quality repairs and great customer service and haven't received that.  I can't believe upper management, be it Ted, a zone manager, or anyone else hasn't picked up the phone thanking me for my $165,000 business and apologize for all of this mess.  3 water leaks, plumbers who contradict one another, and flaky sub-contractors.  And yet again, the caulking in the master shower is split for the 3rd or 4th time.  Really.  Are these people licensed?

Have you seen the poor quality of workmanship from the painters you employ?  My door trims look like they are 20 years old and have been painted and repainted and painted.  Paint boogers, dented wood all painted over AND that's how we bought this house. We rejected the most obvious and accepted the rest.  Foolish me to accept this house as is.  Do you know that we were running out of contract time and because we were too picky Adam's wasn't quite sure if they'd extend our contract or not?  Am I bitter?  You betcha. I had to go round and round with Michelle Snyder.  Sure, we were ready to walk away from it too.

What do I want?  At this point, I want this thread of emails forwarded to Wayne Adams, Ted, and Chris.  Based on past behaviors, I suspect Ted and Chris will shrug their shoulders and hit the delete button.  As for Mr. Adams, I'm not quite sure what he'll do.

"Quality... the ultimate sacrifice"

That last bit about Quality/sacrifice is a play on their slogan, “Price… the ultimate amenity”.  Crafty, aren't I?

There might be more on all of this before I publish.  For now, We’ll move on to Tuesday.  I realized that I didn’t get a credit for the pillow cases I returned to Chad at the Sleep Number store so I called them (during business hours) and got a voicemail.  I gave all the information on the recording.

Our friend Beth was in the hospital for blood clots in the lungs.  With a couple of days in the hospital, and some blood thinners, she’ll be recovered in no time at all.  She was happy to see us.  While I’ve never had to stay overnight in a hospital, I certainly understand it can get boring and lonely.

Afterwards for dinner we went to Red Robin.  Now since I’m on a roll about service, I have a complaint about the visit at Red Robin tonight.  When Jim ordered his meal he asked for a side of Ranch (for his sweet potato fries).  When the meal came it was missing the Ranch.  Sometimes I understand that the food runner didn’t know about the side of something however this was delivered by our server.  Forgot something?  No problem.  BUT when I remind you of a necessary condiment that was ordered at the beginning such as mayo, ketchup or what have you, know that it’s because we require it to enjoy our meal to the fullest of satisfaction rather than just because we think it will look real purdy on the table or because we like to watch your ass as you sashay across the floor or even because it’s not really for our food but rather a quirky beverage.  So when we remind you of the missing item, I fully expect you move your ass quickly to accommodate us rather than getting us a refill on beverages first, stopping by to check another table or otherwise.  Oh, and it definitely doesn’t exonerate you to stop by our table twice and mention that you’re going to go get the said missing item.  Bitch please, do your job.  I’m sad to say because the rest of the service was good and she was sweet, she was tipped 15-20% and perhaps I should have at least told her what I had thought about her priorities. 

I couldn’t possibly have more to bitch about in one week… could I?  Oh, but contraire!  You know me too well.  Remember, on Tuesday evening I called Sleep Number dude and left a message.  Wednesday passed, no return call from Sleep Number dude.  Thursday evening I call him.  He answers.  “Hi Chad, my name is Garret, did you get my voicemail from the other day?”  “No, I was off a couple of days.”  I go on to tell him that I hadn’t realized the pillow case credit was missing.  He apologized, took care of it and we moved on.  What I wanted to say was “So you were off.  You’ve worked there for hours and hours today and didn’t call me back especially on a message 2 days old?  Not only did you not call me back but you didn’t even check your messages.”

While we’re still talking about Thursday and customer service, even my own company has a lot of customer service issues.  I get a call from a customer.  He selected the wrong auto option and came to me.  He explained about a letter he received.  I explained he wasn’t in the right place but rather than just forward him I’d make sure he was in the correct place AND I’d explain what he told me so he wouldn’t have to retell his story.  He was delighted.  That’s customer service.  So I call the number he originally called and because it’s within the company it automatically bypasses the menu system (smart system I guess) and I get some ho on the line.   In the middle of explaining what’s going on she cuts me off and asks for the account number.  I don’t have it.  She says put him on.  I said no, not till I explain the situation so that the client doesn’t have to AND I make sure you are the person to help him.  She was quiet enough that I thought she had hung up on me but she didn’t.  Lucky ho.

OK this email has been filled with gripes.  I think I’ll just publish as is and continue a new post later.

Today (Friday), I depart for Fort Myers, Florida to visit with my family.  Perhaps I’ll blog some more on the plane, in the airport, or whatever.