Car Parts and Customer "Care"

Update on the car situation:

It's not the transmission!! It's not the Fuel Pump!!
Its a $5 hose with a hole in it. LOL. It amazes me that a $5 part resolves an issue that acts like a "buy a new car" problem. The hose has to get ordered so in the meantime, Brent is just taping over the hole. LOL. 25 cent fix-it. This is awesome because it means that we won't have to spend all that money on the car and not get everything done. In fact, Brent says we probably won't spend the whole $400. EXCELLENT!

My thoughts today are on Customer "Care"

Yes. it's in quotes on purpose because I'm pretty sure they don't care (go figure), because they sure don't act like it! This has been my experience over the last days.

Direct TV
These yahoos came into my store to install our cable and our TV. They were instructed by our owner to install 2 boxes and mount our TV and leave the other box unhooked until we got our 2nd TV in. Well, they installed the 2 boxes where he wanted it and made a big mess in the meantime (because they drilled holes in teh ceiling and so on to get it hooked up. Not only did they not mount the TV on the wall (they "don't do that") but they also left all the trash and such on the floor and left the TV hooked up -- get this -- on my floor. They didn't sweep. They didn't take out their own trash. They just left. Is this customer care? I don't think so. You would think with the 6 guys they had on the job that they could at least pick up after themselves, even if they don't mount the TV but they didn't do any of that. It was so frusterating to stop my normal work - phone calls, repairs, sales, etc -- to clean up their mess!!

Chase
Yes, again, I will rag on my morgatge company being so stupid. Let me explain this - it's really not that complicated (they seem to think it is). In April, Brent and I missed a house payment compleatly. In June, I paid one month, in July I paid 2 months thus catching me up. Since then, (August through October) I have been paying my morgatge at the end of the month - it's due on the 1st, late on the 15th and I pay on the 30th. I know that it's still late, but I can't pay it any earlier. In November or so I'll make another double payment so that my 30th check can go towards the morgatge due the next month (ie pay January with Dec 30th check). I can't afford to do that quite yet, though.

The 7th of every month a rep calls me to see when my payment will be made for that month (becuase it's due the 1st, even though it isn't late yet at that point). I talk to the rep on the 7th, explain the reason I pay when I do, what day it will be paid, the amount, and the method of payment. This is fine with me - they're doing their job. I'm late. I understand. What bothers me is when I recieve MORE phone calls. For the next 3 weeks I get called sometimes as much as 5 times a day for all this info to be entered into their computer. I don't know if these idiots can't press save or what the deal is but I'm getting harrased by my morgatge company when I'm making my regular payments!!! I have talked to supervisors. I have called in to complain. It doesn't matter -- I still get phone calls. Every one that I talk to I complain to and explain that I've had this conversation with at least 4 or 5 other reps in the last few days and have carried a full conversation on with them, haven't yelled or hung up on them, or anything, and I'm still STILL getting phone calls.

I have come to the conclusion that I'm just not answering the phone. It's on the records (God only knows how many times) that I'll pay the bill on the 30th. In November or so, I'll start paying early and then they can't harrass me anymore. Nothing I can do will change them calling me - I've decided that. And it's not that I mind them calling me on the 7th if I haven't paid it yet - that's fine. It's the following 6000000 calls I recieve in the 23 days between the 7th and the 30th. Go Chase. Way to care about your customers.

Well, those are my rants and raves for the day.