Customer Service-is it extinct?

Many of you who’ve known me for years know I have zero tolerance for lousy inept companies and their lack of customer service.
Today was a case to the extreme.
I guess some companies have yet to realize the power of the internet.

If you make customers unhappy in the physical world, they might each tell 6 friends.
If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends.
Jeff Bezos

Early I had posted looking for cool air, well I’m still looking!

Yesterday, at 3 pm my a/c unit decided to groan, gurgle and gush water from the clogged drain pipe.
The coils are also rusting and freezing up.
My management guy called 24/7 air conditioning and would you believe we didn’t get a return call until 10 a.m.!
hmmmmm so much for 24/7 meaning 24/7
I always thought that meant 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
apparently not the case!
So, at 10:17 a.m. (yes I’m anal when it comes to times when dealing with inept companies so I keep exact notes) the owner called (though he didn’t say he was the owner at the time) said that repair people would be out between 2 and 4 p.m. today and that the crew would call 20 minutes before they’d be here.
Of course, I waited…and waited…and waited…
postponing everything else I had to get done this afternoon
and waited…and waited…and waited…
4:05 p.m. no call
I call the number back that had called me this morning and asked “Jason” where crew was.
He said he didn’t know, would call and then call me back.
He called back about 10 mins. later explaining that the crew “was stuck on in installation and wouldnt be done for about 1 1/2 hrs”
I was like “ummm excuse me!? If I hadn’t called you, when would someone have called to tell me that they were at least 1 1/2-2 hrs from being here?! I have to leave at 5 so that’s not acceptable”
He then copped an arrogant attitude and explained “I’m a busy company and what do you want me to do?”
I told him that the “right thing to do would be to have had called me to say they would be late and confirm if that was ok or not”
He went on about how “busy” his company is.
He proceeded to threaten bluff with the “go ahead and try to find someone else” line
to which I said, “I’ll call my landlord, let him know YOU are NOT doing the job” and hung up.
Did he really think I’d still let them do the work?

Called mgmt. and they said that’s fine, find someone else.
Which I did, and get this…
I called B&B Air Conditioning, and they actually picked up the phone when I called and set the appointment up right then and there (didn’t make me wait like 17 hrs for a return call) and were extremely polite.
Set up the appointment for Thursday between 3-5 p.m with a phone call prior to coming.

So, another day with a whacked groaning leaking flooding a/c but I won’t have to deal with the jerk owner (Jason James) of 24/7 Air conditioning in Sunrise, FL and little does he realize over 20,000 immediate people (plus whoever they let know also) will now also know not to deal with him as well!

Not sure why people don’t grasp the concept of taking care of business in a business like manner and doing the right thing and being courteous in the process.
A simple phone call to say they’d be majorly late is all it would’ve taken.
Had I not called to follow up, I’d have been sitting here waiting waiting waiting and wasting my time!
Unacceptable!

So while the said a/c company claims to be so busy right now…what happens in the cooler months when demand isn’t as high and he’s not so busy?
What happens when all the people I’m in contact with personally and on a business front ask me about a/c people (which plenty do since I still maintain contacts from even 25 yrs ago in the roofing, construction field)? I’m going to tell them exactly who NOT to use! My first advice when it comes to construction would be to get wrought iron doors for every entrance, they are the best things I have invested in when it comes to construction work.

I’m borrowing this from a friend of mine, Robert, who posted on my Facebook thread about this:
Being on par in terms of price and quality only gets you in the game. Service wins the game. – Tony Alessandra

Perhaps I’m spoiled with working with Paul Bange Roofing where everyone from the office to the sales team, crew, owner and everyone is all about customer service as well as providing quality service.

I’m not that old that this should be something that should be so hard to find or expect.
Yet, for whatever reason companies just do not grasp the concept of good quality customer service.

Sooner or later, companies are going to have to realize (or go out of business) that people aren’t going to tolerate nasty attitudes, missed appointments and wasting their time and expect a person to willingly accept that and graciously hand over their hard earned money.

I know I won’t!
I refuse to give anyone (small business or otherwise) a penny of my money or any of my time if they can’t conduct business properly.
I won’t pay someone to waste my time and take advantage of me by having me waiting on them and they don’t have the common courtesy to call when late or not showing up.
There are plenty of companies that want business and will do whatever it takes to keep a client.
Business experts, say it’s easier (and cheaper) to keep a client than to get a new one.
So, by this inconsiderate person’s lack of knowing how to treat customers, I’ll go elsewhere and as long as they do right by me they have a customer for life in me.
24/7 on the other hand has nothing but a bad mark, and multiple people already saying they know who not to call when they need a/c work (which is inevitable here in South Florida!)

I have a running list of companies, stores that I simply will not be a patron of and now I’ll be adding 24/7 to the list.

A shame companies just don’t grasp how important customer service is.

Question of the day:
Have you not used a company because of their lack of customer service?
Have you ever complained about a company?