Much ado about scripting, Linux & Eclipse: card subject to change

2007-09-11

Customer Service Apathy

Back in May, 2007, I received a note from Enbridge, my household gas distributor, telling me I'd been randomly selected for a new gas meter. The note then went on to say that if I didn't book an appointment,

we will go ahead and replace the meter sometime after May 25, 2007. If you are not home, we will leave the gas supply off and provide a number for your (sic) to call to have us come back to turn on your meter and relight your natural gas appliances. We will return as quickly as possible.

Now, as a skeptic and cynic, I new there was trouble brewin' here, but I called them and scheduled an appointment for June 1, between 1 and 5pm. A four hour window was the best they could do. So far, not great, but June 1 was a Friday and I work from home anyway, so this wasn't really a big deal. That is, until about 6pm when they still hadn't shown up.

I called to kvetch, but *surprise* they had no record of me, my address, or the appointment. So, I booked a new appointment, this time for June 22, between 1 and 3pm. Apparently when they screw you over they're willing do offer a shorter window.

Not that it mattered -- they didn't show up the second time either. So, that evening "between the hours of 4:00PM and 10:00PM", as directed, I called to book a third appointment. This time I got a three-hour window between 2 and 5pm on July 12 with the promise that they'd call 30 mins before to verify they were in fact coming. Whatever.

So Double G's technician finally arrived, did his thing, and was done in very little time, remarking that Enbridge would be back "soon" to complete the job.

Soon, apparently, was 2 months later -- this morning. No notice, no warning, no phone call or note dropped in my mailbox. Nada. Luckily, I work stupidly late hours so I was up to 3am last night and thus still home at 11am when two Enbridge techs stomped up my driveway to tell me my gas was turned off and that Double G would have to come out and turn it back on. (They're the gas company but they have to get some subcontractor to light a pilot? OK, whatever, I'm sure there's a union or some nepotism involved.)

The Enbridge guys were friendly enough and offered me a 6-9pm window for turning on my gas. Since today was Build Server Rebuild Day (another story for another time), I figured I'd be at the lab and in the server room pretty late, so I took that window, then later reconsidered and asked for something later. Believe it or not, they said I could have 8-11pm. I was once again skeptical that anyone would actually come out here that late, but since it was that or leave the server half-done to rush home or delay it another week, I accepted.

At 9:30pm tonight, I called Dougle G to verify that they had in fact gotten the booking and were on their way. They said yes, it's booked, between 8pm and midnight. So, great, not *quite* what I was told before, but at least I was in the system. Progress!

It's now 1:30am and there's been no sign of them, but frankly, I'm not surprised. They clearly have the same attitude that Rogers Email Support team does about fixing their website problems:

Customer Disservice
Because we're not satisfied until you're not satisfied.

Continued...

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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

The same similar things happened with me the last two appointments scheduled for meter exchange were postponed by them and then they came out without notice and exchanged the meter and cut of the gas supply to the house while we were out. No hot water to shower or clean and no oven or stove for afterschool. Sure, we did get it corrected the same nite but dinner and showers and baths for 4 children and 2 parents were delayed until after 9pm plus with the old meter gone without our knowledge then we have to trust that they'll correctly record the meter readings and we have no way of proving it. Funny thing is the appliances don't have pilot lights that require them to ignite because they're automatic but they still required to track through the house to ignite them.