This customer service complaint is directed at the company, All Weather Shelters, 500 Fullarton Road, Airport West, Victoria, Australia:
I organised for a "free quote" from this Company on the 28th June, 2009 at midday. I required a simple carport. On the day, a Sunday, the contractor arrived 5 minutes early, whilst I was with a customer of my own (I run a small business from home). I greeted him at the door. He called himself "Norbert". From the outset, he seemed somewhat frustrated with something, but I brushed it off, and proceeded to help him measure our driveway. A space roughly 7 by 3 metres squared. He then said that he would need a table to work on, so I invited him into our kitchen where he sat down, and proceeded to pull out his laptop whilst asking me what type of carport I was interested in. I said, "Look, to be honest, we're looking at whatever is just above the cheapest you offer..." He didn't say anything... At that point I needed to quickly wrap up a sale with my customer, so I left Norbert in place to complete his quote.
I returned to the kitchen after only 5 minutes (certainly no more than 10), to find that he had gone. And in his place was an unfinished "quote". He didn't say "goodbye", he didn't say, "Look Mark, I'm in a hurry, gotta go!"... Nothing, he just left without a word. I felt violated, to be honest. I had invited this stranger into my home in good faith... and even though I'd been away from the kitchen for just ten minutes (maximum) he didn't even have the courtesy to at least say, "Look, I gotta go Mark"?
Is that the way business should be done? He couldn't allow a mere 5 to 10 minutes, whilst a potential customer tended to something unexpected? He couldn't do everything else he needed to do, while he waited? Surely, a contractor in his business allows for up to half an hour to do "normal" quotes, so, what did less than ten minutes matter? And it matters even less, when you consider that the "pay-off" is potentially in the thousands...
I didn't get to explain to him that our neighbour had also wanted a quote, and so the Company has not only missed my business, but our neighbours as well!
The next day I called the Company and spoke with a very polite receptionist named Heather. She directed my complaint to a Manager, Ross. When Ross picked up the phone he did not identify himself... He simply said, "Hello?" and paused... I had to say, "Is this Ross?" I then explained to him what had happened as well as my feelings about it, to which he said that "Norbert" had been with the Company 30 years and they'd "never" had a problem with him. "But", he said, he will speak with him. From his tone, I detected some amount of cynicism. So, I said, "Can I get some followup because I'm pretty upset about the situation." To which he responded, "hehe... I'm flying out of the country today, so there's not much I can do about it." I then emphasised my need for followup, to which he again said (deadpan), "I'm flying out of the country, what would YOU do?"
I was stunned at his response... As a potential customer, I had explained to him my customer service issue, and his response is basically, "What do you want ME to do about it?"... At that point I said, "Well for starters I would pass the issue on to my second-in-command, and secondly I'd be very concerned that I had just lost $6000 in business, and possibly up to 12,000 dollars, because my customers' neighbour was interested in getting a quote as well!"
To which he said, "Well, there you go...", followed by silence...
I understood now what was going on. This Manager, Ross, was not interested in my dilemma, and as far as he was concerned, if "Norbert" walked out on me, I "deserved" it somehow... At that point, I said, "OK... I understand now. Goodbye."
What baffles me the most about my experience with this Company, is why they feel so arrogant and "invincible" in the face of a customer complaint? Even though, all around them, small family businesses are going to the wall because of the downturn in the economy. They've just lost - at minimum - $6000 (according to the quote), but all "Ross" can say is: "What would YOU do?"
I know what I'm going to do Ross. I am writing a complaint against your business on the Internet, and every single person who reads this - when next they need a carport, or pergola - will know NOT to give you their business. Your "real" monetary loss wasn't just the amount I was quoted by your contractor (one Norbert Kaczanowski); in reality, it's total is incalculable...
But you will never know.
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