more american homeshield blues
Music: I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness: Fear Is On Our Side
I've been proofing and editing essays all day; fortunately this task can be completed while I wait on hold with the speakerphone, so I resumed my attempts to get American Home Shield (and affiliated companies) to repair my sweating upstairs air conditioner. As the back story demonstrates, the original repair call was made in June.
As an aside, I realize much of this chronicle is not "ha-ha" funny. I think, however, the shear cumulative effect of all the phone calls---the hours upon hours spent on hold and talking to representatives and technicians and so forth---is nothing short of comedy. It may veer into the absurd. Let's wait and see!
One more aside: when making these phone calls, I did try to follow two rules: (1) I will not lose my temper and will strive to be as nice as I can be; and (2) I will try to keep the person on the phone as long as I possibly can. These folks have put me through, I estimate, about a week combined of phone work and waiting (for technicians, etc.); why not return the favor?
In the last installment of this bluesy yarn of meh telephonic tenacity, I had phoned AHS last Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to inquire about who would be coming out to repair my AC. I was previously told via email on July 26th it would be Dave's Heating and Air (that's their logo to the left), the company that originally diagnosed the problem as a decrepit air handler, and which they replaced. Every call last week resulted in the same response from the AHS customer service representative: "Dave's Heating and Air will be calling you to set-up an appointment." Last Friday I was even told by AHS that "Kayla from Dave's is going to call you right now!" It's clear that Dave's AC is stalling and lying to AHS.
I decided to wait a few days before I tried my stealthy telephonic approach to this debacle this week. Today I scanned through my old caller ID numbers, as I remembered Dave had called me from his "on the road" cell phone a couple of times. When I was having trouble getting his company to call me back, I even phoned on July 5th (a holiday for many), and he sounded a little irritated. So, here's where it all started today (requires Windows Media Player):
1. August 11, 2010 (approximately 10:00 a.m.): I phone Dave. Here's the call. Apparently Dave has discontinued this cell number. I wonder if it was because of my calling him when his office didn't call me back on the last couple of repairs ?
2. August 11, 2010 (approximately 10:30 a.m.): After coming to the conclusion that I was not misdialing, I looked up and phoned Dave's AC. Kayla answered. When I repeatedly asked why she has not called back, I was put on hold. Here's the call.
I'm trying to restrain my self from commenting on the calls, as they sort of speak for themselves, but this is one of the more amusing conversations. First, Kayla says the woman I should talk to "just left the room" and I could hold or she could call me back. When I decide to press her, I'm put on hold again and the automatic recording begins, "whatever it takes, we're dedicated to providing excellent service . . . ." There's even a moment when she picks up from hold and then decides she's not ready and puts me back on hold. Evasive? Nahhhh.
3. August 11, 2010 (approximately 11:00 a.m.): Kayla at Dave's said that she would have to call me back, as she needed to speak with Dave first about the situation. She said Dave and AHS were in discussions and she didn't know what to tell me. So, I decided to work the other end and call AHS. I got a great customer service representative this time---perhaps the most helpful to date. Her name is Pam. Here's the call.
4. August 11, 2010 (1:35 p.m.): Pam phoned my cell phone (which I never answer) and left a message. Apparently she contacted the "contract department" (doublespeak for lawyer-based unit) who contacted Dave, who in turn promised to come out and re-inspect the unit for diagnosis. Here's the message.
Well, friends. We shall see. We. Shall. See.