Still Cold
Last night I wasn't pleased with having spent a day's worth of my writing time on trying to get our heater fixed, but I was pleased with the technician who showed up, even though he didn't fix the boiler. I was also pleased with the promise that he would be back in the morning no later than 10:00 to finish fixing my boiler by installing a new fuel pump. He gave me a bill for the service call and I paid it right away, even though I still had no heat. In retrospect, I should have refused to pay anything until the job was done.
He didn't show up at all today.
His boss Dave Maerzke 414-217-6114 decided not to have him finish the job. Dave stopped at the house not too long after the appointed time, stating he was there because his employee had left a tool behind, and he then gave My Angel a song and dance about a daycare that needed their heat fixed, and a recommendation to call some other guy--a guy Dave said he'd already called to tell him exactly what part we needed, and who Dave said specialized in oil heaters--so we could get service sooner than he could do it.
Never mind that Dave had time to come to the house for a tool, and to (allegedly) make phone calls on my behalf, he didn't have time to put the part in. Since his company had already identified the part needed, how long could it have taken him to put it in if he was going to the house anyway?
After My Angel's call to the other guy did not get a return call, I left Dave a number of messages over the course of the afternoon, and did not get a call back.
I also called the recommended dude, who said he never got a message from Dave. He did try to help me out, sending a guy with a water pump just before I'd have to pay time and a half or double time (measured from the last port of call, wherever in the world that might happen to be to the tech's home), and depending on how late the service call lasted. The man who showed up was courteous and was willing to try, but admitted he'd be learning on the job since he was not trained to work on the burning mechanisms of an oil boiler. He also said he would have to pay an extra $75-$100 to even get the parts guy to open the door to sell a part at this point (a cost that would, of course, be passed on to me, along with the time charge for the hour to get there and back again), and he would probably be there all night if he did try to fix it. He also said he knows his company--they not only do not specialize in oil boilers, but they do not keep parts for them in stock.
After numerous calls to Dave, and switching to call from the home phone instead of the cell phone, I finally got through to him. He was of the opinion that after taking my money for his technician fiddling at length with my boiler and leaving it in essentially the same condition as when he started (i.e. it fires when you push the button, but then the flame dies), it was "going the extra mile" to give us a recommendation to call someone else. And once I got through to him and told him we still had no heat, he made it very, very clear (without actually saying it in so many words, you understand) that he had no intention to have any of his people come back and finish the job, then or later.
He repeatedly and cheerfully said he was sorry things weren't working out for me, telling me I didn't have the whole story (as if the story mattered more than keeping my pipes from bursting), and that he was really very busy. He didn't tell me anything useful. He didn't offer to return my check as an apology for refusing to finish the job. He didn't even tell me the exact name of the part that's needed, so the next guy could come prepared. Finally he again said he was sorry (sounding no more sorry than the first time), but he was going into someone else's house to fix their heat.
The second company tried, and were up-front with me. They behaved in a pleasant and professional manner, and expressed understanding when I was obviously distressed. They didn't charge me when it turned out they couldn't help me. I don't know the quality of the work they do, but I asked for their card. I may try them again.
But as for Dave?
I know that heating contractors have a very busy time when the temperatures plummet. In general terms, I have a lot of respect for people willing to work early and late and very, very long hours to make sure folks they don't even know have heat. I know, from a friend who's in that business, that when there's work it comes all at once, because the conditions that stress a unit stress all of the units in a city at the same time.
I also try hard to give people the benefit of the doubt--we're all human, after all.
But I think it's reasonable to believe that somebody who takes your money to start a job and promises to come back the next day to finish it should show up as promised (even if it wasn't the day before a long holiday weekend.) To not bother to even try to complete the job seems to me to be derelict, especially since this guy's stated reason for his behavior is nothing more than the normal circumstances of the type of business he chose to be in.
So, I had hoped to be able to tell you all that I am thankful that I have heat. Instead I guess I just have to be thankful that I can tell all of my friends about this heating contractor who can cheerfully leave a paying customer in the cold with the job half done.
He didn't show up at all today.
His boss Dave Maerzke 414-217-6114 decided not to have him finish the job. Dave stopped at the house not too long after the appointed time, stating he was there because his employee had left a tool behind, and he then gave My Angel a song and dance about a daycare that needed their heat fixed, and a recommendation to call some other guy--a guy Dave said he'd already called to tell him exactly what part we needed, and who Dave said specialized in oil heaters--so we could get service sooner than he could do it.
Never mind that Dave had time to come to the house for a tool, and to (allegedly) make phone calls on my behalf, he didn't have time to put the part in. Since his company had already identified the part needed, how long could it have taken him to put it in if he was going to the house anyway?
After My Angel's call to the other guy did not get a return call, I left Dave a number of messages over the course of the afternoon, and did not get a call back.
I also called the recommended dude, who said he never got a message from Dave. He did try to help me out, sending a guy with a water pump just before I'd have to pay time and a half or double time (measured from the last port of call, wherever in the world that might happen to be to the tech's home), and depending on how late the service call lasted. The man who showed up was courteous and was willing to try, but admitted he'd be learning on the job since he was not trained to work on the burning mechanisms of an oil boiler. He also said he would have to pay an extra $75-$100 to even get the parts guy to open the door to sell a part at this point (a cost that would, of course, be passed on to me, along with the time charge for the hour to get there and back again), and he would probably be there all night if he did try to fix it. He also said he knows his company--they not only do not specialize in oil boilers, but they do not keep parts for them in stock.
After numerous calls to Dave, and switching to call from the home phone instead of the cell phone, I finally got through to him. He was of the opinion that after taking my money for his technician fiddling at length with my boiler and leaving it in essentially the same condition as when he started (i.e. it fires when you push the button, but then the flame dies), it was "going the extra mile" to give us a recommendation to call someone else. And once I got through to him and told him we still had no heat, he made it very, very clear (without actually saying it in so many words, you understand) that he had no intention to have any of his people come back and finish the job, then or later.
He repeatedly and cheerfully said he was sorry things weren't working out for me, telling me I didn't have the whole story (as if the story mattered more than keeping my pipes from bursting), and that he was really very busy. He didn't tell me anything useful. He didn't offer to return my check as an apology for refusing to finish the job. He didn't even tell me the exact name of the part that's needed, so the next guy could come prepared. Finally he again said he was sorry (sounding no more sorry than the first time), but he was going into someone else's house to fix their heat.
The second company tried, and were up-front with me. They behaved in a pleasant and professional manner, and expressed understanding when I was obviously distressed. They didn't charge me when it turned out they couldn't help me. I don't know the quality of the work they do, but I asked for their card. I may try them again.
But as for Dave?
I know that heating contractors have a very busy time when the temperatures plummet. In general terms, I have a lot of respect for people willing to work early and late and very, very long hours to make sure folks they don't even know have heat. I know, from a friend who's in that business, that when there's work it comes all at once, because the conditions that stress a unit stress all of the units in a city at the same time.
I also try hard to give people the benefit of the doubt--we're all human, after all.
But I think it's reasonable to believe that somebody who takes your money to start a job and promises to come back the next day to finish it should show up as promised (even if it wasn't the day before a long holiday weekend.) To not bother to even try to complete the job seems to me to be derelict, especially since this guy's stated reason for his behavior is nothing more than the normal circumstances of the type of business he chose to be in.
So, I had hoped to be able to tell you all that I am thankful that I have heat. Instead I guess I just have to be thankful that I can tell all of my friends about this heating contractor who can cheerfully leave a paying customer in the cold with the job half done.