Unreliable Service People

[nzwasp]

I need to vent because Im feeling very frustrated this morning. What the fuck is up with small business people that can't for whatever reason provide any expectation of reliability or communication. Recent examples include a window washing business whos number doesnt work / no voicemail / no web presence at all either - the owner eventually messaged me and said his phone died overnight - fuck man get some voicemail and a phone charger. The hvac guy who did work at my house lately a) doesnt respond to phone calls/txt or email and b) Im still waiting for him to come finish the job and collect his last amount, i presume hes actually forgotten about me. and c) my nanny who seems super accident prone, this morning didnt even show up to work, phones off, emergency contact cant be reached. I suspect shes unconcious or in the hospital as thats happened 3 times in the last 4 weeks so far.

[tirebob]

I can't speak for all service oriented businesses or people, but first and foremost, we are all human and have things in our lives that happen and cause us not to be 100 percent on point at every moment. Take me for example. I almost always have more people trying for my time than I actually have time. I also live somewhere I have no cell reception or internet (which is fucking awesome not going to lie!). If I was able to take the time to answer every single inquiry that comes to my email, voice mail etc I would never have a single second to myself. Sounds like it might be a good position to be in business wise but the sad truth is that a huge percentage of those communications are time wasters and people who seem to think that using hours and hours of my time only so the can then use my knowledge to go online and try to save a couple percent against me is fair play. Bad clients are becoming just as rampant and bad service people which compounds the problems even more.

I am not saying you are not correct in your experience, but I am saying there are two sides to every story and you may not be aware of what is happening on the other end of that relationship. Maybe the guy told you his phone died but that might have been just because he didn't want to tell you he is going through a divorce and his kids were up all night crying. Then again maybe he was sucking on a meth pipe. Who knows? My point being you just don't know so simply complaining service sucks is not maybe what is actually going on.

[max_boost]

Great post Bob.

[lilmira]

Hey Bob, could you check your PM box when you have a chance? I need to give you money lol.

[tirebob]

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Hey Bob, could you check your PM box when you have a chance? I need to give you money lol.

Haha! Sorry man... I thought I replied! I am back at the office Tuesday. Just taking a bit of time off. If you need a fast answer buzz Kenny at the shop otherwise pester me next week if I don't get back to you Tuesday!

[lilmira]

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Haha! Sorry man... I thought I replied! I am back at the office Tuesday. Just taking a bit of time off. If you need a fast answer buzz Kenny at the shop otherwise pester me next week if I don't get back to you Tuesday!

no worries, winter is not here yet lol

[captain134]

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I can't speak for all service oriented businesses or people, but first and foremost, we are all human and have things in our lives that happen and cause us not to be 100 percent on point at every moment. Take me for example. I almost always have more people trying for my time than I actually have time. I also live somewhere I have no cell reception or internet (which is fucking awesome not going to lie!). If I was able to take the time to answer every single inquiry that comes to my email, voice mail etc I would never have a single second to myself. Sounds like it might be a good position to be in business wise but the sad truth is that a huge percentage of those communications are time wasters and people who seem to think that using hours and hours of my time only so the can then use my knowledge to go online and try to save a couple percent against me is fair play. Bad clients are becoming just as rampant and bad service people which compounds the problems even more.

I am not saying you are not correct in your experience, but I am saying there are two sides to every story and you may not be aware of what is happening on the other end of that relationship. Maybe the guy told you his phone died but that might have been just because he didn't want to tell you he is going through a divorce and his kids were up all night crying. Then again maybe he was sucking on a meth pipe. Who knows? My point being you just don't know so simply complaining service sucks is not maybe what is actually going on.

This

[craigcd]

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I need to vent because Im feeling very frustrated this morning. What the fuck is up with small business people that can't for whatever reason provide any expectation of reliability or communication. Recent examples include a window washing business whos number doesnt work / no voicemail / no web presence at all either - the owner eventually messaged me and said his phone died overnight - fuck man get some voicemail and a phone charger. The hvac guy who did work at my house lately a) doesnt respond to phone calls/txt or email and b) Im still waiting for him to come finish the job and collect his last amount, i presume hes actually forgotten about me. and c) my nanny who seems super accident prone, this morning didnt even show up to work, phones off, emergency contact cant be reached. I suspect shes unconcious or in the hospital as thats happened 3 times in the last 4 weeks so far.

I have encountered the first 2 on several occasions.

For the third.....it sounds like its time for a new nanny. I wouldnt be comfortable leaving my kids with someone that unreliable.

[ZenOps]

Mei banfa.

[HiTempguy1]

I don't often agree with TireBob, but he is exactly right.

Its a lot easier to ignore a customer you don't want then to tell them you don't want them either. I do it all the time, it literally is not worth the time, and with email/text/messenger, it is very easy to waste someone's time.

Its also not like we're a big corporation with hundreds of emplpyees available at all times. Right now, I do everything basically. Accounting, advertising, sales, trade shows, sponsored events, etc. So its very easy to miss a call or text.

Also, why would you patronize a company that gives such awful service? I'm a strong advocate for getting the best price, but sometimes the lowest bidder is the lowest bidder for a reason.

[revelations]

I see this all the time with small business unfortunately. They get too busy to care, or too lazy to care. Advertising is a double edged sword in many cases in that you can get tire kickers that waste your time. Also, sounds weird but many trades people dont do technology very well.

I've had to turn away/defer new clients as im unable to provide the proper response/service I need to existing clients - and thus, my rates have gone up.

[speedog]

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I see this all the time with small business unfortunately. They get too busy to care, or too lazy to care. Advertising is a double edged sword in many cases in that you can get tire kickers that waste your time. Also, sounds weird but many trades people dont do technology very well.

I've had to turn away/defer new clients as im unable to provide the proper response/service I need to existing clients - and thus, my rates have gone up.

I'm a trades person and actually had to go back to paper invoicing because any shop I've subcontracted to only does such. Personally, I use my smart phone in combination with Google Photos, Keep and Maps Timeline to keep track of all sorts of stuff but this is by no means very common in my current trade. My invoicing is done using Excel and converts to a PDF which will allow me to go to paperless invoicing if that time ever comes.

[phreezee]

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I need to vent because Im feeling very frustrated this morning. What the fuck is up with small business people that can't for whatever reason provide any expectation of reliability or communication. The hvac guy who did work at my house lately a) doesnt respond to phone calls/txt or email and b) Im still waiting for him to come finish the job and collect his last amount, i presume hes actually forgotten about me. and

Was that Sully from Adam's Heating and Cooling? Guy came by to do the quote, never sent the quote and won't respond to texts.

[nzwasp]

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Was that Sully from Adam's Heating and Cooling? Guy came by to do the quote, never sent the quote and won't respond to texts.

Yup the work his company did do was alright, everything is zoned off however he hasnt come back to put some bypass thing in between the furnace and the return air. Fucking annoying really. When i was ringing around I found that hardly any companies did the zoning because it was too much work.

- - - Updated - - -

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I have encountered the first 2 on several occasions.

For the third.....it sounds like its time for a new nanny. I wouldnt be comfortable leaving my kids with someone that unreliable.

Apparently our nanny is in hospital again but she didnt think to tell her employer that she wasnt coming in on friday or probably at all next week. Might have to suck it up like @rage2 said and find a nanny that costs $20 an hour.

My nanny has been really good except all the times shes been in the hospital, already arranged alternative care for my business trip next week. I dont know in situations like this where your employee has fucked off if you pay them for the days missed that they havent called in for? shes already burned through all her sick days.