Crystal at Direct Energy Public Relations was very quick in responding to my concerns. The problem has been fixed. Thank you.
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We inherited the water heater from the previous owner, and have to say it was problem free for almost four years. Lately, we noticed the motor was creating loud noise, and gave Direct Energy a call to take a look. The 1st service call was pleasant, the technician came in and advised that the motor is louder than usual, and creates too much vibration. We were told it would be a quick fix as soon as the parts come in. The service call was on Thursday, the parts were delivered to our door the same day before 8pm. Another appointment was scheduled for Saturday night. Pretty much everything went south from that point on. The 2nd technician came in, tried to replace the motor, but unsuccessfully. He told us there were something missing in the package, so it will need to be re-ordered. We went from just loud noise to no hot water after the repair that was supposed to fix all the problem. What we couldn't understand is why would the technician start repairing if needed parts were missing? Shouldn't he be verifying the package for all the content before he attempts to repair? We contacted customer care again, placed a complain, but was told by their executive customer service rep Kevin Burke that the techinican followed the right protocols and did not do anything wrong!! We were so disappointed. The customer service rep at the 1800# has always been polite and helpful, but when we escalated our concerns to the next level, we were told nothing else can be done until the new part comes in, and it was nobody's fault that we no longer have hot water at home. We have a 2 year old, and I am 8 months pregnant, with no hot water to shower on a hot day. He didn't apologize... just simply put the technician did not do anything wrong. And he couldn't give us an estimate on when the issue can be resolved. We contacted the office again and spoke to a different rep, Tonia Moss, was basically told the same thing. The techincian is supposed to take apart the old motor before installing the new one, and sometimes parts might not be complete or the unit may not work with the new motor, so the techinician didn't do anything wrong! We asked if this is the company policy on service maintenance, and she replied yes. We tried to think this through logically. Typically, you will have to review and determine the problem, before making any fixes, but according to Tonia at Direct Energy, the techinician is supposed to remove all the old parts before deciding whether the tools available would even repair the problem. And when it does not, more tools need to be ordered, and customers are supposed to wait until someone else can call and book any appointment. THIS JUST SOUNDS WRONG! And not efficient! Why make multiple visits and inconvenient your customers, if you can make the right estimate and judgement the first time around. To us, this is clearly a training issue, and should not be practiced day-to-day. This is no longer a technician service complain as we determined, but we feel someone higher up should review the entire process. When we asked Tonia if we could speak to someone in charge of the service area, she refused. She said, "Kevin and I report directly to our VP, and you have no one else to escalate this to." It's true, that we do not have water heater service experience, but by simply looking at the process, we noticed flaws. But here we have two so called executive customer service reps who are not interested in listening to the customer's valid concerns, not passionate about customer service, not even apologetic when the company they represent has made a mistake, telling the customer that this is the end of the complain process... no one did anything wrong, it's just a situation you'll have to live with until someone gives you another call to book a service appointment. Did we have a choice? No, because hot water is essential, and in the short run, we will have to stay with Direct Energy. Luckily, on Sunday morning, the service department did call and schedule another appointment for us in the afternoon. The 'missing' part was delivered to our door and a different techinican came to service. The 'missing' part is no different than the one was ordered yesterday, and the techinican confirmed it. So why couldn't the other techinican just fix the motor yesterday?? Well, after over an hour, we were told that the previous technician pushed the wire too far and it went into the water tank, so now the tank is no longer working. We went from a loud motor but a working water tank, to no hot water with a small missing part, to the water tank is broken, and the entire unit must be replaced! On top of that, the technician said to us that in order to have the new unit, our vent has to be replaced at our own cost! At this point, we start to question why did we place a service request in the 1st place? We'd rather suffer the noise than having no hot water, and spend an estimated $200 or greater to have a new tank. The old tank was functioning well until the Direct Engergy technician pushed the wire too hard into the tank. So not only did we suffer with no hot water, Direct Energy just lost a working equipment. And when we want to escalate this issue?? Apparently we've already hit the top of the laddar! How can Direct Energy stay profitable and competitive when the staffs work in this fashion. The last technician asked us why we were so upset... please note, we were not upset at him personally, but he did represent the company. We were frustrated, disappointed, feeling ripped off that we had to spend money to fix someone else's mistake... we had every right to be upset, after what we had been through for the past few days. The techinican said to us that the solution was easy, as long as we agreed to pay for the new ventalation installation, we will have a brand new unit. What he failed to understand is that we didn't want a brand new unit, it was supposed to be a simple service to replace the motor. Instead, we are still out of hot water at this time, with no fix date given, and we will have to pay beyond our monthly rental fee to have this unsatisfactory rental service. The issue is not about our vent, the issue is that an incompetent technician failed to do his job, and left the customers without essential service and furthermore, incurring additional costs that we should not have been responsible for at the first place. So our rating on Direct Energy, is 0. Energy service is in a controlled market right now, but we believe this will change when we push hard with the government, just like telephone service. Then it's no longer about what product you can sell, it's about what kind of service you can provide. Direct Energy will one day need to differentiate itself by service level. And if the company is smart enough to think ahead, it should know that a disatisfied customer tells his/her story to on average about 1000 people, with internet today, I'd imagine the number certainly exceeds 1000. Perhaps it's wise to spend more $$ on your staff training than advertising. If your staff is not passionate about what they do, it will clearly reflect on your brand. Your brand should be the most valued asset.
