Let me start by saying that I rated the company/experience at 6 but it could have/should have been a 9.
My husband and I knew we needed to replace our furnace and air conditioner and decided to do this before either broke. We shopped around and decided to go with Spring Home despite the fact they they were not the cheapest. I would say that the stellar reviews from Homestars definitely played a factor in our decision. On the day of the installation, my husband stayed home while the installers worked. When I got home from work they were not yet done but what I could see that they had done was very well done. Everything seemed very tidy and they were taking good care of our home!
Where things went wrong was after the actual installation was completed. As they were packing up to go the one installer asked if our gas fireplace had been on. My husband informed him that the pilot light was lit so he went over to turn it back on. Once the pilot light was lit, the individuals turned on the fireplace but it did not ignite. He then walked away while leaving it on. I turned it off as I was not comfortable having the gas on but the fireplace not lit. This happened twice more before he became more firm that I must leave it on to clear the gas line. When the fireplace did not light he got down on the floor and looked at it more closely. I was sitting on my couch right beside the fireplace. What happened next was one of the most frightening experiences. The installer blew on the pilot light which ignited the gas that was left on and our fireplace exploded. Fortunately the glass did not break but the installer was covered in soot and no doubt a little shaken as I know I was. No one was hurt which is of course the most important. However, the soot filled the room and covered our brand new couch.
It is from this moment forward that the rating of 9 went down to a 6. We insisted the company pay to have our couch cleaned but this was not until after the installers basically told me that the black I could rub off my couch was because it was 'dirty'. They also told me that they 'saved me'. I have never had my intelligence insulted in such a manner. With all this said, I recognized this was an accident and that it was very scary so my husband and I agreed to pay for the majority of the work done. We also sent an email to the company that night explaining what happened. The next day our cheque was cashed and we were issued a second invoice for an additonal $450 for the chimney liner. No one from the company called to ask what had happened or to apologize. My husband reached out and then the company called us back. They agreed to cover the costs of the couch cleaning and the servicing of the fireplace ($600). Although this was good, it by no means covered the costs or inconvenience since I had to spend 2 hours cleaning the floor and the rags were so dirty I had to throw them out. In any instances where I have had problems caused by a company they have always went above and beyond to ensure they make their customers happy. It is these companies that I have complete confidence in and I would never hesitate to recommend as their customer service is top notch. Given the exemplary ratings here, I must admit I am more than surprised by the utter lack of customer service from Spring Home. When we explained our position to the company they offered us $100 as a 'goodwill gesture'. This is not even 1% of the cost of the services. Granted they were covering the $600 worth of damages but in my mind those are costs that never should have been incurred.
When I spoke with the company and told them I did not feel this was sufficient restitution, the response I received was, 'I don't know what we can do.' As far as I was concerned there was several things they could have done (ie. offer us service for 2 years free, take away the $450 bill for the chimney liner). The company did not agree. The next time we contacted them the management told my husband that I was 'unreasonable'. Now this is yet another example of bad customer service. I can't understand how the company thought it would be helpful to further insult the customer. I would never say 'the customer is always right' but I would say it sure is bad for business to say so!! Hence, I feel compelled to write this review. I have high standards for customer service as I worked directly in the industry for years. I expect to be treated as I would treat others and I would expect a company to whom you have paid over $11000 to do right by their customer. So I would conclude my review with the following pieces of advice:
1) You can make the best customer out of the person you made a mistake with - assuming you make it right because that is what they will remember
2) Bad customer service is your worst advertisement (especially in today's technology age).
3) If one person reads this review and chooses not to use the company because of it, that will be much more costly than having made it right with us!
4) I hope this review encourages you to stand by for fantastic ratings and ensure customer service becomes your primary focus.
