Thursday, July 3, 2008

Thanks Jack! Hot water is so nice.....

I got the update from my brother and yes - after a very long saga and a lot of hardship - He and his roommate have gas and therefore can cook on their gas stove and take a hot shower! Did they have it yesterday as promised by Columbia Gas - no - it happened today. Are they still reeling and totally unimpressed by Columbia Gas - you betcha!

After I created the post - now famous - they had a gas leak on Saturday. Apparently there was a build up of pressure and well that caused a leak in various parts of the line and damaged some of the internal plumbing. So the entire 4 unit apartment building - my bro and his roommate and their neighbors have been without gas since Saturday. It looks like it is all back on tonight.

I emailed a copy of my blog entry to Columbia Gas on Friday evening and I will say - a Ms. Davis contacted me on Monday around 11 am and then I spoke with her at 2 pm. She was very nice and did some leg work and got with my brother and was helpful. Thankfully when she was speaking with my brother - she discovered some missing information in the work order or it is very likely they would still be without gas. The lack of appropriate communication is staggering.

I think Ms. Davis was doing her best to put her best foot forward and assured me that my complaints and observations were being reviewed. I am not sure I am going to hold my breath while waiting to see if Columbia Gas effects any type of substantive change.

My brother also found out that the call ahead system is automated and in no way is an accurate reflections of where the service tech is in reality. The computer calls ahead at a preassigned time - generated by computer - and the tech may or may not be on his way. It is not tied not grounded in reality of any kind. MMMM - cheap perhaps - helpful to customers - NOT SO MUCH JACK!

The bottom line Mr. Jack Patridge is your company is fraught with system wide failure after failure - which I think if the entire situation experienced by my brother and his roommate is reviewed - the policies of Colombia Gas are simply flawed and not customer focused. You are tailoring your service standards to meet minimum State of Ohio guidelines and you are seeking to do the minimum amount required of you by the PUCO and the State. I gotta say - there is no Outstanding Customer Service to be had in that model. Might be good for the bottom line and your personal bonus Jack - but the rest of us - well we are still waiting to be SERVED.

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