After years of using Dicks Heating to service my fairly new (2009) Lennox Forced Air furnace and heat pump system on an annual service plan, I put their service to the test the other day and much to my disappointment, they failed - miserably!
Last Friday, I woke up to a strange smell coming from the vents and a very cold house. Now, this just happened to coincide with a nasty cold-snap in Tacoma - low 30's at night - so I thought to myself, "Cool, I've got a Service Plan with Dicks so I don't have to wait for Emergency Service! No Problemo!" Although I had been lead to believe that plan customers received prioritization over other customers, a service tech could not be sent until late Saturday. But we're from Canada - we can handle the cold, right?
The service tech finally arrived just before dinner on Saturday. After a while where fumbling and head-scratching were the order of the day, he finally found the problem. A dead variable speed control module that bolts onto the end of the furnace motor. The bad news = $874 + tax to order a replacement part and install. I was assured it would be here on Tuesday. What's three more nights without heat?
Let me tell you, it gets MIGHTY cold in a big house with no furnace when it drops below freezing outside! On Sunday morning I raced to Home Depot and bought some space heaters and for the next few days and nights moved them from room to room to keep everyone from freezing!
So, Tuesday comes. And I'm waiting for the technician to call me and give me the good news that he would be right over and we would again have HEAT! The call comes and the technician informs me that 1) the part would be nearly $1,200!!! and 2) he had taken a few days off and they would order the part that day. That meant at least another two or three days without heat! Are you KIDDING me?? What kind of service process is this that allows a customer to wait 'another few days' for heat just because someone decides they need some vaycay??
And then, I have to admit, I got a little angry. Not while I was on the phone, mind you. While I was surfing the internet a few minutes later and found, QUICKLY - I mean with NO problem - the exact part for my Lennox furnace, from a Lennox Parts distributor for just over 300 bucks! With a bit more searching, I found another supplier where the part was available for just over $200! I could buy an entire replacement blower motor and speed controller for just over $500! With next day delivery! For free!
Now, I'm a business man. I've been in the corporate world all my life. I understand mark-up and margins and profit but REALLY!!!??? Charging $1,200 for a $200 part + 20 minutes of installation time??? I had to talk to someone!
I called Dicks and asked for a Service Manager. I'll tell you what! They certainly need a refresher course in dealing with a frustrated and informed customer! I confess, I asked some pretty challenging questions like, "Just how much mark-up does your company think is reasonable?" and "Why was the part not ordered so it could be installed today as promised?" and the clincher, "In these days of internet access, don't your customers realize that you are ripping them off?"
Then the Service Manager said she would have to talk to the other Service Manager and have her call me back. Later. In the cold. "Today?" I asked. "I think so," she replied.
The next Service Manager had obviously taken a course in 'How to Deal with Upset Customers Through Condescension and Avoidance' since I got less out of the this conversation than the first. I did find out that they are NOT used to dealing with Customers that can ask leading questions!
An example: Me "What amount of mark-up does your company charge on this type of service call?"
She "Well, I can't tell you that because we use a flat-rate system for service calls."
Me "So this quote covers parts and labor?"
She "Yes. Parts and labor."
Me "So, you must input the parts cost into your computer and it gives you the Parts and Labor total?"
She "Yes."
Me "Cool. Just tell me the parts cost then since you must know it. You just said you input that number into the computer."
She Silence. "I'm sorry sir, but I only know the total amount that includes Parts and Labor."
I told her about the places I found on the internet where I could purchase the part from a Lennox dealer for 80% less than their quote. I told her that I understood that making a reasonable margin on the service is a perfectly fine. But I also told her that they were a bunch of bandits if they thought that charging 600% mark-up was an ethical and durable business practice!
Then I cancelled the Work Order.
And I cancelled my Service Plan.
Now my adventure moves onto the next phase. I'm going to order the part myself. I'm going into this business! If the bandits at Dicks can so unabashedly practice such highway robbery with no blow-back, it sure seems like a great way to get rich! (Unless I get electrocuted in the process!) read more