Here's the honest truth. If there's one thing that completely sucks about having a significant disability, it's that you get so used to being sick that you tend to not realize it when you're actually REALLY sick.
The same is true for my home. I'm just sort of programmed, I think, that things are going to go wrong. So, when things go REALLY wrong I tend to not notice.
Such was the case two days ago when I noticed a burning smell in my home. I checked outlets, cords, etc. and couldn't quite find the culprit. Yesterday, I noticed as I was going to bed that the burning smell was back and my furnace was "on" but not running all the time.
Sigh.
When you have a disability, especially when you're alone, you tend to be an easy target for exploitation. While I'm pretty good at seeing through it all, it gets tiring and frustrating. I dread it when mechanical things go wrong because I have no mechanical knowledge and in most cases my disability will limit my ability to do heavily mechanical things due to a lack of fine motor skills.
I put out a call to friends on social media sites this morning asking if anyone knew any heating folks. My furnace is only six-years-old, but my experience in buying it hadn't been very pleasant and I didn't really want to return to the same company. I got 3-4 tips, but decided to check out Yelp. I noticed the review from Britt S., former community manager turned regional guru, and the fact that Homesense had a five-star rating plus positive reviews on other sites. I had contacted one other company via e-mail, but decided to reach out to Homesense as they're close to my Glendale area home.
I initially wrote through their impressive, friendly website that provided a wealth of info. I waited a little bit, but started to get nervous and decided to call them. I spoke with Mandy by phone - super friendly, was actively writing me when I called and had clearly checked my e-mail as she could reference things I said in it. After chatting for a few minutes, we made arrangements for someone to come over at a time that would allow me to stay at work for my work day. I appreciated her concern for and accommodation of my schedule. I was given a general time range to expect and told that someone would contact me 15-30 minutes prior to confirm they were on the way.
Within the given time range, I received a call from Samantha, "Sam," who gave the "on our way" call and I received by e-mail the name of the technician - this is a terrific way to handle things and much safer. The technician, Kary, arrived at the scheduled time.
Kary arrived in a Homesense van and was dressed professionally. He was super friendly - I thought it was a nice touch that the Homesense e-mail had given me a little bit of info about him. It wasn't two minutes of listening to the furnace that he had a good idea of what to look for...I appreciated that he looked at the least expensive answer first. Sadly, that wasn't the answer and he took time to explain to me why that wasn't the answer. I needed a new motor, no small investment for a six-year-old furnace, and initially he didn't believe he had the right one. However, he took the time to take everything out and, in fact, he had one on the truck.
I was given a price in writing and that price was honored.
Kary got everything done, explaining things along the way in a "101" style that I could understand. I appreciated that he also explained preventive things that could be done, things that I missed and things to watch for in a way that was not condescending or judgmental. I also was impressed that when I explained my issues with the company that had sold me the furnace, he took the high road and didn't jump on the bashing bandwagon.
In short, while the repair was expensive it was done as requested, on time, correctly and the furnace now works beautifully. I was happy with all three employees encountered and was able to use credit to pay.
If your only concern is the lowest price, Homesense is probably not that company. However, I feel like I got a fair, affordable price with great customer service and high quality, timely work.
I also appreciated little touches on their website - for example, explaining some of their community involvement (which means a lot to me) and having quite a bit of info available on the site. It allowed me to make a quick, informed choice.
Nobody likes it when the expensive hits happen, but it's always made better when you're treated with respect, treated fairly, and you feel like the company actually cares about you as a customer. I didn't feel exploited here and I didn't feel like I was being faced with upselling. As I sit here in my warm home and my much quieter furnace, I'm grateful for those who wrote reviews of Homesense and grateful for their quick, reasonable and accommodating response in my time of need. I'll definitely call them the next time I have a Heating/Air Conditioning need. read more