Wish I could give them zero stars. Moved to Sonora to be closer to family after divorce and a Lyme disease diagnosis. It was a struggle to find an affordable place while going through Lyme treatment. And, then when I did, two weeks into it, PGE shuts off our power for a few days for high winds that never arrived. That being said, I was told to call Kamps Propane by the landlords and to change over the propane into my name within three days of moving in. I called that day. When I called the office, the lady (Leanne) said she can't do anything without me coming down to the office and filling out the paperwork and putting up a $350 deposit. This was the first I had heard about needing a deposit - I didn't need a deposit for PGE, or Comcast, even after my credit was run, but this place requires a $350 deposit. But, I didn't argue. So, I go down the very next day and fill out the paperwork. There was a young red haired girl there running the office, and she must have been really busy or maybe this wasn't her normal job...because she said to fill out the paperwork and she'd run my credit to see if I needed to put a deposit down, it might be $150 or $250, and if I didn't hear back from her, it means no deposit was necessary. Awesome! So, that was Wednesday. She said the meter reader guy wouldn't even be able to check the meter until the next day, Thursday. Cool!
The next week we had the power outage and I had to throw a bunch of food away. Since I hadn't heard from the Kamps people, I felt good- it being a week later -to buy groceries with the deposit money. My'bad.
I get a call from Leanne at Kamps the very next day, exactly 7 days after dropping off the paperwork. In a very nasty tone she tells me if I don't get down to the office in the next day to fill out the paperwork and to give the $350 deposit, she will have no choice but to shut my propane off. Wtf!?!? I tell her I was at her office the very next day after she told me to go there and filled out the paperwork and was told they would run my credit and get back to me in a couple of days if they needed a deposit. She retorts back in a snotty voice that she doesn't have my paperwork, like I was lying to her. I told her I filled it out and gave it to a redhead who I think had a tattoo? She puts me on hold and after a few minutes comes back with a completely different tone of voice - "oh yes, you're paperwork is here but we still need you to come pay the $350 deposit"...! I am at a loss because I had obviously used it to buy food. Ok. So, I tell Leanne I was told I would be called within a few days if In fact I needed a deposit and it was a week since then. She had nothing to say to that except the paperwork wasn't on her desk. No apology for the mistake or her original tone or anything... I guess because my credit wasn't great, she felt ok or justified being nasty even if it was her mistake or that of her coworker. Fine. I was luckily able to get my daughter to use money she'd set aside for rent to help pay the deposit. But, what if I hadn't had the money? Would she shut my power off? Um, it would have been a completely different experience if 1) I had been talked to with respect and decency 2) she had apologized for her mistake 3) she had given options for payment of such a high deposit when people struggle as it is these days getting into housing. Threatening to shut off my power due to their mistake seemed heartless. My daughter and I went down to the office the next day... Leanne and the younger, red haired lady were both there this time. I immediately asked which one was Leanne... but, by then, I should have known by deduction...she was the angry looking one to the left.
I let her in on my feelings and then, suddenly, Leanne apologized profusely because I was embarrassing her / calling her out in front of her co-worker. I also explained to her that being without power when she called added to the devastation her called added to my day, though she butted in before I could finish saying, "yes, the power outage has made us all very grumpy..." like I was apologizing for my behavior and she was using it as an excuse for her bad behavior, too. Wow. Ok. Unfortunately for me, the place I live has two other units and they're all on one propane tank, so I cannot just change my propane provider. But, you can bet your sweet patootie that I will be having a conversation with my landlords and let them know the terrible service I received and present them with possible other companies who I've found recently provide a MUCH cheaper rate than Kamps. I also read other reviews and looks Like Leanne/Leah have trouble with their customer service skills with other customers, as well.
I worked for IBM in systems customer service support as a team lead and know what good customer service should look like. This is NOT it. read more
