I'm about to do something I rarely do....publicly complain about a company, especially one that I…read morehave been in a relationship with for over 8 years....
First, let me start with a little bit about me. I have been a resident of Shorewood since 2003 and currently OWN 5 houses in this community. As a real estate investor, I pride myself on establishing good relationships with those I work with, because that's how relationships grow. I have numerous contractors that I have come to work with over the years, DesRochers Backyard Pools and Spas, being one of them. I utilized their services at 2 of my 5 houses, and have recommended their services to countless people. This year, 2020, has been unusually difficult for many of us, myself included. I am currently in the middle of a divorce, and due to choices that I have made to protect my assets, I have found myself and my 3 children, facing financial difficulty. I have not asked, and will not ask, for help - so please don't offer. Others need it far more currently. That being on the table, here is the reason for my post:
At the beginning of this year, I had a balance with DesRochers. And due to this balance, they would not open my pool. No payment arrangement was offered, they wanted their money. So, after some scrounging, I came up with the cash required to satisfy the balance and went into the store to pay it. I'll admit that I was angry and hurt, but it was because of how management had handled the situation. It was cold and uncaring, even though we had had a good relationship for the previous 7 years. No follow up customer service "care" was offered or experienced. I tried to tend to the pool myself during this year, but that was nearly impossible, because of all of the other responsibilities I had. Yesterday, I called to schedule an appointment to close my pool, and was informed that they would have to check with their financial office, because I had asked them to allow me to carry a balance until the end of the month when it would be satisfied. Today, the scheduling department called me back and informed me that before they could schedule an appointment, they would need to have payment in full. I again explained my financial situation, in great detail, might I add, to the scheduler. When they informed me what the cost was, I realized that I had the cash available to pay them and said that I would bring it into the store by tomorrow. The scheduler informed me that I would need to sign a waiver because the first freeze had occurred, and they couldn't be responsible for damage incurred as a result of it, upon opening the pool in the spring. I agreed to signing the waiver. I then conveyed my disappointment with the company for not calling me to see if my pool had been closed and winterized, stating that it was poor customer service on their end. This person then refused to schedule my appointment, stating that she would have a manager call me. Upon speaking with the manager, and reiterating what I had said to the scheduler, the manager said that they would not be scheduling the closing, and that it was best we part ways - I agreed. To know that a company can be so uncaring about what a longtime customer is experiencing in their personal life, is extremely poor customer service, especially during a time when customer retention should be a paramount concern. I can no longer, and will no longer refer DesRochers Backyard Pools and Spas to anyone in good conscience knowing how little long-standing customers mean to them.
