I received some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced from NorthTech Irrigation's Office Manager, Tricia. In trying to contest a $50 invoice she was at no point interested in my perspective or experience, and was more interested in either getting me to pay the invoice, or having me switch to another service provider. You heard that right. My business was worth less than a contested $50 invoice after paying thousands over 5 years.
I've managed service teams for a long time and I understand the give and take needed to retain customers while also making sure to get invoices paid. She does not understand this, and chose to lose a customer over her ego. In all communications and correspondences, I have been kind, considerate, and professional; while she consistently lacked all three.
Full Context:
My irrigation system was installed by NorthTech in 2020. That first year I tried multiple times to get a couple of heads moved from my neighbor's property into my own (unsuccessfully), and struggled with a leaking head for nearly a month including multiple visits to get resolved. Two years later I tried NorthTech again, and asked them to split one zone into two so I could get better coverage and to finally move those heads into my property. The team didn't move the heads into my property, and argued with me that they could achieve the same result I was looking for by not splitting that zone in two. I ended up paying the same amount I was quoted for the additional zone, and after a few weeks realized I still had a system that didn't work as I expected (I have to run that zone for 60 minutes to get proper water coverage in the back, while the front gets way too much water; and due to water pressure issues, that zone fails to fully startup sometimes). I tried to get them to do what I had originally asked, but they refused unless I was willing to pay for another project. The next spring I called to see if I could get a discount to properly split the zone, and was again told I would have to pay full price for the labor, or I could buy their annual package (startup, mid-summer visit, and winterization), and they could help make sure that zone functions properly. I agreed to try this, but the technicians were never able to get the system to consistently work all summer long.
This year I was late to starting my system up, so I defaulted to NorthTech in mid May, and again paid for the annual package. In the middle of summer, when installing a fence, I needed the original two heads moved onto my property, and they agreed to do it as part of my mid-summer visit. After the visit, they sent me an invoice because it took the technician longer than the allotted time to move those two heads. I tried to express my dissatisfaction with being charged for a visit I had already paid for, and for a task which I had asked multiple times for them to address over 5 years.
Tricia simply refused to take any time to understand my position or my frustration. Her stance was simple. She didn't work for NorthTech back then, they don't have any records from back then, so I have to pay the invoice. My experience was irrelevant. I tried multiple times to see if there was room to compromise or something, but she was not interested in me as a customer. In the end she simply stated that if I was interested in moving forward with NorthTech I needed to pay, otherwise I should find another provider. I was so shocked, I never responded to that email.
Now winterization has arrived, and I was notified that they would not provide the winterization service that I had already paid for until I paid the outstanding balance from summer (~$50). I pushed back because it didn't seem right to withhold a service I had paid for due to another dispute, but Tricia was not going to budge. In the end, she offered to pay the summer invoice with the pre-paid winterization, and send me the (~$30) balance.
She not once tried to retain me as a customer, and never expressed any desire to understand my perspective in what transpired. read more
