Never again. I was renting an apartment from Oak City Properties for a year and a half. This summer a mold outbreak developed and went full force all over on everything by July 18, as a result of mold spores in the ventilation system. After it made me sick and began to destroy my stuff, I evacuated, but couldn't relocate my items for fear of cross-contamination. Finally, cleaners were brought into the picture. Chris, from ServiceMaster, came out for an estimate on August 24th. It sounded like he didn't want the job. The following Monday, after review of all estimates, Oak City Properties selected ServiceMaster to do the job. They came for all of my things -- art, books, clothing, furniture, etc. -- on September 1st.
At that point, I'd been living out of suitcases elsewhere for a month and a half. My things then sat in ServiceMaster's humid warehouse for over three weeks before all clothing was sent to the dry cleaners. They'd cleaned my kitchen items, but I only knew that since I went by to grab some clothes and his staff was present. There was no communication updating me of the status of things otherwise. During a time of such turmoil, communicating to someone gives them reassurance. I visited the warehouse on October 13th with the insurance adjuster and landlord. At this point, they had had my things for a month and a half and determined the job was done. Chris was present, but had an air of condescension about him as if I was the one causing this inconvenience to him and he was the one forced to live out of suitcases. I was devastated at how much was deemed uncleanable, but also concerned at how disorganized they seemed. Pairs of shoes that could have been cleaned were strewn about and my things sat too close to other people's belongings. My things would have to sit there another month until I could close on a place to live and it could be sorted out with the insurance.
As soon as I knew of my move-in date to a new place, I notified Chris. Getting an email reply or call back was rare and difficult, but I persisted. We needed to confirm this. He said his team would be able to return all of my items -- cleaned and uncleanable -- on Friday, November 25th. I offered to come to the warehouse that morning to review the loading of my items into their trucks. At the warehouse, I'd observed how closely my items sat to other people's belongings. He said that there would be no issues and two of his guys would arrive at 10am. They arrived promptly at 10am and began to unload. I was surprised, but not shocked that they'd even brought someone else's things back with them. I told them those things were nice, but not mine and they should take them back. Some things that entered my house were clearly not cleaned. I sent clothing and other items back to be cleaned.
In the next 24 hours, I discovered that items were missing. Washer and dryer hoses were missing. Glasses -- some were family heirlooms -- were broken. Water stains were on my dresser. Dust was on my bookshelves. One of his guys brought back some cleaned items the next day. I appreciated him doing that so much that I sent him home with a really nice craft beer, since I'd heard him talking about that the previous day.
The following week I called Chris to check on the recleaning and scheduling, as well as compensation because, shocker, he hadn't called me. Not one apology, call, or email. Once again, he was defensive and rude. Last Friday, December 2, two of his guys came back. One guy was there to clean the carpets to make up for their disorganization. He smelled like weed. The other guy brought a check and stuff back and kept saying, "well we have to make sure YOU are happy before we leave and hope to never see you again under these circumstances." Really? Way to leave on a good note.
This week, I've noticed that my brand new ski goggles and DVD player are missing... The remote is here, but not the DVD player. I also discovered that they brought a cloth box with mold on it into my bedroom! It's been sitting in my brand new house for a week and a half with mold on it and, because I'm still getting settled, I couldn't have inspected every item right away. Not impressed. I would never recommend this ServiceMaster franchise/location. If that's the way you're going to do customer care, communicate, and provide a service, you shouldn't be doing it. read more
