We moved into a new home and needed to acquire heating oil. I phoned many companies and received a variety of information regarding the way the process works. Admittedly, at the time, I was most focused on the price and level of customer service.
The company that stood out most for me was Williams' Fuel Services. We were in need of oil immediately, and the owner, Bill, came out that evening personally and filled our tank. We were impressed with his level of service, cooperation and willing to help us in an emergency.
We continued as customers for a couple of months and needed another filling of oil. I phoned William's and spoke with Rob. I asked to be placed on automatic delivery, and I'm sure he fully explained the details of how it worked with his company. However, I realized yesterday that I had not fully understood and had since forgotten some of the details.
After that telephone conversation with Rob, our tank was filled completely. We assumed it would last throughout the winter and would not need another filling soon. However, Williams' arrived yesterday, a month later, to do their automatic filling and left a bill for $465.00.
Upon arriving home that evening, I quickly realized I'd misunderstood the process of their company and was concerned that the current credit card they had on file may not accept such a large payment since it was near its monthly limit. Before I had a chance to call Williams', I received a call from the owner, Bill.
I answered and was immediately met with hostility. He asked for me, and when I acknowledged that it was me on the line, he answered my "How are you?" with an angry, "Not Good! Your credit card was declined!"
I was shocked, not at the fact that my card was declined, as I feared it would be, but at the immediate angry tone coming from a person who seemed so gentle and polite when he was in my home. I had to ask, "Is this the owner? The person who came to my home and made a delivery when we signed up?" "Yes, " he replied, "and I need another credit card to pay for today's delivery, " again in a hostile tone.
I sincerely apologized for the mistake and my apology was met with, "Well, YOU called and asked for automatic delivery!" At this point, Bill's voice was raised, to the point, in my opinion, that he was yelling at me. I was confused as to why he didn't simply accept my apology and quietly move on to remedy the situation. He continued to yell and repeat the sentence, "YOU called and asked for automatic delivery!" over and over again.
I tried to acknowledge that yes, I had requested it, but I realized now I didn't totally understand it. However, Bill just kept repeating the same thing over and over, louder and louder.in a situation like this, if I were a business owner, I would realize that the customer, especially a new customer, could potentially be embarrassed about both the confusion and the credit card decline.
I would offer kindness, grace and understanding and say, "It's no problem. Mistakes happen, all we need is a new credit card number, and I'll be happy to go over the details of automatic delivery with you again so there's no confusion in the future."
I explained I would be happy to pay, but just needed to wait until my boyfriend arrived home so that we could discuss which credit card to use. Bill replied with a harsh and loud, "CAN'T YOU CALL HIM AND SEE IF HE HAS A CREDIT CARD YOU CAN USE?"
I explained that it wasn't about "seeing if he had a credit card I could use, " but it was about discussing together what form of payment would work best for us financially since the invoice was a surprise. Bill said he was leaving in "two or three minutes, " and I said, "Then I'll have to give you the new card tomorrow." "THEN I'LL EXPECT YOUR CALL TOMORROW, " he said very loudly and hung up on me.
I was very upset and felt that I had just been spoken to as though I was someone who owed this man money for several months and he had finally been able to catch up to them. This was confusing given the fact that we had paid him $1000-$1500 for his service within the past two months. I was not treated like a valued customer, but like a deadbeat being pursued by a collection agency, in my opinion.
I called my boyfriend who was at work and explained what had happened. My boyfriend phoned Bill and inquired about the conversation. Bill completely denied he had raised his voice or had been rude with me.
The next day, I phoned Williams' Fuel Service to fulfill my promise of calling back with a new card. I wanted to speak to Bill directly to allow him the opportunity to apologize to me for how he had spoken to me the day before. He was not in, and I left a message for him to return my call.
A few hours later, Bill called and offered a very polite, "Hello, how are you?" in a cheerful tone. I was optimistic that perhaps he had considered his actions and would try to make amends. I was polite in return and offered the new credit card number. He said he would run it, then call me back to let me know everything went through, which he did.
When he called back, he said, "Everything went through fine, now, would you like to be removed from automatic delivery so this doesn't happen again?" I replied, "Well, first, I'd like to say once more that I'm sorry for the confusion and the mistake."
This was a sincere apology and my optimistic attempt at moving forward positively. I had hoped that Bill felt the same and would volunteer an apology for his poor customer service as well. He didn't.
"That's ok, " was his reply to my apology, and went directly back to, "Now, do you want to be removed from automatic delivery?" I paused, then said, "Actually, I want to be removed as a customer altogether because that was your opportunity to apologize to me for how you spoke to me yesterday, and you didn't take it."
Bill raised his voice so loudly that I could not understand the words that he was saying. I let him yell at me for a few seconds and then I said, "I cannot believe you don't have the foresight to understand that refusing to offer a deserved apology will cost you a customer." He continued with the raised voice, again, impossible to understand, and he hung up on me.
I immediately phoned back and Bill did not answer. Rob answered and I asked him to pass a message along to Bill. I explained that I would be contacting the BBB, as well as a variety of customer opinion websites to inform other potential customers of the treatment I had received. He replied to me to "be careful, because that can be illegal."
In my opinion, that was a threat. I explained to him that I am educated enough to know I am free to offer my opinion about their level of service to anyone who would like to read it. I understand the law regarding libel and my complaint is not intended to represent any statement of fact that this company did not provide the product they advertise. My complaint is to offer my opinion that the owner of this business handled a situation in such a horrible manner, he cost himself a customer. I have the right and privilege to share this opinion with any other current or potential customers as well.
If we need to get legally technical, I suppose they didn't actually provide the service they advertise as their website currently boasts, "We LOVE our customers!!!" The three exclamation points certainly denote their commitment to communicating the love they supposedly have for their customers.
However, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines love as "warm attachment, enthusiasm, devotion." Bill did not demonstrate a warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion to me, so I suppose if we're really being factual, he did fail to provide the service he advertises.
My desired outcome is that I wish to receive a sincere apology from the owner, Bill, along with a commitment from him to try not to give other customers the same treatment he gave to me when they make a mistake.
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