Fox Services Express

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/08/19) */
First and foremost, we take customer service and workmanship very seriouslyIf this customer is unhappy and feels she did not get the service she deserved, we are more than happy to work through her issue and issue a partial refund if needed
What concerns me the most is that we had no idea this customer had a problem with our services and/or pricingWe have never been given the opportunity allowing us to work through any concerns, miscommunication, business practices or workmanship issuesThe last contact we had with this customer we were told she and her boyfriend wanted to contact their home warranty company before they went any further (as documented in the attached dispatch notes on this customer's invoice)
I spoke with the technician who ran the service call and I have reviewed the dispatch notes, quote authorized by the customer and the final invoice with notes (all are attached for review)
In doing so the story shows that the customer was having an issue with a loss of power in a portion of their home causing a breaker to trip immediately and not be able to reset itself
The technician gave the customer our applicable up-front prices for diagnosing an issue like this, explained each of them, what each diagnosis level covered and gained authorization for the work(this is shown in the attached quote)
The technician proceeded after authorization to diagnose their issueHe stated that there were a lot of junctions where new wire met old wire and he worked through several of the items on the particular circuit having an issue within the authorized diagnosis area until he found an issueAt that time he found one of these junction boxes where the new wire was added to the old and found a loose connection which was shorting to ground from within the junction box, ultimately causing the breaker to trip and not allow itself to be reset and provide powerThis particular junction box had burn marks inside of it due to the poor connection and the wire nut was meltedThe technician reworked the junction box by cutting back the damaged wire, replacing the wire nut and testing all of the other connections within the boxAfter repairing this issue, the technician was able to reset the breaker now, restore power, verify that power was working in all of the customer complaint areas and gain a satisfactory completion of the work from the customer
About hours after the technician completed the original call, the customer called and stated he was experiencing similar issues againI took that call and told the customer we would have the tech back out shortlyI was able to dispatch the technician back out to the home immediately and did so, informing the customer as well
Upon arrival, the technician checked out the situation and verified his previous work in the junction box finding that all was still goodThe technician then also learned that the problem was no longer a breaker that would not reset as the immediate short had been repaired, but now that circuit was tripping a breaker over time (1-hours?) and indicated another issue had surfaced now that the circuit had a chance to have power restored to itAt this point the the level series of outlets, fixtures or devices (in this case junction boxes) was no longer applicable as they had already been gone through and tested as a direct shortAs previously explained to the customer on the 1st trip, once the efforts are exhausted in the description of the level 2, the service would then need to be escalated up to the level and its pricing which covers multiple rooms or areas without power and/or multiple intermittent issuesThis level description most closely matches what they have been experiencing from the beginning, but our technicians try to do their best to resolve the diagnostic issues in steps as to potentially save the customer money in the long run as we understand it would be frustrating to agree to a larger price diagnostic because it fits the description only to have the technician find the problem right away in his troubleshooting efforts
After giving this information, the customer decided they felt it was best to contact their home warranty company to see what their options were (as noted in the dispatch notes on the invoice)
My technician also informed me that the second time he went to the home, he dealt with the homeowner's boyfriend as oppose to the homeowner who originally authorized the workI wanted to clarify that the homeowner who was not physically present had contacted the technician later by phone to ask for clarification of the situationMy technician said after speaking with her, he had no idea there were any issues and that she stated she was going to follow through with contacting her home warranty company
As stated earlier, we really did not know there was an issue and feel that we have not been given the opportunity to rectify any possible issuesIf given this opportunity, I am sure we could have cleared up any misunderstandings and worked out a resolutionThis is a bit more difficult to do now as another electrician has been entered into the situation before we had a chance to resolve any problems (maybe because we were not on the home warranty company's list of approved contractors?)
I feel it would be irresponsible for me to comment on this other electrician's statement against us without having all of the information, just as I feel it is irresponsible for any professional service provider to comment on behalf of us without knowing what was done and the full story behind itAlthough, clearly my technician did not cause or create any dangerous situations by inspecting, diagnosing and repairing an obvious issue with existing wiring showing physical signs of burning damage
Sincerely,
*** Services Express

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/10/22) */
We here at Fox Services take all of our customer interactions very seriously and strive to make sure that each customer is given the highest level of service possibleThank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to this customer
complaintAt Fox Services we use call scripting and a set process for all of our customers so that they all know what to expect from our company
On Friday afternoon a new customer contacted Fox for service on his spaThe call was taken in by the office managerThe following call script was followed
"Within our service area we charge $to dispatch a technician to your homeAll of our technicians are certified, background checked and drug testedYour technician will arrive in a fully stocked truck with thousands of parts able to fix commonly known issuesThe technician will talk to you about issues you have occurring and put together a list of options for servicing, repairing or diagnosing your issueYour technician will then present you with a guaranteed up front priceIf you choose to have any of the work done at that time, we will waive your dollar dispatch fee and payment is collected after we complete the work to your satisfaction by cash, check, or credit card."
Every customer that contacts fox is given the same call scriptAfter explaining the issue with his spa and hearing the call script the customer was ready to schedule a technician to his homeThe following is the dispatch that was created for the customer "10/16/1:14:PM - *** - Customer thinks there is an issue with the control boardHe has had another company working on it but they can't seem to find the issue after replacing some things."
The customer was offered different appointments because it is our standard practice to offer our customers a choice in schedulingThe customer chose a 10-floating appointment time in which he would be contacted minutes prior to the tech arrivalOn the day of the appointment Mr*** was contacted minutes prior to the technician *** *** arrivalThe following note was created in Mr***'s dispatch "10/20/11:AM - *** - spoke with customer about *** arriving within minutes/ customer is home and ready for service"
When the technician arrived at the home he knocked on the doorNo one was homeTypically we don't do service without the customer being home because our practice is to have the customer involved as much as possible and service is an interactive processThe customer was called on his cell phone and gave the tech permission to walk around back and start workingThe technician explained he would go take a look at the spa and call him back with upfront pricing for service, repairs or diagnosisAt that time the technician also reminded the customer that we collect payment upon completion of any work and notified the customer that he would not begin any work without the customers approvalIt is Fox Services standard practice for the tech to repeat this once at the customers home so that they are informed and reminded of what is said in the call script and they always know what to expectThe tech did a visual inspection of the spa to find that it was empty and not turned onThe technician was unable to move forward with anything at that time because the spa was empty and it could damage the spa to turn it on when emptyThe technician then gave the customer a call to give him his guaranteed upfront pricing for work that needed to be completed to diagnose the issue with the spaThis included a charge to fill the tub of which was a discounted price for also having a diagnostic completed at the same time and a diagnostic for when the tub is filled of There are many different diagnostic types that the technician can choose from that suit the customers situation the bestThese are predetermined prices for different diagnosis types that the tech fits the best at visual inspectionThese prices come from our upfront price bookAttached are some examples of diagnostic types that come from our upfront pricing bookThe attached is a photo directly from our price book
The technician at that time then called the customer to give him his up front pricingAt that time the customer stated that we were too expensive and was going to contact the officeThe technician remained at the customer home as the customer contacted the officeThe customer contacted the office
When the customer contacted the office he again spoke with the office managerThe customer stated he was upset with our prices and was upset he would have to spend that amount of money just to find out the problemHe expressed that he was upset that he was not given a price for a diagnostic fee over the phoneIt was explained to the customer that no one is able give a diagnostic price over the phone because there are different types and the diagnostic pricing is determined by the tech after talking with the customer about what is occurring and with a visual inspectionIt was also explained to the customer that after visual inspection it is often the tech already knows the issue and a diagnostic is not necessaryThe customer then expressed he was upset about the cost to fill the spaThe office manager explained to him that this takes a long time and the tech is not able to be doing any other work during the time to fill the spaIt was also explained to the customer that he was more than welcome to avoid that charge by filling the spa on his ownIt was explained that the tech could collect the dispatch fee and that if he were to fill the spa we could complete the already quoted diagnostic fee when the customer was readyThe customer was reminded that he was given a upfront price for the work of the diagnostic to be completed and he may contact the office at anytime to be scheduledAt that time Mr*** asked if he would be refunded the $dispatch fee and the customer was told no not unless he proceeded with work that dayThe customer was unhappy with this because he would not be refunded the dispatch fee because he was choosing to have no work completed that dayIt was then explained to the customer again that he can pay the tech the dispatch fee if he is not ready to move forward with work and his upfront price would be good for daysAt this time Mr*** stated that we were a scam and he was going to write a bad review for usIn an attempt to resolve the situation the office manager tried to further speak with the customer about why he was upset and the customer disconnected the phone call
At this time the tech was notified by the office the customer would not like to move forward with work and he could collect his dispatch feeThe technician called the customer for payment, there was not answer and the tech left a message
When the tech was completed with all other work for the day he returned the invoice for the $dispatch fee to the officeThe collection manager at the office contacted the customer for paymentThere was no answer she left a message that the dispatch fee was owedThe customer returned the call and paid the dispatch fee