house mechanics

A portion of our basement flooded due to a rusted out sewer pipe. A plumbing company came out and repaired the pipe, but during the repair a bathroom had to be gutted and sanitized and the carpet had to be pulled up. [redacted] came out with the landlord to assess what needed to be done. I told him I needed the carpet re stretched asap because my office was down there and I couldn't work until I could get it set up. He assured me he would start on that first, which would be the following Tuesday. I had already been without my office for two weeks. On Tuesday, I waited until late morning before I finally called his cell and had to leave a message. He called me back within the hour and said he'd bee here between noon and 1pm. When he showed up (backing into my driveway) he told me the guy who could do the carpet wouldn't be able to do it until "maybe tomorrow", he had to be pulled from another job. I reiterated that I needed it done as soon as possible because it was my business office. When [redacted] left my house on that Tuesday he said we would be back the next day between 11 and 1pm, he left my garage door open. I have two large dogs. I was irritated, but just closed the door and went on with my day. The next day, Wednesday, I took my son to school and returned home by 9:30, [redacted] was just leaving my house (an hour and a half earlier than expected) having just finished doing some of the work on the bathroom. He told me the guy may be able to get to my carpet the following day. I told him I was getting frustrated because I keep getting told he might be able to. [redacted] said he understood, but the guy had to be pulled from another job and he had only learned about our job last minute. This statement isn't true because it was now a week that I'd talked to him. At least he closed the garage door this time. I did not hear from [redacted] or the person doing the carpet for the rest of the week. By Friday, I had had enough and found someone else to do the carpet, which I got done on Saturday and it took him less than 15 minutes. I informed my landlords and they told me that [redacted] wasn't supposed to come back until Monday. On Monday [redacted] showed up and tried to open my garage door. He then came around to the front door and told my 12 year old son to open the garage door. Hello? Minor!! I opened the garage door, [redacted] and I went into the basement. He started to tell me that the guy would be coming "tomorrow" to do the vinyl and the carpet. I told him I had taken care of the carpet. He responded with "good". He painted the walls in my bathroom and then left. HE DID NOT SHUT THE GARAGE DOOR, and one of my dogs got out. I didn't realize he hadn't shut it, until my son asked where the dog was. After I shut the door, I emailed [redacted], Ive asked you if youve closed my garage door, thinking that would be enough of a reminder to do it when youve left here. Today you left it open, again, and my dog was down the street. Please remember to close my garage doorwhen you come back. Seems very unprofessional to leave a door open after you leave a job.He responded with:I have shut if every time. I didn't shut it today because you opened it and were home with the dog down stairs with you. Thank you[redacted]House Mechanics[redacted]I have two dogs, one was with me and the other was not. Not once has this man apologized for my inconvenience or any perceived wrongdoing. To me, customer service means that even if you think the customer is mistaken, you still do what you can to make it right. This man has no concept of customer service.Product_Or_Service: Handyman servicesDesired SettlementI just want people to know what bad customer service looks like. If something had happened to my dog I would have sued him.Business Response I was hired by [redacted] to do some repair work on a house that he owned on [redacted], which was occupied by a tenant. Having worked for [redacted] several times, he knows that my work and professionalism are top notch. When [redacted] called me to schedule the work at [redacted], I let him know that my schedule was very full, but that I would work him in. That was a mutually agreed upon aspect of the work. The unlocked roll up garage door was an agreed upon access point between [redacted] and his tenant, and was relayed to me. The agreed entrance was that the garage door would be unlocked for me in case I had cancellations or my schedule opened up and I could squeeze in extra time to work on this house, as it was not originally part of my schedule. The first time I went to work on the house, I backed into the driveway with a truck load of sheetrock and other materials. I was provided access to the garage via the roll up garage door, which was unlocked as agreed upon. The house is not directly connected to damaged basement/office area, meaning you must open a door to from house, enter the garage, and open another door to the basement. I never worked in the house; only the basement area. After my initial day of work, I indeed closed the garage the same way as I entered it. A portion of the job required fixing the carpeting. I have subcontractors that do this kind of work for me because I am not a licensed flooring contractor, and thusly am bound by law to have a licensed contractor to do this work. As such, I am at the mercy of their schedule. Unfortunately, my preferred subcontractor was not able to accommodate my request as timely as he usually can, and this specific job was delayed. The second time I went to the house to continue my work, I was able to get to the job earlier than expected and was able to do my work and left, closing the garage door. The third time, I arrived at the house and found the garage door locked. I had been made aware that the tenant, through the landlord, was aware that I was coming to continue work that day. I did go around to the front of the house and rang the doorbell so that I didn't have to lose a day of work on this house. I asked her son that answered the door if he would please unlock the garage door, making the assumption that he would relay the information to his parent, the tenant. The tenant came and unlocked and opened the garage door. She then proceeded to enter the basement office with one of the large dogs, and I assumed that her son was in the house with the other dog. The garage door access remained open while I did my work, as it normally did. When I completed my work, I closed the man door to the basement, keeping in mind that the tenant and her dog remained in the office portion of the basement. As the tenant opened the garage door, which was unusual, I assumed that she would close it as I did not know what her intentions were with the door; she had rarely been home before while I worked on the property, and had never opened the garage door for me. Later that day, I received an angry email from the tenant accusing me of maliciously leaving the garage door open and letting out her dog. I replied via email that I didn't not shut the door as she was home with the animals and they were contained in the house and basement when I left. In my opinion, this tenant was angry at the entire situation as it related to her flooded basement/office. She wanted the work done immediately, and unfortunately as I wrote above, that was not possible. I believe this fueled her anger towards the situation and ultimately, towards me. I have impeccable customer service, but every service related industry knows that you cannot please every one, every time. I know that my work and customer service is above reproach and am dismayed that this individual chose to go this route to handle an unfortunate situation. I continue to do work for the owner of the property, [redacted], and I am confident that my levels of professionalism are very high. Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I do not accept this response because it shows exactly the type of customer service I am talking about. He may have indeed been hired by my landlord, however, this is my home. I did tell agree to have the garage door unlocked WHEN I KNEW THEY WERE COMING. Who leaves their garage door unlocked 24/7 on the off chance a worker will come fix something? Do YOU? Common courtesy would have been to let me know you were coming, even last minute. That never happened. You did leave my garage door open, and I opened it FOR you. It wasn't left open, it was opened FOR you. YOU should have closed it. I opened the garage door almost ever time you were here. And I NEVER knew when you were coming, ever. Not even a call with a heads up. The day you came early was a Tuesday or Wednesday, no one came back until the following week. I was supposed to leave my garage door unlocked that whole time?! If my dog had gotten picked up by animal control or hit by a car, you would have been responsible for that. I was home every time you were here but one. I would run to get my child from school but always immediately returned. I don't know where you get that I was rarely home when you were here. Also, I was never upset or angry at the situation. I completely understood what was going on and why. I was angry at you for not closing my garage door, especially after my dog got out. There was no thought to anything in MY HOME other than your convenience. I was getting impatient with the fact that I couldn't get my office back because of the carpet only needing to be restretched. I didn't start getting angry until about 10 days before the job was completed, the job took about a month total. I said from the beginning how important it was to get the carpet done. I was patient and dealt with it. The cavalier attitude about my needs as opposed to others angered me as well. YOUR attitude angered me.Oh by the way, THE SINK LEAKS. So much for top notch workmanship.Final Business Response This situation is an unfortunate one. My intention going into this job (as with all of the jobs that I do), was to make my customers satisfied. Apparently, that did not happen in this instance. The understanding that I had with the landlord was that I could do the job, but that due to my full schedule, I had to squeeze the work around other work. When a schedule like that is dictated, it inevitably makes the completion of the job take longer than it normally would. This is the first time I have heard of the sink leaking. My work is guaranteed and I will make necessary repairs to the sink. I would request that the work be scheduled in my standard fashion: An email to [redacted] with an outline of the work to be done. With regards to [redacted] dog getting outside, I am sorry that happened. I have beloved pets of my own and can understand her dismay. I am certainly glad that the pet was returned to her safely.