Complaint Review: ARS/Rescue Rooter

On 6/24/2013 a technician from ARS/Rescue Rooter (Vero Beach service center) performed a cooling system maintenance at my home in Cocoa.  This service had been arranged through my local Home Depot several days earlier.  My first impression of the service was slightly unfavorable because Home Depot had given me to understand that I would receive a call well in advance of the visit to confirm that we were "on" and that their technician would arrive sometime during a prearranged 2-hour.  Well, on the day of the service, the window opened and closed without any notification whatsoever.  Approximately 45 minutes late, I received a call from the technician to say he'd arrive 20 minutes later.  This may seem like a small point, but the fact that the technician failed to call in advance and arrived an hour or so late suggested to me that the communication between their dispatchers, technicians and customers falls somewhat short of satisfactory.  So, if first impressions count, these are areas in which their Vero Beach office could use some improvement.    

As regards the performance of the work I hired them to do, let me say that I was favorably impressed by the technician himself.  Eric presented a good appearance, and was polite, congenial, knowledgeable, and respectful of my property.  The work he did and the advice he imparted exceeded my expectations and more than justified the (very reasonable) price of the service.

All that said, let me now address the problem which serves as the basis for my complaint with ARS/Rescue Rooter.

While servicing my condenser unit, Eric determined that the installed capacitor was performing marginally.  When I told him I would purchase a new one and install it myself, he offered to sell me one from the stock he had on his work van.  In fact, for $50, he gave me two capacitors - a brand new one and another which he said had been temporarily used.  I was more than pleased with that transaction, until the next day when I attempted to install one of those capacitors and discovered that neither of them was usable in my system (without modifications).

I had some difficulty getting back in touch with Eric through the Vero Beach service center dispatchers, but finally got him on the phone two days later.  He apologized profusely and told me he would come back as soon as he could to swap the two unusable capacitors for one that was called for by my system.  When I hadn't heard from him a week later, I "nudged" him with another call.  A couple of days after that, he showed up, dropped off another capacitor and hurried off to his next service call, telling me he'd come back another time to confirm that everything was okay and to pick up the other two capacitors. Unfortunately, that third capacitor turned out not to be the right one either. 

I've spoken with Eric several times over the course of the past two weeks to try to get him to come back with the right capacitor for my system.  We last spoke five days ago, at which time he assured me that he or one of his coworkers would be stopping by that afternoon or the next day, and that he would call to confirm later that same day.  He did not call me back that afternoon, and neither did he nor anyone else from the company come that day or the next.  Moreover, Eric no long answers or returns my calls.  So here I am, one month after the service was performed, with the original borderline capacitor running my cooling system, and three capacitors which I cannot use. 

With my patience finally exhausted, I went to the ARS/Rescue Rooter website to elevate my problem.  At their homepage, I was encouraged to see a link which touted their "Exceptional Service Guarantee", accompanied by the taglines, "We'll Make It Right" and "Exceptional service is our promise".  Then I clicked on the "Contact Us" link, found a "Customer Feedback Form" and spent several hours composing this complaint for their edification and action.  When that was done, I clicked on the "Submit" button and (surprise!) nothing happened.  So I phoned their customer service number and informed the agent who answered of the problem with the link.  Can you imagine my anger and frustration when she told me, "We don't accept complaints on our website anymore"?  Stunning!  Now I know where Eric learned to frustrate and ignore his customers.  His behavior is obviously just a natural reflection of the culture at ARS/Rescue Rooter.  All that about "exceptional service" and "making it right" is just hype and nonsense.

In closing, let me say that, in the grand scheme of things, my problem with ARS/Rescue Rooter was fairly innocuous in nature.  It was a problem they could have resolved quickly and quietly.  And in so doing, they would have created a satisfied customer who would have extolled their virtues as vociferously as I am now decrying their faults.  In other words, this ain't rocket surgery, but through inconsideration and ineptitude, they managed to turn a mole hill into a mountain.

I will not be contacting ARS/Rescue Rooter again regarding this or any other matter.  I will, however, be making my displeasure known to The Home Depot and on websites such as this one.