Complaint Review: Pivotal Payments - Montreal Quebec

REVIEW UPDATE: June 28 2017: Pivotal Payments remains committed to increased customer satisfaction and has improved their business practices over the years to better serve their customers. Pivotal Payments is truly dedicated to making sure their customers are satisfied and that any complaints which do arise are addressed promptly and fairly.

To date, Pivotal Payments has made good faith efforts to resolve all complaints reported on Ripoff Report. Based on our experience, the member business has proven to be among the top members of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program as a Verified Safe Business™.

Over time and since becoming a member, Pivotal Payments has remained actively engaged and improving the way they address customer service complaints. As an active and current member of the Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program we are happy to report that now more than ever Pivotal Payments remains committed to improving customer satisfaction.

Remember, no company or individual can ever satisfy 100% of the people 100% of the time. There are no products or services that will always be perfect for everyone and even the best companies will receive complaints from time to time. However, by participating in the Corporate Advocacy Program, the member business has made a commitment to working with its customers to resolve complaints quickly and fairly whenever possible.

Please keep in mind that as a consumer you have some responsibilities as well. Success has many definitions that based on your past experiences, current situation and your perceived expectations. Success with any product or service is always based on the proper application and understanding. The fastest car will not run if you never turn the engine on. Look at how you used the product or service that was provided in relation with the instructions that you received. The Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program will help you get your voice heard but please be prepared with documentation and fair representation of your concern, also have an idea of how the company can fix your concern. Can they offer additional services, extend warranties, offer a fair refund or just get you talking with someone that can help. ..let them know and let us know!

*Any consumer not receiving satisfaction from a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program should email us at [email protected]

Ripoff Report Verified™ REVIEW:

EDitor’s UPDATE: Positive rating and recognition has been given to Pivotal Payments for its commitment to excellence in customer service.

Ripoff Report’s discussions with Pivotal Payments have uncovered an ongoing commitment by the company to total client satisfaction. This means that clients can expect that the company will work towards finding a mutually satisfactory resolution to any complaints or concerns.  The company listens carefully to client concerns and sees them as an opportunity to learn from past mistakes and become more efficient as a company in the services offered and the support for those services.



Ripoff Report Verified™ .. part of Ripoff Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business..
The information provided in this report is based on comments made by Louis Georgakakis and  Patrick Huynh during an interview held by a third party verification company with no biases toward Pivotal Payments.   

Pivotal Payments is a merchant service provider that helps their clients accept credit cards and also provides affiliate products such as software and terminals. Their target markets are in small to medium companies that are generally brick and mortar business. Currently, the company works in the United States and Canada and is looking to break into European markets this year. Pivotal Payments feels they have a competitive edge in the market place because they are constantly adding to, enhancing and increasing their product lines. Recently they have added the Pivotal 360, Pivotal 1, and Term Protection programs to help provide customers further options in services needed. The company also notes that they feel their customer service sets them apart and they have invested heavily in this department.

” Louis Georgakakis stated, “The company’s core values are based on commitment, growth, entrepreneurialism and building relationships. Pivotal is committed to always doing the right thing, quickly, efficiently and to the best of its abilities. The company’s employees have the courage to take responsibility for all issues and learn from these issues to enhance the company. Employees are nimble, open and flexible to new ideas, innovation and technology to deliver on current and future opportunities. Pivotal understands that thousands of people and businesses across North America depend on them for their livelihood. We strive to build everlasting relationships with partners, customers, employees and suppliers to help the achieve mutual goals.”

In order to make Pivotal Payment’s feel they are having the best customer service possible, they state that they have a 24/7 customer service staff available, opportunities to be released from cancellation fees associated with contracts, a knowledge based management team and cross training amongst their staff. In regards to the company’s internal processes, Patrick Huynh stated the company is, “Continually working on customer service calls to be under an average of 30 seconds and we are working to enhance the quality of information communicated to the customer by cross training our staff. We also work to have proactive retention within our customer service meaning that we try to work with customers to solve issues before a complaint arises.”

Pivotal Payments states that they try to work with clients to satisfy all of their concerns within reason when working with them to discover a solution. Through this, the company states they can usually retain about 95% of their clients when concerns arise. The company works to help resolve customer’s pricing concerns by matching competitor’s pricing within reason when working with existing customers. One of the largest areas of concerns that has been brought to the company’s attention is in regards to an early termination fee being too high. To remedy this, the company has developed a Low Merchant Termination Policy that fee is about half of what it was previously. The Low Merchant Termination Policy addresses customers whose volume is lower and accounts for approximately 90% of Pivotal Payment’s business. The company states that they generally handle about 1200 customer cases per month where they make sure to address and review pricing options.

Louis Georgakakis stated, “We are happy to be a part of the Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation and Customer Satisfaction Program because it gives us a reason to be proactive with client concerns. Ripoff Report allows us the opportunity to know who the customers are that have concerns and get them all the information needed to address the issue.” The company notes that the customers are entering into a legal agreement with Pivotal Payments and that is something that is taken into consideration when handling complaints. Because of Ripoff Report and other complaints the company has received in the past, their standard policy is that a customer can cancel their services without a fee if Pivotal Payments is unable to provide appropriate solutions to do whatever it takes to make the client happy.

” A top executive of the company told us that their vision is “to be a top tier North American Merchant Services Provider by creating a meaningful contribution to its clients, partners, employees, suppliers and shareholders.” Pivotal Payments’ mission statement says it all: "Our mission is to provide valued processing solutions which make a positive material impact to the businesses of our merchants and partners across North America."  Some of the other things Rip-off Report learned in the course of its investigation: typical customer feedback reads:  "Switching to Pivotal was the best move for my business! We were able to save money with no hassles." As well as, “Going with Pivotal Payments has been a great move since they offer good rates and service. I would recommend them to other merchants."



PIVOTAL PAYMENTS / "The company has implemented a sales compliance position to ensure that sales channels meet our internal standards as well industry regulations," explained Patrick Huynh, Vice-President of Client Services. "Our service levels have also improved tremendously over the past year and continue to do so as we proactively listen to the needs of our clients and respond rapidly to any and all concerns."

” "We joined the Corporate Advocacy Program in order to better understand our clients’ issues and should they arise, react faster to address them," said Louis Georgakakis, Director of Marketing. "Our client care department’s improved response time, thorough compliance with industry regulations and greater customer satisfaction levels are all a testament to the hard work each and every employee at Pivotal has performed in order to accomplish our mission."

Pivotal Payments takes employee satisfaction seriously as well.  The company’s Youtube channel boasts several videos of its employees indicating their level of engagement and empowerment to helping the company reach its goals and developing better relationships with clients. One such video is from Eric, a Relationship Manager, who states "the best part for me about working here at Pivotal Payments, hands down, is making that little difference in my merchant's day." The comraderie experienced through these short clips makes it evident the close-knit unit at Pivotal Payments is dedicated not only to helping their merchant clients succeed, but helping each other grow as individuals.

STATED IMPROVEMENTS FROM PIVOTAL PAYMENTS.

Paying close attention to feedback from customers and taking their concerns seriously.

Implementation of a fairer, flat early termination fee for all small merchants leaving a contract early.

Transparent pricing models both on the merchant application and in the terms of service.

Auto boarding process that gets a payment terminal to a merchant within 48 hours of application submission.

Maintaining an A+ rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for over a year and counting.

24/7 service available in both English and French with well trained, dedicated professionals.

Proactive outreach via survey to customers to ensure their concerns are heard and their feedback used to improve.

Pivotal Payments recognizes that complaints posted on Ripoff Report are issues to be seriously addressed.  If handled correctly, complaints can be valuable learning opportunities. With the feedback generated by Ripoff Report’s investigation, Pivotal Payments has made organizational changes allowing its clients and employees a more streamlined approach to problem resolution and a commitment to a great client experience. 

In summary, after our investigation, which included discussions with Mr. Huynh, Mr. Georgakakis and many of the company’s past and current associates, Rip-off Report is convinced that Pivotal Payments is committed to quality delivery of services resulting in total client satisfaction.

Read more about why consumers should feel confident when doing business with a member of Rip-off Report's Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program. Yes, it’s a long name for a program that does a lot for both consumers and businesses alike. Read about Rip-off Report Corporate Advocacy Business Remediation & Customer Satisfaction Program,.. A program that benefits the consumer, assures them of complete satisfaction and confidence when doing business with a member business. this program works.    

As a matter of policy, when a business becomes a member of the Corporate Advocacy Program they agree to allow Ripoff Report to contact every client who filed a complaint so they can make things right with them.  In order to confirm that the complaints were resolved, Ripoff Report is copied on all responses so we can insure that the member business did right by their customer ..  

https://www.youtube.com/pivotalpayments

Pivotal Payments - Client Review - Babylon Fish & Clam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wMfXgiCgWg&list=PLC10CC7356B867DD1&index=1

Pivotal Payments - Client Review - Astor Wines & Spirits

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMtDEN2WJWg&list=PLC10CC7356B867DD1&index=3

Pivotal Payments - Client Review - Cafe Picasso

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z64es473BgA&list=PLC10CC7356B867DD1&index=2

Pivotal Payments - Client Testimonial - Garderie Manyl Inc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfD-9RxhwqI&list=PLC10CC7356B867DD1&index=6

Pivotal Payments - Client Review - BECQ Security Group

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWyMiVh7xYE&list=PLC10CC7356B867DD1&index=7

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL REPORT THAT WAS FILED    

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Pivotal Payments Pivotal Payments Rips off not for profit organization Montreal, Quebec

We are a small not for profit organization run by volunteers that teaches the olympic sport of Fencing to kids. We teach all types of children to fence we even have developmentally challenged children in our club who have done amazingly well with the sport.

Our club had finally acquired a space of it`s own. A space on the sceond floor of a building that had not been occupied in some time. The building is about 40 years old and really starting to show it`s age. The roof leaks like crazy, some of the plumbing is questionable and the space was in severe disrepair. But we finally had a space we could afford. So in order to do some renovations we needed to do some fundraising.

We felt that to maximize our fundraising dollars it would be good for us to have a POS terminal. My husband gave me the information from Pivotal, as they were soliciting his business, and suggested I call since they seemed to be in our price range. BIG MISTAKE!

I should have taken my cues when the darn thing was being delivered. I had asked that they notify me when the terminal was to be delivered as no one is at the club during the day. If they gave me a general time frame, I would make myself available to accept the delivery. The only notification I got was a phone call from Pivotal saying I have notification that your package had been delivered so lets set up your terminal. I tried to explain that I had not received a package and therefore could not set up the terminal. The delivery company had left a note on the door of the club saying we had a package to be picked up. You see the club is not in a great neighbourhood. So someone saw the notice grabbed it, called the number and tried to pick up the package. It took about two days to get this fixed and I was even called a liar in the process.

There were many more challenges in the set up process. Too many to mention. The biggest one was someone had entered my fax number as my phone number. I filled out many of thier ``change`` forms to try and correct the problem but to no avail. During the set up process I was instructed to use my own credit card with a tranaction of 1 penny to complete the set up process. My credit card company saw the transaction and immediately cancelled my credit card because they thought it was a fraudulent transaction.

Finally the day of the fundraiser had arrived. We went to use our terminal and it would not accept credit cards. We lost out on a significant amount of fundraising dollars. I called the next business day to see what the problem was. Imagine my surprise when no one could figure out what the issue was. It took 5 days for someone to tell me that because we did not have a credit card transaction within 30 days our account was terminated. I had explained to my sales person that we would only do POS transactions every so often but not every day. Sometimes there might be 3 months between POS transactions. I was told that it would not be a problem.

I asked the customer service person if I could speak to a manager. They said that none were available at moment and one would have to call me back. I have made more than 10 requests to speak to a customer service manager and to date none have ever called me back.

They claim I am very hard to get a hold of. They screwed up by entering my fax number as my phone number. They have other ways of contacting me. I find it strange that whenever they want to sell me something (gift card package, upgrade to the terminal, e commerce etc.) they never have a problem contacting me.

Today I got a phone message from Pivotal saying they now had a solution to my problem and that I was to call in for the fix. They did not leave a name or what department they were from, merely a phone number and I was supposed to guess the rest. It is now more than 8 weeks since my original phone call about the issue.

With all of thier refusals to speak with me (un returned phone calls, ignored e-mails etc.) I was frustrated and sent the machine back weeks ago. The bank was also instructed to stop payment on the account. Now they suddenly phone, cocincidence I think not.

When I did phone in today, I first had to guess which department called me and because they didn`t leave a name I had no choice but to speak to the person who answered. I gave them my info, they of course could not find our file. Typical. It took about fifteen minutes to locate my information. Then they inform me that I will have to speak with the cancellation department as I have sent the terminal back. They transfer me to the cancellation department and we are back at square one again. They can`t find our file. I give them several different phone numbers, and ways of tracking me still no file. He then says to me that I will just have to wait until someone calls me. If it is important they will call back soon. He then hung up on me. Nice, really professional.

So my saga and frustration continue. I have no recourse. No one from the company will speak with me, so I guess I am just supposed to wait until they call me. At least they are not getting any more money from our club.