Funny & Stupid Customer Stories - Not Always Right(I work for a PPI (payment protection insurance) claims company. In the UK, this type of company is not well liked due to several of them having aggressive telephone sale pitches in the previous years. However, I work in the processing part of the company and usually only ever speak to people who are already customers. At this time, I have been working for them for about six months. One day I get this call.)Me: “Hello, this is . How can I help you today?”Caller: “I’ve just been watching TV and a show has just played explaining how awful your company is.”Me: “Okay, I’m sorry about that, sir. Would you mind giving me a little more detail?”Caller: *getting more aggressive* “How do you not know about this? They say you cheated a man out of lots of money!”Me: “I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid I don’t know of any case like that. However, I can speak to my manager who has been here longer and may know more.”Caller: *shouting* “Yes, do that.”(At this point I put the caller on hold and grab my manager, who then takes the call. At this point I can only hear the manager’s side of the call.)Manager: “Hello, this is . I hear you have a complaint?”(Pause.)Manager: “Okay, and are you a customer of ours?”Caller: *loud screaming heard but cannot be made out*Manager: “Okay, then, in that case I am curious as to why you have called if you are not a customer yourself and have no knowledge of the people involved.”(Pause.)Manager: “Actually, I worked on that case myself. The TV show was first aired over a year ago, after the case had been settled to an acceptable end for both ourselves and the client involved.”Caller: *unintelligible screaming*Manager: “I’m sorry, sir, but as you are not a customer of ours, not involved in any way with that case, and because of your treatment during this call, I’m afraid I have to end the call here.” *puts phone down*(My manager gave me a little more information about the case involved. The case was about two years old and during the processing stage a worker had made a simple mistake. This was not something that really changed the case, only made it take about six months longer. Because of this, the involved customers were given greatly reduced fees and were reasonably happy in the end. The only reason the TV show existed was because someone had told the producers and they had interviewed the customers just after they had been told. They were understandably quite annoyed at the time and so it made for a good show. The man who called us had simply seen this, decided we were all the worst people alive, and wanted to shout at us. We assume he had to have looked up the company separately for our phone number (leading to him getting our section of the company and not the sales team). All so he could shout at strangers.).
Customers tell horror stories of solar company that gets $4. M in tax dollars. By Tori Richards ? CEO Elon Musk at the NASDAQ stock exchange brings Solar. City public in 2. We all get them — telemarketing callers pushing home solar- energy systems that will save us from rising electric bills. Most of us generally hang up. But in 2. 01. 2, Jeff Leeds, who lives in the Northern California town of Half Moon Bay, listened. His 3,1. 00- square- foot home features 9. His electric bill was averaging $3. The sales pitch Leeds was hearing on the phone sounded ideal: Lease a system from Solar. City, the nation’s second- largest solar electrical contractor, for a low monthly fee and reap the rewards of cheap electricity.“For a $6. I would pay $1. 82 a month for the next 2. Leeds said. If I don’t make enough electricity, they said, . And he has the eyesore of solar panels that cover most of his roof.“As a customer, you have no say,” Leeds said. Earlier this week, we published a new installment of our occasional series of true stories from Wal-Mart workers. The company was so displeased with its employees. You have a signed contract with the devil and you are stuck with the stuff.”Solar. City looked into Leeds’ case after receiving a call from Watchdog. Mr. Leeds’ system did produce less than we guaranteed last year so he will be compensated for that under his performance guarantee.”Was Leeds’ case an aberration? Solar. City has generated a high number of cases of shoddy installation, said Gerald Chapman, building inspector manager for San Mateo County, which includes Half Moon Bay.“Solar. Welcome to AREA Customer Stories where we talk to some of the most talented artists and studios in the industry about creativity, innovation and overcoming challenges.City seems to be the biggest offender,” Chapman told Watchdog. By contrast, he said, Solar. City’s small business competitors — he called them “the little guy” — “wants to do it right.”“We pride ourselves on installation quality, but if we do make a mistake, we make it right,” countered Jonathan Bass, Solar. City’s vice president of communications. Our work has been inspected and approved by more U. S. Some of those — Solyndra is the most prominent example — went bust spectacularly. But such high- profile failures and reports of widespread abuse have done little to dampen entrepreneurial enthusiasm. With rebates, tax breaks and the steady climb of electric rates, more and more Americans have been signing on for solar. But retail solar technology remains expensive — upward of $2. That’s where Solar. City comes in. Founded in California in 2. Elon Musk — Pay. Pal and Space. X founder and CEO of Tesla Motors, creators of the luxury electric car — Solar. City leverages a unique business model to make solar more affordable. It leases systems to homeowners, typically for a 2. Solar. City has accepted more than $1. But the real public support appears elsewhere. Because Solar. City technically owns the energy systems it installs, Solar. City — not the homeowner — earns the federal tax break intended as an incentive to go solar. So far the company has earned $4. The company also may earn additional income on state subsidies. If that lease is a financial boon to Solar. City, it may prove problematic for Solar. City consumers. No matter how rapidly solar technology evolves, the Solar. City lease ties each homeowner to technology that is cutting edge only at the signing of the 2. Our approach is to install systems to the highest engineering standards,” Solar. City says on its web site. Solar. City claims some 9. The company says its customers include Home Depot, Walmart and the U. S. Many of the postings have an almost panic- stricken tone as the consumers plead for some sort of resolution to their nightmarish scenario. More often than not, the negative comments attract the attention of Solar. City officials, who post resolutions to the various problems. Many of the consumers complain that they have spent months trying to remedy faulty installation, only to receive either continuous boilerplate responses from customer service or no response at all. One California man got a front- row seat at the conflict between Solar. City installers and municipal building inspectors who are sent to sign off on the system before it is allowed to operate.“The city came out during installation and an inspector gave them the codes and requirements,” said the consumer, who asked not to be identified. The inspector came back out and looked at it and said, . He finally called and talked to a manager who said the system had a design problem.“I said, ? Why not have the right design from the get- go?’” he said. In all, he claimed, it took four months to finish. Four months was blazing fast compared to the experience of San Diego lawyer Andrew Athanassious. He first talked to Solar. City in June 2. 01. September 2. 01. 3 utility rate hike. Despite a contract, Athanassious said Solar. City later told him his roof was “not the right material” and he’d have to pay an additional $7,5. Athanassious is no building contractor, but he said Solar. City’s installers should have known what they were getting into. It’s not like you could think it’s anything else,” he said. That was on Aug. Athanssious said Solar. City virtually ignored him for the next two months. He finally agreed to split the cost of the system with Solar. City because they were still the lowest- priced contractor and because finding another solar company would take too much time. Solar. City finally installed the system in October. Unlike Leeds, subsequent electricity costs haven’t been a problem. Athanassious’ utility bill was $4. He pays Solar. City $3. Solar. City responded: “Mr. Athanassious’ system did require a roof upgrade, and we sourced it for him at the lowest cost.”But Athanssious has problems that remain. During installation, contractors rewired his swimming pool heater incorrectly when they were working on the home’s electric panel. They still haven’t fixed that, he said. And Solar. City has started tacking on $1. Athanassious’ bill because he refuses to pay via direct deposit, a surcharge hidden in the contract. Other consumers have been hit with the $1. Yelp and to the Better Business Bureau.“When I signed up, I was led to believe that they had online bill paying,” Athanassious said. A building inspector discovered that the installed inverter was incompatible with the utility grid and the system would not operate. For the next 5. 0 days, Chioetto checked with Solar. City on the progress of a replacement part. He said he was given only vague answers like,SOMEONE IN DENVER GETS STELLAR TREATMENT: U. S. Michael Bennet, D- Colo., helps Solar. City installers with a rooftop system on Jan. We are doing our best and are committed to fixing your system ASAP,” according to his Better Business Bureau complaint.“They found out that the inverter they actually needed was very expensive and they had to shop around and had no idea where to find it to fit in their budget,” Chioetto told Watchdog. Meanwhile, the summer months had arrived and Chioetto was annoyed that he couldn’t use his panels. After he complained to the BBB, the problem was fixed almost immediately — two months after the building inspector’s discovery. But now he has a new problem. Chioetto lives in a townhome and shares a roof with his neighbor, who has decided to get solar panels of his own. He discovered that Solar. City installed the panels about 1. It’s very obvious that it’s going over a foot and a half,” said the neighbor, who did not want to be named. Chioetto had a grid parameter that is unusual in a residential site, and we ultimately found a compatible inverter that could support it, and we are redesigning his system to appease his neighbor and still offer him the same performance,” Solar. City said in its emailed statement. The neighbor decided against using Solar. City because it kept changing terms of the contract by continuing to reduce the amount of electricity that would be produced. Meanwhile, he says, Solar. City hasn’t fixed the encroachment.“They said they are researching modules that are smaller, and it’s back- ordered until May,” the neighbor said.
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