Apr. 22, 2008 - Outsourcing. Is it really worth it?
Ummm. Where to start. Outsourcing supposedly saves money...what it boils down to though is that big corporations are more concerned with their bottom line than customer service. Take what happened to us since we have moved here.
We are serviced by both the gas and the electric company. The local utilities are truly local, I drive by and drop off my payment there periodically. I have met the sweet receptionist there. I like them. On the other hand, the gas is serviced by a huge conglomerate based in Atlanta, GA. There are no local numbers or contacts listed in the phone book or on the website and when I call customer service, I am really calling INDIA!
And I have needed to call customer service because they have not been able to get my bill correct from the moment we moved in! My first bill reflected the deposit and connection charges. I paid it promptly. the next bill I received was almost $500! At this point I called the number on the back of my bill, not so much to dispute the charges, but rather to clarify what caused it to be so high and is this the kind of bill I was to expect every month. If so, I could see making everyone bundle up since I would be keeping the thermostat at a chilly 65* to save money.
The answer I first received should have tipped me off that I was not dealing with anyone local. Her answer to "Why is my bill so high?" ~ "Well, it's cold where you live." Uh, duh!! She then asked what appliances we have that are serviced by gas (pay attention, this will be important later). Not only is our home heated by gas, but we have a gas fireplace, gas stove/range, and gas water heater. She suggested that the size of my family could be a cause as that's a lot of hot water. HUH? While I am certain that the hot water heater gets a lot of use, I can say with some certainty that we did not work it that hard!!
It was only after going round and round with her that I finally got the answer I needed. We moved into this house in October, I had the gas switched over in November, paid the first bill in December and received the astronomical one in January. The bill in January was for two and half month of service. For some reason, they could not read the meter one month, so I was billed for the first two readings at once. Well, I suggested a reasonable solution. Since I was being billed for more than two months of service, it seemed only fair that I would have two months or more to pay it. I was told this was not an option, however I could sign up for budget billing so that I wouldn't have an excessively high bill again.
Even though I pushed back, she was pretty adamant that there was nothing she could do about my bill. So I agreed to the budget billing and made it very clear that even though she wasn't making arrangements with me, I was only able to make a partial payment. I did pay a partial payment and she assured me that my gas should be fine. As long as I paid towards the balance each month.
I have called every billing cycle since to clarify why I have a past due balance, to have them make note that I am making my payments in a timely manner and to remind them that this whole mess is their fault in the first place. I would have been caught up this month...
We went to a friends home for dinner Thursday (April 9th) night, came home and gave the toddler a bath and told my boys to take showers. When they were complaining of it being too cold, I figured that we had overloaded the hot water heater...but when hubby got up the next morning to shower, there was still not any hot water. That's when I figured out...THEY'VE TURNED OFF OUR GAS!!!
I called the same number. Again I talked to someone in India, I should have just asked to immediately be connected to someone on this side of the ocean because the next hour was almost enough to make me spit fire and curse like a sailor. Although he had my account pulled up in front of him, he told me that my gas was shut off for non-payment (I have been paying every month) and that to reconnect I would have to immediately pay the past-due balance (remember I was going to be caught up this month anyways, I was just waiting to pay in the second half of the month due to hubbys pay schedule) as well as a $50 reconnection fee AND an additional deposit of $270 since I don't pay my bills and they would need a reserve to draw from when this happened again.
AFTER I agreed to those ridiculous terms, I got to talk to someone in AMERICA. She asked for clarification as to why I was transferred to the "escalation center." The reason that she was given was that I did not want to agree to the additional $270. Which was only partially true! The rest is of course that my bill has not been correct since the beginning and that I have never missed a payment (I just haven't paid as much as they have asked for as I was stretching out the initial $500 over a few months).
Although she was gracious enough to recognize my problem (it was about time) and reverse all the extra charges, we were still with out gas all weekend...which meant no hot water, no cooking except in the microwave, and no heat. The heat shouldn't have been a problem as it is spring-time, but of course, we had a cold snap that weekend and my house stayed at a chilly 64*.
I have a feeling that if I had been able to call someone local in the first place, this could all have been avoided. What do you think?!
Comments
Apr. 22, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by quietcajun
That is ludicrous. It makes my blood boil just reading about it. I saw on the news last night that a local family got a shut off notice for having a balance of 3 CENTS!!!! Can you believe that? It cost 41 cents just for the shut off notice to be sent!!!
Apr. 23, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by mom24wonders
Just wondering where you are from? I am *pretty* sure we must be from close to the same area, as I am *pretty* sure we have the same gas company...lol
OH, and YES, I also have a horror story to tell about same gas company.....
Emily
Apr. 25, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
Hi! I just wanted to stop by and thank you for entering my bloggy giveaway!
www.bonitalillie.com
May. 9, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jessica
I would have been livid! And yes, I think you would not have had to deal with MONTHS of monthly phone calls (Like you have time for that!) if they had customer service stateside. I cannot believe they could do that to you! It's lucky you didn't freeze to death!
May. 9, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Jessica
forgot to say, I"m at www.farmfreshiowa.blogspot.com
