By DAVID EPPS
Pastor

When, oh when, will business owners get the picture that the customer deserves better treatment?

Last Monday, I noticed that, as the water was being drained from the bathtub, the toilet produced a bubbling, gurgling sound. Curious, I flushed the toilet only to have it fill up and overflow onto the bathroom carpet.

After uttering a phrase (I think it was “Hallelujah...” or maybe not) I located the plunger and began to madly work to free whatever was blocking the flow of water to the septic tank. And therein may lie the problem. After finding the plunger exercise futile, I called a friend for advice and discovered that my problem might be a toy tossed into the toilet by a grandchild. Or, more seriously, since the septic tank hadn't been pumped in nine years, I might have a more expensive problem.

I searched the yellow pages and found a nationally known brand-name company that promised that service was available around the clock and that appointments would be scheduled at my convenience. I, being gullible, believed the advertising.

The pleasant lady on the phone assured me that they could take care of my needs. “The serviceman will be at your house between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. tomorrow. He will call when he's on the way.” What about this 24 hours a day? Oh, well, tomorrow would be fine. I rearranged my frightfully busy schedule so that I would be able to stand toilet watch during the two-hour period promised by the pleasant lady.

The two hours came and went with nary a phone call. At 1:15 p.m. I called the pleasant lady who informed me that the workmen were running behind and that it would be another two hours before they came to my house. This was becoming much less convenient. Telling her I had to run a few errands, I gave her my cell phone number in case the workmen called when I was out of the house. By 3 p.m., I was back standing toilet watch and still no one had called.

The afternoon dragged on as I tried to concentrate on other things that needed accomplishing. The matter was complicated by the fact that I was expecting company at 6 p.m. and had another appointment at 7:30 p.m. So, when no call had come by 4:30 p.m., I called again and talked to the pleasant lady at the nationally known company that promised service appointments scheduled at my convenience.

The phone was answered by the same lady who pleasantly promised that the workman would be at my house between 11 and 1 and then by 3, although now it was past 3:30. She listened kindly to my situation and promised that she would call the serviceman and let me know when he was coming. She then put me on hold. A moment later, she came back on the line and said, “He's on the way to your house right now. He should be there soon.” I told her that I had plans for the evening and she indicated that she understood and that he was on the way.

At 4:30 p.m., no serviceman was in sight. At 5:10 p.m. I called the pleasant lady yet again. She said that she would page the serviceman and call me right back. At somewhere close to 6 p.m., I called the pleasant lady again. “The serviceman isn't here yet,” I complained, “and you didn't call me back to tell me what I could expect.” Now she was slightly less pleasant.

“Sir, the serviceman will be there in ten minutes and I did call you but the phone was busy.”

I just hate it when people lie to me to cover their own... selves. “Uh, excuse me, but I've not been on either phone and even if i was, I have call waiting,” I explained to the now-less-than-pleasant lady. A brief period of silence followed before she said testily, “I called you. The phone was busy.” Stopped up toilet or not, I then determined that I had wasted enough time with this nationally known company that promised continuous service with appointments scheduled at my convenience.

“Cancel the call,” I said. “I've waited here all day, I don't have all night.”

Without a trace of pleasantness in her voice, the lady simply said, “Whatever.”

No apology, no offer to reschedule, no consideration of any kind. Thanks to a wasted day and promises broken, this nationally known company has forfeited my business forever.

I called another friend who had similar problems a few weeks ago and he recommended a locally-owned company. “They were easy to work with, came when they said they would, and explained how we could actually save some money,” he said. “The workman didn't even mind answering all my questions.”

So, back to the yellow pages I went to find the number of the locally-owned company, which was called Septic, Inc. The lady who answered the phone immediately put me in contact with the serviceman who would be dealing with my problem. I explained my situation and asked him when he could come. He said, “How about 9:30 tomorrow?”

I inquired, “Is that 9:30 a.m. or 9:30 p.m. and are you certain you mean tomorrow?”

“Sir,” he replied, “if I tell you 9:30 a.m., I mean 9:30 a.m. I'll be there when I say I will.”

The next day at 8:50 a.m., a lady from Septic, Inc. called my house and said that a truck was on the way and should be at my house in few minutes. So, instead of wasting an entire day waiting for a service man that never comes, I discovered that the man on the phone the night before told the truth. In fact, the serviceman would be just a little early, which was fine by me!

I like business people who tell the truth. I'm a loyal customer if people will only do the work, charge a fair price, and keep their promises. If a business will do that, I'll call again and recommend them to others who have similar needs. If not, I'll tell everybody I know about that, too.

You'd think that all businesses would have learned that simple truth by now. Satisfied customers produce return business and increased revenues. Dissatisfied customers, enough of them anyway, will only produce bankruptcy.

[David Epps is rector at Christ the King Charismatic Episcopal Church which meets at 10 a.m. each Sunday in the sanctuary at Carmichael-Hemperley Funeral Home, Ga. Highway 74, Peachtree City. He may be contacted online at FatherDavidEpps@aol.com.]

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