You know what the great thing about cell phones is? I have an easy-to-access record of every call made to and from my phone, including all these home warranty calls. For example, I can show that, yes, the contractor called me back before the warranty company (WC) did. Just in case anyone is doubting (I’m looking at you, WC).
This morning I got a call from the third contractor (the second one the WC had assigned, and the one they had done so without my authorization) asking if he could come by between 4:30 and 5:00 this afternoon. I told him I’d have to check my schedule and call him back.
After detailing the story so far to a couple of co-workers–the part about religion particularly amused one who is decidedly non-religious–I decided it was time again to contact the WC and see what kind of progress could be made. Instead of the toll-free number on my pamphlet, I called the long distance number that appeared on my caller ID from the lying rep’s call yesterday, just to see if it went to a different location. I got a switchboard operator asking to direct my call. I asked for the claims department, and was transfered to what I assume is the same call center I’ve been speaking to thus far (it is).
The woman I spoke with was very friendly, and seemed to listen intently as I recounted the story, interjecting appropriate murmurs of sympathy, etc. She expressed her shock at the report of the conversation with the sales guy, particularly the mention of religion. She asked if I wanted to file a complaint, and I responded that yes, I did, but it was secondary to getting my furnace situation taken care of, so I’d like to discuss that first.
I mentioned that I would either like the WC to allow me to use the first contractor they had sent and allow him to supply the furnace (the one the WC would provide would be too large, remember), or to simply give me the money and let me use it as I see fit. She told me she would transfer me to the authorization department and brief them so I wouldn’t have to go over the story yet again.
After a few minutes on hold, I was greeted by a man from Authorization. I filled him in on some of the details left out by the briefing woman and laid out the two options I was willing to go for. He put me on hold while he called the contractor to get more pricing details. I waited until he came back with the answer that the contractor’s furnace price was acceptable, and he was going to speak with his supervisor to get authorization to issue the money.
I find it hilarious that the authorization department members need this extra authorization.
The autho rep (as I later heard him referred to) came back and said that I was going to be issued a check for $740, namely the contractor’s furnace price plus allowed labor minus a hour of the contractor’s time that he had already spent at my house. I mentioned again the fact that there are code violations to be taken care of and that wasn’t I entitled to another $250? The autho rep said that there were no notes on my file about code violations, which seems silly to me, since the contractors and I had mentioned them repeatedly. He then said that the contractor would have to call the WC detailing the code violations and the work needed to fix them and the WC would determine to how much, if any, of the $250 I would be entitled.
I asked for fax or email confirmation of the check being sent out and was told that “[WC] doesn’t do that.” That’s more than a little silly, if you ask me (since you’re here, I assume you do). I was told checks are cut on Fridays and Tuesdays (I hope mine is today, at least) and that I would receive it in 7-10 business days after that.
After the matter of the money was taken care of, I asked the autho rep if his briefing had included the story of my conversation with the sales guy (which sales guys, at the WC, are apparently referred to as AEs, or account executives). He had not and I asked if I should speak to him or to someone else about it. He told me he could refer me to the contractor complaint line, which I said was silly because it wasn’t a complaint about the contractor. The autho rep asked for the story, so I gave it to him. His response to the religion part was “OMG,” which I found slightly amusing. He then put me on hold again to ask his supervisor to whom I should be referred.
I was referred to the AE’s supervisor (“his boss”) and given her name and extension, then transferred to her. I got her voicemail and left her a message, saying I wanted to talk to her about the AEs tactics and behavior.
I then called the contractor and set up an appointment for next Thursday, and asked him to call the WC and detail the code violations so I could get reimbursed for those. He agreed to and so hopefully I’ll have a new furnace (and some money to pay for part of it with) in six days.
While eating my lunch and typing the first part of this post, the AE boss called me back. She was very polite, ekcetra, listened to the story, and told me that the AE, as well as the rep who lied to the contractor, would have some “coaching sessions.” I stifled my laughter and continued the conversation.
(Having worked in a call center, I am familiar with reps getting “coaching.” I have yet to see it result in any actual disciplinary action, however.)
It also turns out that the AE was in the wrong even having a conversation with me. Apparently the AEs are not allowed to talk to policy holders about issues like this because the calls don’t route through the call center and are not recorded, nor are notes put on the account record. I also detailed that I thought it was silly not to provide written confirmation of the check being authorized. She agreed, and said she had experienced the same thing in the past when dealing with the WC call center. She agreed that my concerns regarding my conversation with the AE were valid, and I pointed out that I didn’t want anyone to feel like personal attacking was happening on my part; I just wanted to make sure that the reps and AEs and other terminologies were handling the situations with which they were presented professionally and honestly.
One funny thing that the AE boss mentioned was that she “didn’t know how they even make any money,” with the premiums being so low and how much they have to pay in marketing, call center costs, contractors, etc. “People must just forget that they have a warranty.” At least she was honest about it. Ha!
I also mentioned the code violation money issue, and she said she couldn’t really discuss it in detail because of the aforementioned issue with AEs talking directly with homeowners, but that she would send it to the escalation department and someone would contact me. The overall experience with the AC boss was positive, and speak of the devil, someone just called me regarding the code violation. It’s nice that things seem to be actually moving along now.
So a woman from the WC just called me and said that she would contact the contractor to get a description of the code violations so that the cash-out amount could be adjusted, and also that she would attempt to expedite the process for me (not that I am fooled about anyone in the history of the universe actually expediting things like this). I told her that I had spoken with the contractor since speaking with the autho rep and that he was expecting to speak to the WC about the code violations, so hopefully things will move along now.
Further bulletins as events warrant (I love that phase. Good ol’ Calvin).