Why Is Good Service Hard to Schedule

My Managing Editor, Sandi Duncan, lives n New Jersey. But, because of technology, we can work as editors, communicate with readers, connect with our friends at Farmers’ Almanac Television and do it with incredible speed and efficiency. We can do all this as long as the “systems” work.

In the 2006 Farmers;’ Almanac we dealt with the frustrations of scheduling service – phone, appliance repair, contractors, etc. The article took us through the trials and tribulations of getting a company to schedule and show up for an appointment ……and the consequences when they do not.

Fast forward to 2008 and Sandi’s DSL line is down which means no internet. The company that services this promised to be there Monday between 8am – 5pm, then 8am to 7pm, then Tuesday between 8am and 5pm and now we are into Wednesday – same story. The wait is bad enough but the hours of being put on hold and the frustration of not being able to move up the “chain” is unfortunate and regrettable. Sandi is not the first person to run into it because we heard from some people who told us they had to remain at home from 8am – 5pm and did so for 5 days (taking off from work).

In ’08, this is absurd. Please read the article. Note our Service First Agreement. If you are kept waiting 30 minutes or more, we indicate that you are owed something for your troubles. I am not sure what happens when they are 2 – 3 or more days late. When you edit an almanac, the internet is your best friend. This isn’t a lawn tractor that might get used in three months. Shame on this service provider. You may hear more on this and the name of the vendor another day.

Here is the link