Buyer Beware: Document discussions
Purchasing a new home is an exciting, new adventure. Our adventure started with building our first home. We had a pretty good experience until we got to choosing what we wanted to do in the realm of wiring and home theater. We were bound to this company by our builder's contract. I met with one of the office managers on the scheduled time at our newly framed home. He was prompt, which I took as a breath of fresh air as so many companies do not value that today. I shook his hand and we began to walk through the home. I expressed to him this was one of the things I wanted to get right and take some time doing so that day. He quickly told me he did not have a lot of time and had an appointment in a town 45 minutes way he had to attend shortly. I suggested we meet another day then and I was told it would be fine and "We'll take care of you". I described what I wanted done and detailed everything (wanted the home wired with ethernet jack in every room capable for home networking, streaming content, etc). I assumed that homes, in this day and age, all would be wired for such things. I made it clear I would not have an analog phone anywhere in the home as we use cell phones for communication. As much as I was talking, no notes were taken and I thought this guy really has a good memory! I started to ask some questions about what they had seen and done in other homes that would work for certain shaped rooms, applications, etc. I did not feel I got any professional advice or opinions on the questions I asked. All I felt like I got that day was a pat on the back and a promise to "take care" of me. At the end of that first interaction, I immediately called to talk with my builder and explain I did not feel like I was understood and was nervous things were not going to be as I wanted them. He suggested I contact Interscapes and just go over what was discussed. I decided to contact them and ask for a write-up for what we discussed. I was told to contact my builder and they would provide me with that. Naturally, I contacted my builder and they referred me back to Interscapes. So I did something simple and wrote down what we discussed all the way down to the type of keystones on all of the wall plates and such. I decided to inquire about the equipment being used for a particular component in our home theater setup. I was told "we use different equipment for different jobs". I thought that was odd as I thought "I'm paying for a service and equipment and I have no idea what I am getting." I decided to press the issue a little bit, because I wanted to know what I was paying for. I eventually got a response on that and was told Brand X. I did some research and decided I was comfortable, based on customer reviews of the brand. Fast forward a couple of months and the wiring in the home was complete. I walked about and started looking around to make sure, before sheetrock went up, everything was there. It appeared to be alright and so I contacted Interscapes again to ask about when the equipment would be going in and got ignored. I had to call 3 different times to get a quite rude response about one small detail. Closing on our new home is nearing and we are a little nervous/excited about moving in and I was thrilled to be getting all the things I wanted as far as pre-wiring went. I noticed everything wasn't in on the morning before we closed and asked my builder about it. He assured me it would taken care of and Interscapes said to call them once I got my equipment in and ready for them to come finish. Well I was supposed to have an ethernet jack behind the TV and it did not make any sense to me that I should hang my TV for them to have to come in and take it down to finish their job. I verified it, again with my builder, and hung the TV, installed our speakers, connected all of the wires and made sure everything worked. I noticed, after inspection, I did not have the necessary equipment I needed for home networking as discussed in my very first meeting. I found every jack I had added was wired only for an analog phone, which (rewind a few months and one noteless, rushed transaction ago) I specifically said no analog phones. My heart sank. I really did not want to have to call Interscapes because of the way I had been treated before and I felt like I was a bother. I don't like to bother anyone. I did call them first, before my builder, and explained all this to them and I was straight up told "I'm not doing any of this unless your builder tells me to". I was shocked. I was sitting here looking at what I, when no one else would, put all of this in writing and spent alot of time planning and detailing this. I was assured this was also provided to Interscapes shortly after our meeting at the house that day. I spoke with my builder and he told me they would be coming out to install a piece of equipment vital to all we discussed and we agreed on a time. When the technician, arrived, I was handed our IR kit and told he did not have time and was told not to install it. I called the office manager immediately, and I was told they were not going to install that kit (which I was looking at the order that said I paid for it). I was told that they wired all the houses the same and it was up to my provider to do any type of wire termination in addition to what they had done. This did not cover our discussion that first day though. I specifically said I wanted home networking and streaming capabilities (which sparing you the technical jargon) required a different combination of what they installed. I asked if they verified the connectivity between the closet and all the jacks. I was, after having run, professionally, alot of wire in my life, astounded that there were no labels or connectivity testing/verification conducted during the installation of this. I was told the "providers like Charter and Dish do that". I have had charter for many years and have friends who work for them too. They do not have the tools to even verify connectivity over cat5 cable as they deal strictly in coax. I was speaking to him like a human being and he began to raise his voice and tell me everything he was not going to do. He told I was "looking at all the negative" when I felt like, due to the service I had received so far, was looking at the big picture and making sure I was taking care of me and my family. I had over-extended myself already by calling and now I felt so much anxiety because we had SOO much going on at that point. I just told him I did not understand why this was not done and he then told me I was "just being an [the term he used violates TrustPilot guidelines, but I can say it was a foul word no company, in good conscience, should ever use to refer to a customer]!!". To be clear, I never called him any names and would never expect to be called that by a company I was paying for a service. Toward the end of the phone call, he calmed down and began to reverse his stance on all the things he said he was not going to do. I scheduled a time for them to come out (albeit 1 week later) and finish what we thought would be done before we closed. Again, they arrive and do all of what they said they would do. The technician shook my hand and apologized for the time prior as he said he was busy and just did not have time to do it that day. I got home from work that evening and went to setup everything the way I wanted it and I discovered there was one jack they forgot to take care of. I don't know if they have way more work than they can handle or what the deal is, but everything always seemed soooo rushed. At this point, I was not going to be talked down to or disrespected again so I decided to contact my builder about this. He handled it for me and the final thing was done, as it should have been. I just think in todays world many companies value quantity over quality. They do not want to take the time to really figure out what a customer needs or, in my case, understand exactly what I told them. My interaction with Interscapes ended when I was yelled at and called a name I would not call my worst enemy. In the end and 4 visits (including initial wiring) later, I'd say everything got done but not without my do diligence and persistence. I think when a company is requisitioned for services it should fall on the company to completely understand the customers needs, make recommendations, and ensure everything is complete before they leave (i.e. tested and all). A customer should never feel bullied and rushed. Look around for companies that have good reviews and call for estimates. Make your assessment based on how willing someone is to help you out of the gate. In our case, we were bound to them for pre-wire. No company should ever cause the amount of stress and refuse to do what is in writing as Interscapes did.
9 de novembro de 2015
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