A Customer's Bill Of Rights

Vol. 4: Issue #4: Letter #58 (Previous newsletters available in archives on web site)

A Customer’s Bill Of Rights

Recently we stumbled across the website of the JC Heating & Cooling company that was founded by Juan Cardona in the Charleston, WVA metro area. One item particularly caught our eye and Mr. Cardona graciously gave us permission to use excerpts from it for our newsletter. It is entitled “A Customer’s Bill Of Rights” and defines the type of service we believe every customer has a right to expect.

1.	Real humans answering the phone. Someone's answering machine when you’re cold in the winter (or hot in the summer) is not our concept of “good service”. You begin to think - how long will it take for someone to call back? Should I leave a message or call someone else? There are small contractors who do good work but can't afford to hire fulltime office staff. That’s understandable. Yet what you as a home owner have a right to expect is that they at least have an answering service and paging system that enable them to get back to you quickly.

2.	Polite, professional customer service representative. Reaching a live human isn't much comfort if that person is surly or incompetent. You have an absolute right to be treated with courtesy and respect by all employees of any business you deal with. If you don't get it, call someone else.

3.	Convenient Scheduling. We know that most households now have two wage earners and we’ll try very hard to accommodate your schedule. We’ll give you an approximate time when you place your request for service; call you when the service technician is on his way and on those rare occasions when there is some unavoidable delay, notify you by phone.

4.	Service Agreements. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This applies to your home's health as well as your own. Our preventive maintenance agreements guard against catastrophic breakdowns and keep your home's heating and air conditioning systems functioning at peak performance.

5.	Prices quoted ahead of time. Climatemakers uses flat rate pricing. This means we charge a modest diagnostic fee for evaluating the problem before work begins. Then we quote you the full price of a job before we begin the work, no matter how much time it takes. This is the fairest way for you to know exactly what the job will cost with no more guessing games.

6.	Protect your security. We pay close attention to your security interests. We supply our service technicians with company uniforms, and business cards. Also, for your peace of mind, we instruct our employees to park the company vehicle where it is readily visible, so the home owner gets an inkling of who's at the door. We carefully screen our employees to avoid hiring anyone with criminal backgrounds and all employees are subject to random drug testing.

7.	Respect for your property. Our service technicians are instructed (and take pride) to leave each jobsite as clean as it was then they arrived …usually cleaner! They are supplied with rubber gloves, booties, drop cloths, entry carpets, vacuum cleaners and anything else needed to avoid leaving a mess after the job is done.

8.	Continuing education & certification. Technological advances and environmental regulations have made the job of a service technician much more complicated than it used to be. Heating and cooling technicians must deal with the complexities of high-efficiency equipment. Mandated by the EPA, they also must be certified in proper handling procedures for CFC refrigerant gases.

9.	Complaints handled promptly and courteously. No matter how hard we strive to be the best, human error rears its head from time to time. The ultimate sign of a progressive service company is how it responds to customer complaints.

	We’ll listen to your story and seek the facts. We won’t argue, circle the wagons or become defensive.

	We’ll work just as hard at resolving your complaint - even if it costs us money - as we did in attracting your business in the first place. Because we recruit our customers for a lifetime, not for just a single job.

	And we are so sure you’ll be pleased with our work that you shouldn’t be surprised if we ask you for testimonials or referrals. That's our way of saying, "We'll do all we can to please you."

Climatemakers Ltd.
Merry Sherman, President
Phone #: 757-468-5800
Fax #: 757-468-5805
email: comfort@climatemakers.com
Web site: http://www.climatemakers.com
"Your family's indoor comfort is our family's business"

     P.S. Remember, if you have any questions about the HVAC system in your house; how we can be of better service to you, or about our web site, please email them to me. I’d like to hear from you.

     While our renovated website still retains some of the features of the old one, every one of the 150+ pages has had some changes, and all of them are much easier to navigate.

     There are new features too…all of them designed to improve the indoor comfort of your home. Two things remain unchanged. The website address: www.climatemakers.com , and our desire to provide you with the finest quality service and support at the most affordable prices possible.

     Why not take a moment to see for yourself? And while you’re there, get a FREE gift when you evaluate our renovated site by filling out the “Report Card”. You’ll really “Make Our Day”!

     You can also view in detail, any subjects described in the newsletter as well as other ways to increase your indoor comfort and save money, by visiting our HVAC Information Super Highway and clicking on these items:

     Programmable Thermostat. Automatically regulates the heating/cooling in your house to suit your lifestyle. http://www.climatemakers.com/tstat.htm

     Electronic Air Cleaner. Removes dirt, dust and pollen to improve your health. http://www.climatemakers.com/indoor_air.htm
Humidifiers. Adds moisture to the air in the winter. http://www.climatemakers.com/humidifier.htm

     Zoning System. Saves even more energy as it increases or decreases the heating/cooling in those rooms where and when it is not needed. http://www.climatemakers.com/zone.htm

To see our whole web site at a glance, click http://climatemakers.com/siteindex_long.htm