Well, I've decided now that I should have started this a while ago. You know what they say about hindsight, though.
This story begins in February of 2005. After spending 8 years in Alabama, we decided to re-relocate to the Hershey, PA area. After reviewing the available housing options in the Derry Township area, we decided to build a house in the Deer Run development. Our agent was Jack Gaughan ERA, and the house was to be built by Shaffer and Son, a local developer.
Having grown up in Hershey, I was aware of the past construction of houses by Shaffer and Son. In fact, some of their construction was used in construction tours we pursued with the Hershey Fire Department, pointing out good vs. bad construction in various builders developments. The company has a long history of building quality, mid to upscale homes. We felt quite comfortable going with this company.
Now, as we have finally moved in on November 30, there are several things that still bug me about this operation. In general, their people have been great to work with, and in particular, the building manager and his subs have all been great.
However, I do have some heartburn over customer service issues:
On one Friday in September, all of the insulation was completed. On Saturday morning, as I traveled to my daughter's soccer game, I stopped in, and noticed that there was one bay of insulation in the garage which wasn't filled. I made a note of it, and said I would call first thing Monday morning, to make sure they were aware of this. Well, on the way back from the game, we stopped again, and lo and behold, the drywallers had been there, and drywalled already! This is great timing, right? Well, I called the office Monday, and left a message. Since I was traveling that week, the return message was left on my voice mail. It was a very condescending email that said, in summary, my employees and subs know what they are doing, there had to be a close in inspection prior to drywall, and it was surely filled. Well, on my way back into town on Friday afternoon, I stopped, and sounded out the drywall. There was definitely no insulation! I then found some cardboard, and probed between the sheets, and again, I could confirm that it was not insulated. Furious, I contacted the office, who had the BM call me from the site. After explaining to him where the problem area was, he cut a hole and verified it. Insulation was then backfilled into the cavity. Why does this bother me? Well, when a customer tells you there is a problem, shouldn't you try to assure them that you BELIEVE it is correct, and then have it checked, not just TELL them they are WRONG, and it COULDN'T be deficient? Customer service lacking, eh?
Well, we got through that, and finally closed and moved in. Since then a few more items of note have come up:
1. We had a gas fireplace installed in the living room. During the walk-through we were informed that in order to have it activated, we would need to contact the sub and have them come out to complete installation. Well, imagine our surprise to find out that it would take 18 days until the could come do it! We certainly could have been told this two weeks earlier, and scheduled it closer to closing, instead of having to have an unusable fireplace for two weeks.
2. After 17 days, we had a problem with the phone wiring in the house. We contacted the office (which went to voicemail), and left a message to that effect. Essentially, we had no phone service due to what appeared to be a short circuit. We never got any kind of acknowledgement from the office. After not hearing anything (and not having home phone service), I called the electrical sub directly. Again, since I didn't hear anything back, I went off in search of it myself, and found that an unused connection to the Telco had been shorted outside the house in the snow and ice. I pulled that connection off the network, and it worked fine. The next day, the sub showed up, and I told him it was fixed. Imagine, 48 hours, no phone service, and not even a courtesy call back!
3. Knowing that the holidays and vacations were approaching, and that our 30 day punchlist would come due during the interim, the BM asked us to send a list to the office so he could plan his course of action. This was sent to them on the Thursday before Christmas. Again, appreciating vacations, we didn't really anticipate hearing anything. But after not hearing ANYTHING out of them through the day today, I called the office to inquire if my email was received. I was very abruptly informed that yes, it was received, and forwarded to the BM the same day. I we don't hear from him by Friday, we are to call back!
I guess this all just heightens my frustration with Shaffer and Son, in particular the office staff and management. Of all the businesses I deal with, this is the only one who CONSISTENTLY fail to acknowledge contact with you. I guess it would be expecting too much to have asked her to simply reply to my email, informing me that it was received? I had no information that my list made it or not, until I initiated contact.
Am I being too picky here? Am I wrong to expect a bit of customer service after spending $100 per square foot?
