When was the last time you had a service call that was a good experience?
Last week our oil company, Simple Energy of West Lebanon, New Hampshire, sent two technicians to look at a problem we'd been having with our boiler. One man was quite experienced, and had worked on the system when we'd rebuilt the manifold. The other was, perhaps, a trainee.
The men ran some tests and made an adjustment, and took time to explain the problem they'd found and what they'd done to correct it. They were at the house a total of about fifteen minutes. We were relieved our problem was so simply solved, and gratified the men seemed to take the problem, and their work, seriously.
Today we got the bill. I was expecting something like sixty or seventy dollars, because they'd sent two men fifteen miles, and then delivered the value they'd promised. Plus, the bill doesn't cover just technician time and mileage; it has to pay for the scheduler, dispatcher, and, yes, even the person who mails the invoice. I would have paid it, cheerfully, because we got good service.
Total fee? Zero dollars. That's right, zilch. "Technician adjusted air intake on burner. No charge for the call. Thank you for your business."
Wow. Not only was the service call itself a good experience—the men were on time, friendly, and knowledgeable—but the company delivered yet another good experience by waiving the fee for this short trip. A gesture like this says the relationship itself is important to the balance sheet. They didn't nickel and dime.
Simple Energy bills itself as your "friendly hometown heating oil." This week they lived up to their billing.
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