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scare tactics

Mad Dog
Mad Dog Member Posts: 2,595
in THE MAIN WALL
when the are told they don't need a new boiler...usually a customer for life. MD

<A HREF="http://www.heatinghelp.com/getListed.cfm?id=299&Step=30">To Learn More About This Contractor, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Contractor"</A>

Comments

  • Tony_8
    Tony_8 Member Posts: 608
    just got back

    from the second call in a month where a particular contractor shut down a system and left it for dead.
    He used to be a salesman for a fuel company but got let go because of, you guessed it, side-jobbing. He's already been turned in for false claims in his ads. Now, he's condemning equipment just to sell. Tonight's call had a leaking floatvent that wetted the aquastat and got the house a touch warm. Limit still worked though, luckily. He told them he'd be back Monday with a written quote. Won't he be surprised when he finds a new float and aquastat were installed 2 hours after he left ! Neighbor called him for the babysitter. HO came home and called the guy they trusted for 15 years at the other house (they just moved).
    Shows what steady ads do, he runs constant ads locally. Won't matter after a while though, word travels fast in this small town.
    My sticker is now in place on their boiler.
    I can't wait for the service work to roll in on his installs ! Fast and Cheap but charging like H*%l.
    OK, that's enough venting.
  • Tony_8
    Tony_8 Member Posts: 608
    they were

    my customer, the neighbor called him and they called me after he left. I just saw him on the road, got the one finger wave I'm used to from him :)

    He used to bid a high price from the fuel co. and a fair price from himself that compared to the rest of us. Got caught by complaining about a service co-worker who did a freebie with the bosses approval. Went over the branch manager's head to the regional mgr and "stepped in it". OOPS!!!

    Now he's gotta do it right, and apparently not as easy as he thought :)
  • Dave DeFord
    Dave DeFord Member Posts: 119
    That's great..

    one of your competitors thinks you're number one! That is what that salute means isn't it?
  • George_10
    George_10 Member Posts: 580
    Why of course

    what else could he have meant by that hand signal. A great one liner.
  • Dave DeFord
    Dave DeFord Member Posts: 119
    On a more serious note than my post below..

    You may want to get in touch with the gov't agency that procsecuted him in the first instance for false advertising. It would seem to me that it is in fact a crime (likely criminal fraud) to tell someone that their boiler is unsafe when in fact it just needs service. It is likely not going to interest the local police but maybe the local consumer protection agency etc. Also if he is licensed maybe you can attack the problem that way. Just some thoughts.
  • Tony_8
    Tony_8 Member Posts: 608
    Unfortunately...

    no licensing here. Just reputations. The ad complaints were filed w/ the BBB, who botched it. That's how he found out who complained. No support from my other competitors, they just want to let the market bear it out. Afraid to rock the boat and make uneasy moments at the counter I guess. If the right HO got nailed and I could back them up, I'd do it in a heartbeat.

    Funniest thing was he threatened to post signs around town that said I'd turned him in to the BBB for his ad claims. Guess he figured somehow that was a black eye for me :) Basically, he said he had 25 yrs experience in the heating business. 15yrs counterman/purchaser, 1.5 yrs same/different co., 8yr LP salesman, 1.5 yrs in own co. Quite a stretch of definition. He did stop those claims.

    It'll come around.
This discussion has been closed.

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