Sherman Corporation

December 16, [redacted] *** *** Better Business Bureau Re: Customer Complaint On 12/12/you had brought to my attention that there had been a complaint filed by oneof our customers of Georgetown DE, concerning our billing practicesThe customer is disputing the method in which we calculate our charges in regards to travel time to his scheduled appointmentUpon learning about the complaint, I called the customer directly to discuss his concerns and to offer a more detailed explanation of our billing practices and chargesThe customer was under the impression that our policy was somewhat "open-ended" depending on the amount of distance and/or time one of our technicians had to travel to get to an appointmentI explained that unlike some other companies, we do not charge an itemized additional "trip charge" or build the travel costs into our hourly rateInstead we charge our customers one way travel from the previous job location with a max travel time of 1/hourMany times this results in travel charges that are much less than typical travel charges posted by other companiesIn the case of the incident of which the customer filed his complaint, he had actually only been charged minutes travel based on data gathered from our GPS tracking systemIn all fairness to the truth, we do however bill for the time a technician does his paperwork which could vary somewhat depending on the scope of work performed at the jobsiteTypically this is just a few minutes as our service trucks are equipped with on board computers for maximum efficiency Though I tried to convince the customer that our billing practices were transparent and fair, unfortunately he did not agree or feel comfortable with itTherefore, in an effort to promote exceptional customer service I offered the customer an opportunity to suggest what he felt was a fair billing amount as it is important and a big part of our company model to try and give our customers a positive customer experience regardless if things go smoothly or as plannedHowever the customer declined the opportunity to adjust down his billAt this point I'm not sure what to do but am open to negotiating the invoice to satisfy the customer’s desired settlement request to credit his billI do, however, feel that his comment that our billing practices are unethical is unfair and unfounded Respectfully [redacted] ***VP George Sherman Corporation

December 16, 2014   [redacted]      Better Business...

Bureau Re: Customer Complaint  On 12/12/14 you had brought to my attention that there had been a complaint filed by oneof our customers of Georgetown DE, concerning our billing practices. The customer is disputing the method in which we calculate our charges in regards to travel time to his scheduled appointment. Upon learning about the complaint, I called the customer directly to discuss his concerns and to offer a more detailed explanation of our billing practices and charges. The customer was under the impression that our policy was somewhat "open-ended" depending on the amount of distance and/or time one of our technicians had to travel to get to an appointment. I explained that unlike some other companies, we do not charge an itemized additional "trip charge" or build the travel costs into our hourly rate. Instead we charge our customers one way travel from the previous job location with a max travel time of 1/2 hour. Many times this results in travel charges that are much less than typical travel charges posted by other companies. In the case of the incident of which the customer filed his complaint, he had actually only been charged 9 minutes travel based on data gathered from our GPS tracking system. In all fairness to the truth, we do however bill for the time a technician does his paperwork which could vary somewhat depending on the scope of work performed at the jobsite. Typically this is just a few minutes as our service trucks are equipped with on board computers for maximum efficiency.   Though I tried to convince the customer that our billing practices were transparent and fair, unfortunately he did not agree or feel comfortable with it. Therefore, in an effort to promote exceptional customer service I offered the customer an opportunity to suggest what he felt was a fair billing amount as it is important and a big part of our company model to try and give our customers a positive customer experience regardless if things go smoothly or as planned. However the customer declined the opportunity to adjust down his bill. At this point I'm not sure what to do but am open to negotiating the invoice to satisfy the customer’s desired settlement request to credit his bill. I do, however, feel that his comment that our billing practices are unethical is unfair and unfounded.  Respectfully[redacted]VP George Sherman Corporation

Review: The George Sherman Corporation operates it's billing of service in an unethical matter. I am not disputing their hourly charge of service ($119/hr, which is high). I am disputing the method in which they calculate their charges. They start the charge of your hourly service from the time they leave their previous job (or the time which they leave their home base). This is in respect to general service calls which an appointment has been made. I understand if it is an emergency situation, then you would need to account for all time involved to resolve a problem. As consumers we should not have to pay for travel time from one customer to another customers job. That is the responsibility of the company. Especially since we have no say to where they are traveling from to get to our appointment. They could be 5 minutes away or 60 minutes away. Hence we are being billed for services not rendered on our premise. I feel this is a complete unethical way to conduct business. Most HVAC companies charge a service fee (set price) and then hourly thereafter. You know upfront what is expected. Not knowing when your meter starts for service is a bad way to do business.Desired Settlement: As a consumer, I just don't want there to be an area of GREY in which the company can start billing you when no service has been rendered. I would like a credit to my bill, based on principal on practicing in an ethical manner.

Business

Response:

December 16, 2014 [redacted] Revdex.com Re: Customer Complaint On 12/12/14 you had brought to my attention that there had been a complaint filed by one of our customers of Georgetown DE, concerning our billing practices. The customer is disputing the method in which we calculate our charges in regards to travel time to his scheduled appointment. Upon learning about the complaint, I called the customer directly to discuss his concerns and to offer a more detailed explanation of our billing practices and charges. The customer was under the impression that our policy was somewhat "open-ended" depending on the amount of distance and/or time one of our technicians had to travel to get to an appointment. I explained that unlike some other companies, we do not charge an itemized additional "trip charge" or build the travel costs into our hourly rate. Instead we charge our customers one way travel from the previous job location with a max travel time of 1/2 hour. Many times this results in travel charges that are much less than typical travel charges posted by other companies. In the case of the incident of which the customer filed his complaint, he had actually only been charged 9 minutes travel based on data gathered from our GPS tracking system. In all fairness to the truth, we do however bill for the time a technician does his paperwork which could vary somewhat depending on the scope of work performed at the jobsite. Typically this is just a few minutes as our service trucks are equipped with on board computers for maximum efficiency. Though I tried to convince the customer that our billing practices were transparent and fair, unfortunately he did not agree or feel comfortable with it. Therefore, in an effort to promote exceptional customer service I offered the customer an opportunity to suggest what he felt was a fair billing amount as it is important and a big part of our company model to try and give our customers a positive customer experience regardless if things go smoothly or as planned. However the customer declined the opportunity to adjust down his bill. At this point I'm not sure what to do but am open to negotiating the invoice to satisfy the customer’s desired settlement request to credit his bill. I do, however, feel that his comment that our billing practices are unethical is unfair and unfounded. Respectfully[redacted] VP George Sherman Corporation