Utility problems

When I got home last night Cindy and I headed into the back yard to do some preliminary mapping of the new fenced area we plan to put around the existing chicken coop and run.  It looks like the area should be roughly a 60 foot square, giving the chickens 3600 square feet of dedicated real estate.  I have taken two vacation days Monday and Tuesday giving me a long weekend to complete the construction.

I then turned my attention to the leaking pipe in the master bathroom after the faucet installation.  There was a large puddle of water that Cindy discovered yesterday.  I immediately had a a good idea where the leak was from, where the new drain pipe connects to the existing house drain.  When I put it together the fit between the two seemed not like it should be.

So I did some test fills of the sink and verified that joint was the source of the leak.  The pipes just did not seem to fit correct, it seemed like the pipe from the new drain was too small.  After futzing around for awhile I took a closer look at the inside of the house drain pipe.  I saw something inside the end that looked odd.  I dug in there with my finger and fished out a washer, a washer designed to go over the new drain pipe, lol.  Once I installed the washer and screwed it all together the leak was gone, imagine that.

We got to sleep a little late, close to 11.  I did not expect to be awakened a couple hours later by a steady beeping sound out in the great room.  We evidently lost power and the sound was the UPS alerting me.  Random power outages are not abnormal where I live but they are normally quick, measured in seconds or minutes.  I laid in bed hoping the power would kick on shortly to address the problem.  It did not so I had to stumble out into the main living area while using my phone as a flashlight to shut down the three UPS’s in the house.  I laid back in bed assuming by the time I woke back up the power will have kicked back in. It didn’t.

I woke up around 5:30 and realized the house was still dead as a doornail.  The fact that power has been out for over 5 hours meant it was pretty serious.  I called into the LCEC number and got an immediate message indicating there was currently widespread outages they were working on, great.  Well with a well system, no electric means no running water so I knew I had to try to get us some base level of power.

I marched out into the brisk 40 degree air to survey my options.  To run my well equipment I need 220 volt power.  I was hoping my small Yamaha generator had a 220 output but after checking I saw it only had 120 volt outlets.  That left my only option to be the large, 12 year old generator that has issues running for prolonged periods of time.  I dragged the big unit out of of the small shed, a task made more difficult by the two flat tires it had.

I got the generator up onto the patio blocks next to the water equipment.  I plugged in my 220V adapter and then flipped open the door covering the outlet cover for the well pump.  I was startled when an active wasp nest fell out of the cover and onto the ground.  Luckily the cold temperatures had the wasps in a very sluggish state and I escaped without a sting.  I fired up the generator and then plugged in the well pump.  I heard the generator RPMs drop as the well kicked in, just like it should.  Cool, we at least will have water pressure.

I was just in the process of considering additional actions to get us by short term like running the small generator with extension cords to power crucial things like the fridge.  Just as I was ready to take the next step the floodlight by the water equipment flipped on.  Utility power was back, incredible timing for sure.  Cindy had heard the generator fire up and thought the entire house lit up as a result.  I told her nope, it was just a cruel coincidence.  I didn’t have time to undo everything I dug out since I had to get ready for work.  I’ll attend to it tonight.

On Saturday night I got an email from my Toyota dealer asking for feedback about my recent service experience.  They asked for it so I gave it to them, pretty much outlining the stuff I talked about in the video.  The email said customer feedback was very important to them so I expected to hear back some sort of follow up regarding my response.  I was very clear and strong in my response but polite as well.  If I hear nothing back from my multi-paragraph response it will just be reinforcing what I was complaining about in the first place.   Below is what I sent with names changed to protect identities as I am not looking to smear names or reputations.  I just want service and communication that is reasonable, thorough and proactive.

I received an email from Joe Shmoe regarding my service experience at your dealership with my 2016 Tacoma.  I have not been happy with it both times I needed to have issues addressed.  The core problem has been the interaction with my service advisor, Leonard Leadfoot.  Leonard seems like a nice man in person but he has repeatedly dropped the ball when handling my vehicle service. I have to repeatedly call and leave messages asking for information about what is going on and those requests are often ignored.  

With my latest service incident I was told on Thursday the part was unavailable but I would be able to have the truck back as long as I signed a statement acknowledging a problem with one of the airbags.  I was told I couldn’t get the truck Thursday because it was still apart.  Leonard was supposed to call me Friday to get me a better eta for the part availability and to let me know when on Friday I could get the truck.

I waited patiently until 2PM Friday and heard nothing.  I called and left a message on his voicemail saying I was looking for info as I needed to know to plan accordingly.  I heard nothing so I waited until 3:30 and called again.  This time a woman told me she would make SURE to tell Leonard directly to call me right back when he was done with a customer.  He didn’t call.

Finally I was about ready to leave work so I needed to know what was going on.  I called back at 4:30 and again Leonard was unavailable however I told the woman I would wait on hold until he was because it was obvious I could not count on Leonard to call me back.  After roughly 10 minutes he finally picked up the phone.

He said he JUST talked to the “manager” and he said the part would not be available for four weeks.  He said as long as I signed the statement they could release the truck to me.  Ok great, I told him I would sign it and come over to pick up the truck.

Leonard said I couldn’t pick it up, the truck was still not put back together.  This made no sense as the techs knew on Thursday the part was going to be unavailable.  Why would it sit taken apart all day Friday?  It seemed to me like Leonard actually only addressed the issue at 4:30 when I called for the third time although he said he was “working on it all day”.   I didn’t understand what there was to work on, the part was not available, I wanted the truck back in the interim and everyone involved knew that.  It should have been ready to go.

So Leonard said I now had to wait until Saturday to get the truck.  I had to make a special trip with a round trip of roughly 40 miles on Saturday to return the loaner vehicle to get the truck (instead of getting it on my way home from work Friday)  

When I saw Leonard he assured me that he would call me when the part arrives.  Based on my past experience, I have little faith this will occur and instead expect that I will need to be the one to call to find out if the part is there or not.  As icing on the cake, when I dropped the truck off on Thursday morning Leonard asked if I wanted the staff to wash the truck which I agreed to.  The truck wasn’t washed but I did not have the time to sit around Saturday to wait for that to happen.

My previous service experience with Leonard followed much the same script with ignored voicemails and messages for a period that covered more than 24 hours.  Oh and the promised car wash did not happen that time either.  

I am formally requesting that I am permanently assigned a different service advisor.  Like I said, I am sure Leonard is a nice man but his follow through, communication and execution with the customer just are not to a level that I would expect.  

I find the system the service department uses to have a fatal flaw.  It seems like nobody else can or is willing to help you other than your service advisor. When I have called and talked to other staff in the department I have been told repeatedly “all I can do is look in “the system” and see if the truck is done or not”  It seems insane that if your service advisor is not on the ball you basically get no information.

Maybe Leonard is literally that swamped that he can’t find 90 seconds to listen to his voicemail or return a call.  However if that is indeed the case then the dealership has a staffing issue.

I’m sorry to have such negative feedback but I appreciate your dealership seeking out comments, positive and negative to improve services moving forward.