The Great Stove Swap – Quality in Service

Some of you may take your utility services for granted. Others of you may even think utilities should be entitlements, especially when being warm in winter or cool in summer can mean the difference between life and death.

I am personally amazed at how unchanged utility programs are in Southern California. Maybe it’s just because I live in an “older” neighborhood (is 30 years “old”?). I don’t know…. but what I do know is that I appreciate the responsiveness of my Gas Company. That’s right. The good ol’ Southern California Gas Company. When it comes to stove swapping… they’ve got their act together. Customer service with high quality.

Let me explain.

Firstly, when I moved into my home about six years ago, I noticed that the space for the stove was unfinished on both sides. Obviously, there had once been a taller stove unit where the one I “inherited” was now located. You know… one of those things with the microwave on top. Everytime I winced at the scruffy exposed press board I longed for veneer… or a taller stove. It has not, however, ever been much of a priority.

Well, it took the universe just about six years to deal with my stove issue. There, sitting like a pearl in an oyster, glowing in the sunset, across the street…. sat the stove of my dreams! My neighbors had hauled one out to the curb for “bulk collection” by the waste management service in association with their in-progress kitchen remodel. Swallowing my pride (a BIG pill, by the way), I hopped across the street and knocked on their door. Pointing to the object of my desire, I asked if it was still working. Well… not ONLY was it still working… but my neighbor offered to help haul it over to my home with me. SUCH a deal! We parked it in the garage.

I knew that paying a handyman to swap the old stove out with the “new” stove was going to be pricey… and possibly unreliable. When dealing with a substance as explosive as gas, I didn’t feel confident in going that route. When you’re worried about gas, I say, call a gas expert. So when I got my monthly gas bill a few days later, the service number in big font at the top of the bill caught my attention. What harm could there be in calling, right? So I did. I called the Gas Company.

The operator was on the line in a flash. No long drill down menu in their digital phone system. I loved that. She didn’t ask me to hold. She didn’t ask who she could transfer me to. She was just THERE. She was humble (imagine that… a customer service representative that was not annoyed without even knowing what I was calling about). She asked how she could help me. OH MY GOD. I was experiencing a flashback to customer service I hadn’t experienced since the 70’s! Maybe not changing, in this respect, is a GOOD thing for a utility.

I explained my situation and asked if she could recommend somebody to come help me swap stoves and deal with the gas line disconnection/reconnection. “Well,” she said, “that could be expensive.” Having dealt with a $150. handyman charge (not including materials) to install a new garbage disposal recently (and not very effectively, by the way), I was prepared for the worst. “How much?” I said with trepidation. “Well,” she said, “it could run anywhere from about $32. to $56.” OH MY GOD. “Sold!” I said, “Where do I find this incredibly affordable service?” “When would you like us to come out?” Wait a minute… “Us”? I couldn’t believe it. The Gas Company helps people swap stoves?! You’ve GOT to be kidding… a big utility like that? Millions of people to support? They could send somebody out for about a third of what it would cost me to hire a handyman to do this incredibly difficult thing for little ol’ me? YES! The service representative went on to say… “Would you like us to come on a day of your choosing or would the next available day be okay?” Good grief. I was expecting a two week backlog when I said: “The next available day would be fine.” Imagine my shock when she said: “We could come out tomorrow. Would you prefer a morning, afternoon or … [GASP!] evening appointment?” I opted for evening and was given a convenient 3 hour window of service. Then, with further concern, I asked what hardware I should procure to support the procedure. “Our representative will have everything he needs with him.” “REALLY?! Everything?” “Yes, really. Please be sure to confine your dogs if you have any to assure the safety of our representative.” WOW. Not only were they a full-service, incredibly responsive and affordable solution… but they CARED about their employees. I was, to say the least, impressed.

Later that evening, I received an automated phone call from the Gas Company, confirming my appointment was scheduled for the next evening, reminding me to confine my pets if I had any to assure the safety of their personnel (that must be quite a problem for them), and [GASP!], thanking me for an opportunity to be of service. Amazing.

Sure enough, the next day, within 15 minutes of the scheduled start time for the 3-hour service window, the representative was on my doorstep, Gas Company issue truck just a few steps away, well-appointed, hefty tool bag in hand, in a neat clean uniform with the Gas Company logo and his name on the pocket, cheerful smile firmly on his face and a humble “can do” attitude VERY apparent. I was incredibly impressed. Wouldn’t you be? This was a NO FEAR approach to customer service that, again, I had not experienced since the ’70’s.

This hero strode in, complimented my well-behaved dogs on the other side of the patio door. Looked at the clunker of a stove that needed swapping out with the other (frankly) clunker of a stove and, with a puzzled look, asked what was wrong with the “in place” stove. I pointed out the unfinished side panels on the cupboards and explained that the “new” old stove is what the house was designed for. Understanding spread on his features. “They both work?” he said. “That’s what my neighbor told me.” says I. “They were just disposing of it (the “new” old stove) to remodel.” He looked around to be sure the grates and burner covers were available for the “new” stove before setting to work.

He commented (cheerfully) on the “oldness” of the fixtures and fittings, but quickly, safely and still cheerfully found solutions to every obstacle he encountered (which required a few quick hops out to his trusty truck). This was obviously a very competent stove swapper!

When he was done, per my request, he left the “new” stove just slightly askew to enable me to scrape up and clean the 20+ years of muck that had gathered under the old stove, showed me that every burner and the oven of the “new” stove were working just fine. Handed me a slip of paper to sign for the services rendered showing a total of only $49. and explained that the charge would be on my next bill from the Gas Company. No credit card or check required! How NEAT! And the slip was only about the size of a check. He had filled out everything, neatly, in his own handwriting… himself…. including my name, address and account number, the date, what hardware he used (a single connector), and his name. It was very personal. I really liked that. The entire process seemed to take only about 20 minutes. Either that, or time flew by because it was so fascinating to watch this master at work.

So…. the Great Stove Swap has been accomplished.

The things that I observed about quality in customer service from the amazing Southern California Gas Company were classic and well worth noting for ANY customer service endeavor:

1. Highly responsive and personable human being on call desk.

2. Humble, unassuming, confidence of all service personnel.

3. Service prices that exceeded customer expectations.

4. Service scheduling that exceeded customer expectations.

5. Concern for employee safety implies concern for customer safety, as well.

6. Proactive reminders and questions to avoid downstream problems by all service processes and personnel.

7. Cheerfulness. LOTS of cheerfulness. In fact, CONTAGIOUS cheerfulness.

8. Competence at the mastery level.

9. Personal touches.

10. Simplicity of required transactions (documentation, payment).

I don’t think I’ve even experienced service this startlingly wonderful in luxury hotels. If only more companies could learn from what the Gas Company does with regard to Customer Service! I am not just satisfied with the service I received from MY Gas Company. I am DELIGHTED. Thank you, Southern California Gas Company… and congratulations. I am a tough customer to please (as might be expected). You went way past pleasing me.

So, CAPAtrak community, what does YOUR company do with regard to Customer Service? Do you have another story about great customer service to share? How about one about Customer service gone wrong? Please post your responses to this story and share it with us.