The Power Of YELP

I swear no one has as much trouble as I do trying to find good help. I know everybody wants to hear the violin playing a sad song for them, but I seem to constantly pick the slow line at the grocery store if you know what I mean. The words “Oh that’s weird” or “This has never happened before” are the worst ones your computer service guy or handyman can say to you. Because now, we are all suddenly cast into no man’s land. We are in this place of mystery which does not obey the common laws of physics. Plus the standard rules of engagement no longer apply.

MORE THAN ONCE I’ve had a repairman at our place looking to me as to what to do next.

Repairman, “Well I reset your circuit breaker but it’s not responding.”

(With my husband at work) I cluelessly respond, “Uh huh.”

Awkward silence.

More awkward silence as some magical force in the universe DOES NOT come forward.

Cricket chirp.

Me, “So…. do we need to call someone else or can you call your boss or..”

Repairman, ‘Oh yeah I’ll call the office and see what they want to do.”

Our dryer wasn’t working properly in November. Five people in one house and no working dryer. Thankfully drying clothes doesn’t break the bank at our nearby laundromat. $.75 to dry a load and $3.50 to wash, so at least it was the dryer. The landlord was cool with us paying to fix it so we were off to the races. The problem is that Nov turned into Dec and the first repairman hadn’t fixed it. We went on vacation and in Jan the second repairman came… STILL NOT FIXED. Is the landlord OK with us paying two companies to fix the problem? No.

By February we literally had had three companies try to clean out our dryer vent. I found them by randomly googling and calling them, simply hoping for the best. Would you know a good chimney sweeping company? Didn’t think so.

By the time 5 months had passed and the third company had come out twice and failed me (with three different inept workers), I was miffed. I was not getting my dryer fixed and on top of that I was getting shafted by the company owner because he thought I was a problem client. I disputed the charges but they were overturned – tough luck customer. So now I was out $220 and I had had three companies with a half a dozen repairmen visit. Still no working dryer and to boot my husband had taken multiple days off work to facilitate the repair. Should I have paid for Angie’s List? Maybe, but instead here’s what I did.

I created a Yelp account and filed a public complaint of what happened. I named names, I discussed bad customer service, and I noted the complete incompetency of the company. That same day what do you know, I got a personal call from the company owner. We discussed me taking down my negative review if he sent someone out to deal with the problem. I said I would buy only if the problem was fixed.

That very weekend two workers came out and fixed the problem. Did my husband still have to go on the roof with his cell phone for over 2 hours on a Saturday? Yes! But it was fixed. Hallelujah! And why wasn’t it fixed by all those different people several times before? Because they cleaned out the wrong vent. Go figure.

I would like to say that is where the story happily ends but unbelievably our washing machine went out the week after the dryer was fixed. Guess what? I went on Yelp, found a reputable company, and it was fixed within the week at a decent price.

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. ” – Edmund Burke

We all have a voice. Let’s use it. Share your experiences, good or bad so that others can benefit from it. A simple Amazon review or entry into Yelp helps tear down bad companies and build up the good ones. We live in an exciting time where a stranger from a neighboring city can help you get your dryer fixed. As Mom’s our daily chore list is hard enough without things breaking down. Here’s a way to help the stress level when trying to resolve the problem.