Appalling Climote installation scheduling procedure

Sky King

I am writing this post in order to to complain in the strongest possible terms about your utterly appaling installation booking procedure for the climote product. Your team cancelled the scheduled installation of the climote no fewer than four seperate times, the last time without even bothering to inform me.

On each occasion I agreed a time with your customer service representative, and I had arranged to be available to facilitate the installation. I am self employed and I am extremely busy, and each one of these occasions resulted in significant disruption to my work.

When the installation was organised the second last time, I advised the customer service representative that it had been already cancelled three times and we made a final agreement for the morning of Tuesday 28th.

Then at half past six on Friday evening (24th), I recieved a text message advising me that you were 'unable to contact me regarding the appointment for Tuesday 28th'. I didn't get a missed call or voicemail about this - just the text. Then on Sunday evening I received a text informing me that the installation was now in fact scheduled for Friday 31st. I did not agree this revised date with anyone, nor did I did not receive any phone call or voice mail to this effect, not did anyone inform me that Tuesday was cancelled.

This is absolutely outrageous. I can understand an occasional cancellation due to unforeseen circumstances. But four cancellations one after another? And cancelling and rescheduling a revised appointment without even bothering to confirm my availability? There is no excuse for this idiotic carry on - none whatsoever. It is completely unacceptable, and I struggle to understand how you think that customers should be willing to accommodate such utter incompetence and disregard for their time.. 


I am not taking any more calls on this matter until you tell me what the hell you're going to do to sort this out.


The main thing preventing me from cancelling the installation altogether is the grim prospect of bring subjected to hours of your awful hold music while I wait patiently to speak with someone who doesn't know or care about how badly your installation booking setup is run.


I am also reluctant to deal with the likely tedious litany of phone calls, emails and texts to try get my money back. Also, my heating timer is not working properly, and I do need it replaced. Thanks to your organisation's resounding ineptitude I have spent the last two weeks waiting for a working timer.

1) Why is this being managed so badly?
2) When I am going to get my climote?
3) How am I going to be compensated?

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Sky King,

We're very sorry to read this, and can completely understand your frustration. 

Can you send us your account details (including your name, account number, address and contact number) by private message so we can look into this for you? Once we have your details, we will be able to investigate why this has happened, and arrange an appointment to suit you.

Regards,
David

Sky King

I will send you this now via PM. 

I look forward to the results of your investigation with interest. Please don't involve me in it - i am sick getting daft phone calls and texts.

Electric Ireland: David

Hi Sky King,

Thanks for sending on your details by PM. We have now escalated this as a matter of priority.

Thank you for patience in this matter, and our apologies again for the inconvenience and frustration this has caused.

Regards,
David

b2dadizzle

the exact same thing happened to me. I cancelled my order yesterday, but asked for someone from the complaints department to call me. have heard nothing since. At this stage, even if I was offered the climote, Which looks great, for half price, I would decline. The scheduling crowd are an absolute joke.

EI: Una

Hi b2dadizzle,

Very sorry to read you cancelled your order. You will be contacted as per your request, but if you would like us in this department to check into anything for you or contact that department on your behalf, do let us know.

Regards,
Una

b2dadizzle

hi Una. All sorted now. Oisin came this morning and installed the unit, very helpful guy. Thanks for your help.

EI: Una

Hi b2dadizzle,

That's great - delighted to read it. Thanks so much for your post.

Regards,
Una

Sky King

So after my irate letter I got a phone call from EI apologising for the crappy service and moving my installation to the top of the list. I decide on thursday morning as my fifth attempt at installation, and I a agree a window of availability when the guy will arrive.

I also was told in this call that I would receive a cheque, made out to me, as compensation for the crappy service.

Not only does the installer not show up in the time frame agreed, I also get three text messages, one after the other, from EI on Thursday afternoon reminding me that my installation was booked for Thursday morning. Wow! Thanks guys! But maybe you should have been reminding your installer instead of reminding me, who was patiently waiting for the mystery man to show up.

So the guy shows up eventually, who a nice guy in fairness, though no mention of timekeeping and I have to move my schedule around again. Then he tells me that the climote is not capable of handling an electrical water immersion heater... WTF? That's half the reason I bought the thing! So after the thing is installed I find out that is't only 50% useful - it won't control my hot water.

Correct me if I am wrong here guys, but am I right in saying that Climote will not take the electrical load required to run a bog-standard domestic immersion heater???

Yes, the immesrion has to be set up as an independant zone on your heating system - it can't be heated electrically. There is NO mention of this on their website (at least none that I can see - once again I am open to correction of course) - the climote site leads you to believe that your water heater will be fully controllable from your climote.

Blatantly misleading people in this way is probably illegal - it's something I am going to look into in more detail before I take this up with electric Ireland. 

Anyway then today I get a PM advising me that MY EI account has been credited with the compensation amount. Strange, the girl on the phone on tuesday very explicitly told me I would recieve a cheque made out to myself.  Monetarily it amounts to the same thing of course, so I don't really care either way about that, but this does serve to further highlight the gross incompetence and appaling communication within your organisation.

I bought the climote to control my heating and my hot water. I can't use it to control my hot water. I want to know how you are going to address this, and if you intent to cease misleading potential customers targets on your website.

Awaiting your reply with interest.....

EI: Una

Hello again Sky King,

We just wish to advise you that we passed your update to the relevant department earlier today, and you will be updated ASAP.

We are very sorry to read of the issues you have been experiencing and we would like to reassure you that your query is being treated as high priority.

Kind regards,
Una