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There are companies that haven’t a clue as to how to treat their customers and
then there are those that do. I have just come across one company that goes out of its way to treat its
customers right – that company is 1-800-GOT-JUNK.
My wife and I have just gone through the process of selling the large Victorian
house in which we had been living for the past 45 years and in which we raised two children. Prior to
turning the house over to the new owners, we had to get rid of 45 years’ worth of accumulated “things”.
A cousin had recommended 1-800-GOT-JUNK, which he had used when he sold his house.
I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK and made the needed arrangements. The process was quick
and efficient – a short recorded welcome by the company’s owner and then immediately a live person who
took down the necessary information and gave me the pickup date and time. Prior to the house cleanout,
I received an e-mail confirmation of the day and time of the pickup. On the day of the pickup, I received
an early morning phone call confirming the pickup time and about 30 minutes before pickup, I received a
second call notifying me that the truck was on the way and would there in about 30 minutes. The two
employees who came to do the house cleanout were professional, courteous and very efficient. They did a
really excellent job of cleaning out most of the house in very short order.
So far, so good.
The scheduled pickup described above took place on a Friday. The problems that
arose are described below in an e-mail that I sent to 1-800-GOT-JUNK on late Tuesday of the following
week.
My recent experience with 1-800-GOT-JUNK was not entirely satisfactory. A day or
two prior to my scheduled pickup on Friday, 21 March 2014, I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK to make sure that you
would remove all the items that I needed to have taken. I described the items to be removed and was assured
that 1-800-GOT-JUNK could and would remove all of them. I then said that there were a very large and
sizeable number of items, again describing the items, and requested that the pickup truck be large enough
to handle all the items. I was assured that the truck would be adequate to remove all the items.
At the time of scheduled pickup, a truck arrived that appeared to be ¾ full. As I had feared, there was
inadequate room for all the material that had to be removed from my residence. The driver called his
dispatcher to arrange for an additional pickup and informed me that 1-800-GOT-JUNK would return on the
following Tuesday, 25 March 2014, at 8:30 in the morning to pick up the remaining items. The driver
stated that he would probably be the driver returning at that time.
On Tuesday, 25 March 2014, when 1-800-GOT-JUNK had not arrived at the promised time of 8:30 am, I called
1-800-GOT-JUNK and was told that a pickup for that morning had not been scheduled. I was also informed
that I was supposed to call 1-800-GOT-JUNK to schedule this second pickup. I definitely had not been
informed of this since the 1-800-GOT-JUNK driver, on the previous Friday, told me that this second pickup
had been scheduled by his dispatcher. I received a later call informing me that the second pickup would be
performed between 10:30 am and 12:30 pm that morning. This second pickup took place around 11:30 am.
I have been inconvenienced by having to be present for two separate days of pickups instead of one.
I have been further inconvenienced by having to come to the pickup site twice on Tuesday since
1-800-GOT-JUNK had apparently failed to schedule the second 8:30 am pickup as I had been told the
previous Friday. Furthermore, I have had to pay an additional $170 for this second pickup.
If 1-800-GOT-JUNK had not filled up the first pickup truck prior to coming to my residence on Friday,
21 March, the entire pickup could have been completed at that time.
The response that I received from 1-800-GOT-JUNK was immediate. They
attempted to call me, but I was unavailable to answer their call. They sent me an e-mail notifying
me of their attempt to contact me by phone and letting me know that they had referred the matter to
their local representative who would contact me later. That was Tuesday evening. Around noon of
the next day, Wednesday, I received a phone call from the local 1-800-GOT-JUNK representative
telling me he was on the way to deliver a check to reimburse me for the second pickup. I explained
that I wasn’t at the house where the pickups had taken place and I asked if he could mail the check
to my new address. He agreed, but when he noted that the new address was in the same town as the
old address, he volunteered to deliver the check to my new address which he did.
Overall, the 1-800-GOT-JUNK telephone service was prompt and efficient –
no endless string of recorded messages and recorded mostly useless prompts. The phone calls to let
me know the actual pick-up times were much appreciated. The 1-800-GOT JUNK crew was fast, efficient,
and courteous. They saved me hours of back-breaking labor and allowed me to meet the crucial deadline
of getting my house “broom-clean” for its new owners. Based upon all of that, I can appreciate why,
on The Better Business Bureau (BBB) grading scale of A+ to F, 1-800-GOT-JUNK received an elite rank
of an A+, the best possible ranking that can be awarded to a business through the BBB.
BUT, what made the most positive impression on me was
their near-instantaneous response to correct a problem that had occurred. Not everything goes
smoothly in the everyday business world - mistakes happen and there are often unavoidable problems
that arise. All-too-many companies ignore the consequences of these mistakes and problems or else
deny that they are responsible. Many place innumerable roadblocks in the path of
remedying these difficulties. 1-800-GOT-JUNK is clearly one company that will have none of this.
They responded immediately to a perceived problem and rectified their mistake at once. Their quick
and positive actions have changed me from a potentially disgruntled customer to a very satisfied
one and they now have another strong advocate for their services.
If only all companies would adopt 1-800-GOT-JUNK’s attitude and
act accordingly. For an example of a company that failed to exhibit similar behavior, I
refer to my article, titled, “Corporate Stupidity”, dated 14 May 2012. You can find this article by
clicking on the WHATEVER button above and going to LINK 25, or by clicking on the ARTICLE button and
going to LINK 126.
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