Am I a Christian Man?

I need, no no it's wrong to ask in such a manner, no.  I would appreciate your help.  

This is likely to be a long read so please do persist if you think you might be able to help me.  But only if you have time right now during these days of self imposed isolation.  Indeed at a most Christian time of the year and before New Year.  When we all have time to think and contemplate what has been and what is to come then, if you have an inkling to help then please read on.

Most of you know me.  You know that I am a big guy.  Not big big in that 6ft 6 and sporting hands the size of shovels way.  I tell folk that I am 20 stones and nearly every man jack of them say, "no way!".  Yes I am, I must be like a Tardis.  There's a lot more of me on the inside!  I'm heavy yes, rotund yes, quite strong and relatively fit for my size and age.  Well one has to be to be able to do the tour riding that I now do in this hilly country.   A fat bloke on a bike?  Yes.

I am also pretty damn clear of what I want.  Have been all of my life.  Controlling in some way.   I'm the fettler.  I'm the one who knows what to do.  'Ask Wayne', they used to say back in the day.  Also intimidating?  Perhaps.  My size being one part of that, the other is the other reason already noted above.  Probably why personal relationships never seem to stick for the long run...

Intimidating though?  Yes.  There I was one day 10 years or so ago when I managed a team of controllers at BT's Network Management / Customer Service Operations Centre (CSOC) in Sheffield.  A hard job topped and tailed by a lot of daily travelling back and forth to York.  Long long hours.  Incident management conference calls pre the days of Zoom day and night.  It's why I coined the phrase "sleep is over rated".  Taking control of the situation.  Getting folk to do the things that they did not want to do at silly o'clock in the morning.  Doing the right stuff but hard stuff to get customer service back before the start of the next working day.  So of course at times there was resistance.  Human beings huh?  But I had to be firm.  Be demanding.  Probably why I got the job.  And was good at it.  I've been to the top of the BT Tower for Customer Service award ceremonies more times than Forrest Gump has met the president.  

I remember a day in Sheffield CSOC where an undergraduate, who had been allocated to me for his 13 week work experience job at BT, gave his honest and truthful assessment to me.  After 13 weeks of hard but enjoyable work in an open plan office where he not only experienced me but also watched what I was doing across teams on the office floor I asked him, "So what do you think of me?".  To understand this question is to know the real me and why I am the way that I am.  

Amongst other comments he said "I think you're intimidating".  I was gobsmacked.  Where were all the comments like 'you're a facilitator, a great team motivator and team player'?  From the mouths of babes eh?  But it hit me like a bullet from a large bore elephant gun and for sure he was the one with his finger on the trigger staring down the smoking barrel at me.  I've done things in the past that have bothered me.  Was that the right decision I might have thought.  Was that the right thing to do?  But really, is that how folk think of me?

Nonetheless that pre-ramble probably sets the scene for my ask for help.   Here it is.

This year a set of solar panels were fitted to my house.  All as part of the massive bundle of work to demolish and rebuild a garage, build an extension, reroof the house, etc., etc..  I knew what I wanted.  Integrated solar panels.  As many as possible.  My roof is perfect for them.  Broad and flat facing permanently south.  The solar installation company says yes of course we can do.  We'll put some lovely undertrays on your battens and the solar panels will sit right on them.  Perfect.  It'll look mint.

Well the day came.  An idiot was dispatched to fit the panels.  All to be done just as the first fit of the roof had been completed which included new under felt and new battens.  For sure he hadn't a clue about working on a roof and to me seemed to be more interested in having a good bit of 'craic' with the roofers.  Gabbing away laughing and all general merriment.  But he was making a cock up of the under tray installation.  Bang it up.  Screw it as best fits to the batons.  Slap in place the weather seal etc..  Anyway, he was done for the day and away he went full of laughter and slaps on the backs of the folks around him.  

Of course I had the scaffolding up so up I went that evening to have a butchers.  In my opinion a bloody mess.  I complained to my cousins who were the main contractors for the build and also to the solar firm and the end of that painful episode was that the solar guy's agreed to pay for the roof repairs and to re-lay the panels.  Of course the idiot was not sent back to the job.  I hear he was given the sack.  

Some months later I again had a problem with the installation and again the solar company really didn't care for my service.  Probably the worst attitude to give to me, a God fearing Customer Service Operations Manager used to pushing folk hard to do the things that they did not necessarily want to do to make sure that customer service was good.  It was at this point after having both a crap installation and a crap in life service experience I saw that I had an option to add a Trustpilot review for the company.  Here's what I wrote under a title of 'Customer Service Matters'.  I gave them 2 stars which I though was reasonable after such a poor experience.

It is a shame to say that a company that declares itself to be a family run business with aspirations to be the best falls well short on quality of installation which had to be redone due to poor workmanship, for being discourteous and for not giving good customer service with timely resolution of issues. I am a disappointed new customer for sure. Not quite one star cos they do eventually resolve the issues but I would not be happy to recommend GoEcoRenewables to anyone else. Customer Experience matters. You have to improve significantly if you really want to become number 1 for solar in Yorkshire.

Yes, in summary that reflected how I felt.  I did not write about the rage and incredible anxiety felt as I watched my new roof being ripped off and replaced.  However, I'm gobsmacked.  This is what they wrote in reply:

Good morning Mr Tyssen,

It is extremely disappointing to receive your feedback. We pride ourselves on our high standards and always aim for the highest level of customer service and we believe that this is reflected in our previous customer reviews.

Whilst we understand your disappointment in experiencing some teething problems with your new system, we ensured you received a resolution and the issue was resolved. 

Unfortunately, your installation was particularly challenging, not due to the technology and installation itself but the relationship between us and yourself. 

Throughout the installation our engineers felt intimidated and pressurised, as you spent the whole day standing over them, watching and recording their every move and constantly interfering with their work. Every engineer that attended the site found it extremely difficult and some requested not to return, as they found it to be an extremely unpleasant experience. 

During the installation you requested to speak directly to one of our suppliers about an additional item that fell outside of the scope of works. Following your interaction with him, we were then left having to apologies on your behalf, as our supplier reported that you were rude and discourteous. 

In response to your comment about responding to your issue in a timely manner: You sent an email to one of our Directors explaining that your system wasn’t working correctly. This was passed on to the manufacturer the same day to investigate. You were copied into this communication so you could clearly see this referral has been made. Over the next 2 weeks the manufacturer carried out some firmware upgrades to resolve the issue. 

You later contacted us to let us know that the issue had been resolved but were unhappy, as no one had explained how it had been resolved and what firmware upgrades had be completed. Whilst we are specialist in the technologies we install, in this particular situation, we did not have the technical knowledge relating to the firmware so referred you to the manufacturer.  

We always do our utmost to ensure excellent service and in the nearly 5 years since trading we feel we have achieved this. On the rare occasion a customer experiences issues or is unhappy with any element of their installation, we will always work to resolve it. We want all our customers to be satisfied with the service they receive and ultimately with the investment they have made in their chosen technology/ies. 

Regards

The GoEco Team

As you can see most of their reply is all about how bad I was as a client.  Nothing to say sorry to me for the experience nor anything to say what they had done to prevent a re-occurrence for their future customers.  I'm now pretty angry.  All the anxiety came flooding back.  This is not true.  Yes I am keenly interested in the work done and really want the job to be done right on my home.  Really, was it just me?  So I edited my entry as follows to be more specific about the issues on the job and why I felt the way I do.  

Note: I have just read GoEcoRenewables reply to my initial review (above). 

It saddens me to read that this is their way to respond to a customer review. 

Yes as customer I took an interest in my solar installation which was part of the extensive suite of building works being done to my home. I suffered extreme stress watching the damage being done to and the subsequent interim state of my roof. GoEco Renewables saw the photos and after a site visit agreed to pay for all repairs, core items as follows:  

The incorrect fit of adhesive waterproofing seals had to be corrected / repaired by my roofer to prevent tanking and the use of the wrong size roof screws had left my new underfelt damaged which all needed to be removed and relaid. Additionally, there was damage to the weather trim which compromised the waterproof integrity of the installation.  

I am pleased to report that the roof was repaired and in fact I'm now very happy with the installation.

Nonetheless I was told that a member of the installation team was dismissed as a result of the poor installation but I am not sure that this is fact. Net result was I became a rather agitated and sensitised customer after watching the whole of my new roof being ripped off and repaired.  

If I can I'll add a link to the photos here later..

Further when I subsequently reported a problem with the system (within 2 months of commissioning no less) you can imagine my angst when after reporting I get no reply on whether investigated / fixed unless I chase chase chase. Like I said at that time to Go Eco I have no interest in the detailed operation of the technology and similarly do not expect them to know everything. However the silence over the weeks after reporting the issue to them to let me know if anything at all had been done / was going to be done to fix the issue was deafening. I would very much have appreciated it if they had owned the issue and kept me informed.

Whilst it is an integrated panel design so not set over the existing roof tiles but set into the roof (and was a great opportunity to do at the same time as the reroof work here), there is nothing non-standard about this type of installation, in fact GoEco recommended it! They knew I had velux windows in the roof that needed to be integrated with the solar panels so find it strange that they did not propose the solution for my installation. I had to do all the chasing with their supplier to find and to get the correct kit on site and fitted. Honestly I do not recall being discouteous at all to any of their suppliers, just reasonably pushing for them to place the order with the French supplier and getting the kit to me from France in a reasonable time frame so I could complete the construction of the new roof.

By the previous reviews GoEco probably are a good company at other renewable heat installations they do. I do read other happy customer reviews. 

However my experience of their solar installation and my rating is honestly reported here. No-one is going to ask me to do a solar installation and I really have no axe to grind. The installation is done. It is repaired. The fault is fixed. I am currently happy with it.  

Nonetheless, I'm disappointed and saddened they have tried to rubbish my character and integrity instead of saying what they have done to prevent others from having similar issues to me. I'm sure my review and their reply to my initial comments along with their other reviews will help potential customers decide who to ask to quote for future work. That is what trustpilot reviews are all about.  

The experience with the GoEco installation caused me great stress. Their reply to my initial review has really stressed me again.  

I truly hope they reconsider their approach to trustpilot customer reviews and how they handle customer reported issues in the future.

Customer Experience matters..

Reducing to one star.

I'm very sorry for this.  I did say it would be a long read.  Just a bit more to go.  Anyway I had added the clarity to my comments for other potential customers to read.  Customer Service and Experience really matters to me.  It has done for 40 years - all of my career in BT, most of which was about doing ones best for ones customers.   

Unsurprisingly they updated their comments as follows.  Sorry for this..

Dear Mr Tyssen,

In response to your updated review: 

Both Directors tried to call you several times but you refused to answer and when we sent you a text message, you replied to say that you didn’t want to speak with us. 

We can do no more than offer to speak with our customers and try to understand their concerns but you refused to speak to us and then accuse us on Trustpilot of not listening to you.

We did not go on the “offensive”, we simply stated our version of events. As a company that has worked extremely hard to offer a fantastic service and build up a great reputation, we find it incredibly frustrating that our good work can potentially be underdone by one review and we believe we have a duty to employees and their families, who rely on GoEco for a living, to ensure customers know the full facts.

Sadly, you were rude and discourteous to every member of staff you came into contact with and whilst we treat every customer with respect, this has to be a two way process.

We will not be responding further and will allow our customers and potential new customers to make up their mind about this review and those involved. 

Regards

The GoEco Team

It had got to the point that I could not get a reply from them so all of my complaints and comments to them were in email.  Finally John, one of the 'directors', their fixer, called after my first review and before their first reply.  A man mountain of a lad at least 6ft 6 tall with hands like shovels, called and left me a voice mail to ask if he could speak to me.  For sure by now all I thought was that they were only going to pressure me to amend the Trustpilot review.   I was the only bad one in all their reviews and cos all emails were, well it's enough to say that I was not satisfied with anything that they had done to help me to this point.  I simply replied that everything had been said in email and I did not want to prolong the matter with a phone call.  

And this is how it is today.  

Finally, how you might help me.  

I believe I am a Christian man.  This week is a time to think about forgiveness.  I only ever like to see the good in folk and do actually find it very difficult to tell folk when I am not happy.  So doing so is always hard work.  I used to hate doing performance reviews at BT.  By rule I had to always find issues with some folk and put them on performance improvement plans.  BT's mantra was that everyone should see themselves as 100meter Olympic sprinters and everyone had to be scaled according to performance even if they were 0.5 seconds behind the eventual winner.  It was not good enough to not win.  It's one of the main causes of stress during my time at BT.  Of why I was later off work with stress and anxiety for 3 months and then took early release and retired just before my 55th birthday.  For sure continuing to work there would have killed me.  

So I'm thinking of deleting the review from Trustpilot.  The one and only 1 star review for the company would then be removed.  For sure the other boys who came on the job were significantly better than the first idiot but still I don't know if they have fixed their installer issue and their customer service for in life systems was poor and had nothing to do with the first lad.  

But I don't want to maintain the bad mark.  I know that people do improve.  I want to give them the benefit of my doubts that they will have learnt from the experience.  I don't want this to stay against them forever and a day.  I'm not a bad bloke.  Perhaps yes intimidating and controlling and demanding at times but I think you will find I'm someone who wants to help, who wants to have things done right, who does care for other folk.

I have regrets, for sure I don't think there is anyone out there who does not have regrets but that's all part of this life and the experiential stew pot (mmmm experiential stew! Yum!) of, er, experiences that make me, you, everyone the people we are today.    People without regret aren't human; many of them are in clinky waiting for their murder trials to come to fruition or for their life sentences to come to an end.  But I do believe that most folk want to do better and that reflecting on ones life path just trod is just another way of getting to happiness.  Well that's how I see it.

What do you think I should do?  Leave the review on the Trustpilot system as that reflects my experience and is probably helping others to not have the same?  Over 160 people so far have read this review.  One says it has been helpful.  Or should I as I'm thinking of doing, delete it?

I'd be happy for you to leave a comment in this blog (they're all anonymous anyway unless you add your name etc in your reply).  Or reply to the email where I invite you to read the blog.  Or just text me.  

If you made it this far, then thank you for your persistence.  Just one more thing perhaps you might be willing to do x.

Ciao.