ComplaintsforAdvanced Cleaning & Restoration Services LLC

• Initial Complaint

  04/06/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Hired this company to clean my shop. Owner Bryon came out to give estimate, $12681.53 for 9 days 3 men. Sent a deposit of $7800 work to start on 2/28. I closed my shop for the entire week since he said it would take 9 days, so I lost revenue. Since my shop was closed for the week, we decided to go to Atlantic City for 2 days (Tues/wed), I returned to the shop Thursday to check on things (since my cameras only detected them there for a few hours each day) to find Bryon (leaving at 2:00). I asked him if he had Dr’s hours and he laughed and said there is 20 man hours left (4 guys @ 5 hours) and would be completed the next day. Friday come, they show up close to noon (only two guys) they work until 1:15. I asked them to have Bryson call me as I was unhappy w the final results. No phone call Friday, sat, sun or Monday. I called Tuesday spoke w Yvonne told her I wanted to talk to Bryon since he was the one I had been dealing with. He was out on emergency but she would send me pics of the guys working. Since there is limited space I’m going to shorten this. No response from Brykn until we messaged them on ** asking why no one reached out- they told me he was on a emergency and he has a family…. Finally he calls me and says to me “WT* is your problem” screams at me then hangs up. (I have all the calls on recording) I call back his wife answers and proceeds to belittle me and yell at me. Finally we come to agreement they will come Monday @10to do a walk thru. Monday come, they don’t show. I call @ 10:25 was told they sent a email- (email sent at 10:07). I asked why no call they start screaming at me, send me a letter of dismissal. We posted a few bad reviews, stating the facts. There is much more to 5e story, which I am glad to share. But we were able to get the dirt off with **** dish soap. We have videos to show how easily it is to clean. I’ve had other estimates to clean my shop now. I have to pay close to $10k to finish what they were suppose to

  Business response

  04/21/2022

  I, Elizabeth, was not involved with this customer until the situation had escalated. To create an appropriate picture, I gathered all phone calls, read CRM documented notes, reviewed pictures and emails to create a timeline of events of our relationship with this customer.  This allows us to refrain from personal attacks and keep emotions out of it and make logical, sound, decisions. This is a summary of the gathered materials. Document 1: Call log 1-11-22 to current showing all calls from this customer both incoming and outgoing. All calls are on a recorded line. We sent these recordings to an outside service to be transcribed. Words appear as they sound. Recordings can available upon request. Document 2: initial call phone transcript: ***** requesting an estimate for services explaining that his building was dusty and hadn't been cleaned in over 33 years. Due to size Bryon is scheduled to go there on January 19th, his first available appointment. Document 3: handwritten estimate that was written on an NCR providing this customer with an estimate based on square footage -there is notation on here stating that eight days would be needed with three people. (Yvonne later notes on the document 5 ppl for 5 days) Document 4: 1-24-22 phone transcript ***** called explaining that he and his team needed a vacation and asked if we could accommodate that instead of working nights Document 5: 2-2-22 phone transcript: ***** calls to let us know that he's accepted our proposal and he inquired if we could accommodate him the week he was closing at the end of Feb. Document 6: 2-10-22 phone transcript: ***** calls again to schedule Bryon for another walkthrough explaining that he must move things and prepare for the cleaning This appointment is scheduled for Tuesday February 22nd, Bryon’s first available appointment.2-15-22 deposit received2-22-22 Bryon drives to see ***** again for their scheduled appointment and observes no changes, nothing seemed to have been discarded or moved.  GPS shows Brian at this location for under 10 minutes. ***** was called away to answer a business call.  Document 7: 2-24-22 phone transcript: Yvonne calls ***** confirming appointment.Document 8: 2-28-22 phone transcript ***** calls to ask what time we were coming Yvonne explains that they are getting things together and they should be there around 102-28-22 through 3-3-22 Bryon along with four other team members worked in Richmondville. throughout the week. The customer’s father was in and out of the facility commenting on how good it was coming how great it looked compared to what it was and how it hadn't looked this good in years. 3-3-22 Bryon is approached by customer as they were packing up. Bryon explained that he had 5 guys at 20 hours into it so far. He explained to the customer that he would be sending a team tomorrow to do the windows in the areas under the table where the auto scrubber would not reach. 3-4-22: 2 team members complete the above-mentioned tasks. The customer was on site during this time. As they were leaving the customer said have Bryon give me a call. This was a Friday afternoon. We wouldn't meet again until Monday morning. Document 9: 3-7-22 phone transcript: Customer calls during our daily team meeting upset states that he never mentioned to the guys when they left that he was disappointed because he felt he should talk to management starts listing things unrelated to cleaning and all the money that he lost. States that he didn't take pictures of all the broken things and the cleaning is atrocious. He insists that Bryon returns to his place of business right away. Document 10: 3-7-22 phone transcript: ***** calls and wants to add to his list. Yvonne is now on a call Erica takes a message Document 11: 3-7-22 Yvonne returns ****** call and was upset about where we started the job on the first day- while he was still onsite- and wanted to make sure she added that to his list of disappointments. Brian was currently on a sewer damage in our local community. To address the customers concerns right away, a team member went and met with him- he transcribed a response. Document 12: Yvonne emailed his response along with pictures of before, during and after the job. We explained that we would be more than happy to send out a team to redo any areas and would coordinate that with him at his convenience Document 13: 14 pictures of the job, grease dripping down the walls as we are cleaning them, very distinct before and after photos. We heard nothing from this customer from Monday when we spoke to him until Thursday after hours when he called our answering service. Document 14: 3-10 after hours Customers message requesting to speak to Yvonne. Document 15: 3-11 after hours for Yvonne again but threatening legal action if they don’t receive a call back. Document 16: 3-11 after hours wife ***** calls and ask for Yvonne Document 17:  Customers wife starts messaging the outside service that handles our social media and begins threatening and stating mistruths including that Bryon was supposed to be there and didn't show that we are avoiding them that no one called them back or got back to them all week. Document 18: call log from Elizabeth’s cell phone Bryon called customer at 4:18 PM. Customer proceeded to yell at him for three minutes and 12 seconds. Bryon lost service.  He was pacing at the point, and I think he walked too far from the window. We live at the base of the Adirondacks in the country and have limited service. The customer called right back at 4:21 pm Elizabeth answered, and customer repeated the entire Spitfire of disappointments in our services and our company and our people, but more importantly in us! Elizabeth finally conceded that we would have Bryon there along with the team on Monday morning. Customer replies I don't want anyone else here except for Bryon. This is the only call that was not on a recorded line. However, we have maintained the same level of professionalism across the board. There was no reason for us to be any different in this call. We are consistent. The same consistency applies to the customer. Every interaction from Monday morning on was hostile. It comes across in the emails it comes across in the phone transcripts and and all over the Internet. We determined during that weekend that it was in our best interest not to engage in person and excuse the balance which is approximately half of what he paid. We chose not to put ourselves or anyone on our team in any type of hostile situation. We felt it best at this point that everything be done in writing or on a recorded line. We were being called liars. We did this to protect ourselves. Document 19: 3-14 Bryon drafts another letter explaining that we feel that it's best that he finds someone else to redo areas that required additional cleaning and we would excuse his balance of $5000. Document 20: 3-14 call transcript ***** upset we didn’t drive out- he doesn’t look at email, so he never received it. ***** cannot understand why no one called him- because he has been so difficult to have a conversation with no one wanted to – just being honest- Elizabeth explains why Bryon did not come. The customer was very upset and emotional, and we too are very passionate and emotional about our business. I explained that phone and email was best to protect everyone involved. This is a crazy world and we no nothing about Ralph except that he is outraged with us. Since the call we received on March 7th he was all over the place. He was saying we said things we did not. If you read through all the calls, and then look at the first message from his wife on ******** saying Bryon didn’t show and no one has reached out to them. Bryon was never scheduled to go there, and we did send them a half of dozen emails with pictures. We felt that using the recorded lines and emails that could be printed was the appropriate way to protect our business. Document 21: 3-14 call with Bryon. The call shows a call very similar call to the call from 3-11 on the cell phone. Bryon is only able to get one-word answers and ***** just wants to yell at him. Document 22: customer via email presents himself hostile once again and requesting $3804.46 of his deposit back and “we both can both go on our merry ways with no further legal action will be taken” Document 23: Online reviews that didn't stop at just at the review. Almost daily comments were being made on the original reviews. Document 24: 4-4 A letter is sent to the customer agreeing to refund the $3804.46 that they requested if they would stop harassing us online. This was becoming a daily attack. We felt it was better to take a loss then have all that negative energy. We service hundreds of residential customers and commercial customers, one or two unhappy customers a year out of 25 years, as bad as we feel, does not define us and our mere volume speaks higher than a couple of online reviews. We genuinely started feeling sorry for this customer and we realize that it just takes one person to come to an agreement- so we waved the flag! Document 25: 4-4 customer replies via email and wants $5000 now and he will “gladly takedown all negative reviews, withdraw our petition in small claims court as well as the BBB.” So now they want more money? Who is being scammed here? Document 26: 4-6 we decline their recent request. we contact the local Sheriff's Department who suggests we contact an attorney. Thursday April 7th BBB complaint shows up in our inbox Document 27 Easter Sunday. Customer begins posting comments, engaging, and encouraging negativity on another customer’s review. -13 comments- This is online bullying!!! As a member of the BBB along with a dozen trade organizations, we take great pride in creating the best experience for our team and our customer base, we offered to get a team out there. The expectation that Bryon must be the one to return just to be told the same exact information that was provided to us on the phone is unreasonable and was unnecessary. Our entire team knows that if a customer isn’t happy, we go back until they are. No questions asked. You would not allow this.  Sometimes layers of dirt that take years to accumulate require multiple cleanings. The same way years of weight doesn't disappear by showing up one day to the gym. Unbeknownst to us initially, your job required multiple attacks to get it to the level that YOU are hoping for.  This does not imply we did not do a good job the first time. Nor does it imply that we didn't do anything. Our team works standard 8-hour days beginning at 8:00 AM. Team members begin at the building by training in their job specific specialty, they then get their work orders from the office and load their vehicles. This customer was just under an hour from our Johnstown location. After setting up in the morning and to allow themselves time at the end of the day to unload this allowed for 5 to 5 1/2 hours on site. Of the team that was on this customer's job three of them work either janitorial at night, commercial carpet cleaning or are on call for emergency restoration jobs that present themselves after hours, so their days did not end there. Just like everyone else we are struggling to find great people- which is why we have staff write reviews by the way!  This is however irrelevant because the customer was quoted based on square footage which is industry standard. Yet discussion of man hours has been a primary complaint from this customer. Finally, this brings me to the **** power wash dish soap video. The customer is attempting to make a point with a 16-ounce pump sprayer of concentrated dish soap. This product is meant to be used on dishes (see SDS), that are later submerged in water and able to be rinsed off thoroughly. The amount of residue that would be left on the walls if we were to use this product would have been tremendous. The residue left improperly rinsed will attract more dirt to the now sticky surface.  The amount of soap that it would have produced during rinsing with a pressure washer would have clogged every drain in his building had that been used as a primary cleaner for the almost 6000 square foot facility. We purchased an automotive degreaser to complete this job. The team hepa- vacuumed off dry dust, pre-sprayed with the degreaser, scrubbed with a brush on an extension pole and rinsed with a pressure washer. Once the pressure washer stopped producing a result they went on to the next section. We take every experience good or bad and look for opportunity for growth. We have spent the past several weeks- analyzing this situation and have taken the opportunity to update our standard operating procedures. We have also interviewed and hired a customer service liaison, so the customer has a dedicated person to make sure that concerns don’t escalate. Bryon cannot be everywhere. Every call transcript tells the same story- Bryon has a crazy schedule. With a crazy schedule- especially when you offer 24-hour emergency services-it leaves little time for family. SO YES! Unless there is an emergency, we close off at night and hope that our team is empowered enough to make the right decisions based on our core values, our big vision, and our mission statement and to be able to rectify any situation that may arise. This customer would not accept this and for this reason I have spent hours defending the great business I know us to be.

  Customer response

  06/01/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. BBB spoke to the customer and the following was relayed: The estimate agreed to was 3 people for 9 days. The business is on camera working 18 hours or less. That is the reason the job was not done correctly. Regards, ***** *****

  Business response

  08/31/2022

  I’m attaching the other documents that were not included in the first email I sent you.  This is simply more documentation that I meant to send for you to review.  I have attached the photos of how the job was scheduled each day with the employees on the document that worked the job.  I also created a separate document including the clock in and clock out times for that week including the total number of hours for each employee.  Bryon was on the schedule for the job automatically but I know he wasn’t there each day and he does not clock in and out each day as he has several other estimates and restoration jobs he goes to.  I attached the screenshot of the job scheduled in our system with the employees and with their clock in and out I have created a separate spreadsheet with that information.  If you need something else please let me know but this information came directly from the website we use for this- the customer factor.  I did also double check these hours against the schedule as well as with the employees.  This is the final document attached to this email as a word document.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩