The other day I posted about my experience with the rug protection I purchased from Bob’s.  I really didn’t expect a reply, but I got a voice mail yesterday from a Bobs’ Customer Service representative (not Bob, but he’s probably busy making commercials).  She said that they had a $50 gift card for me and wanted to verify my address.

That’s pretty good customer service, in my opinion.
. 

We went to our first-ever tailgate party last night at the New England Revolutions game.  The event for elementary school families was organized by the new PTO Prez – Chris (Thanks Chris & Elizabeth!), and it was a lot of fun despite the chilly weather.  Luckily, I usually have enough clothes in the back of my car to outfit an army, so we all had on 3 or 4 layers.  The kids didn’t seem to notice the cold and they just ran around the parking lot like a pack of loonies.

We left a few minutes before the end of the game because the kids were getting antsy and annoying the serious soccer family sitting in front of our crowd.

It was a great night and the Revs won…looking forward to doing it again next year!
.

I’m a loyal Jordan’s customer, but a few years ago I needed a rug for the dining room and I went to Bob’s because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money for a rug that would have food dropped on it daily.  Today’s drama involved that rug, pictured below.  Refer to my letter to Bob (also below) for details.  So far I have not heard from Bob.

Dear Bob –

In 2005, I purchased a rug for my dining room from your Natick store. The salesperson sold me on the “protection plan” by telling me that I could have the rug cleaned any time it was dirty – just call the customer service phone number to schedule. Four years later when our dog had an “accident” on the rug, I decided to take advantage of the cleaning protection I had paid for, and stopped by the store. The two people working at the desk confirmed that I just needed to call customer service, and gave me a card with the phone number. When I called, I was directed to call another number, which I did, and I explained my situation again. A form was emailed to me and I was instructed to print it and fill it out, including a drawing of the stain (I included a drawing of the dog just so the problem was clearly described.). I had to mail the form back (fax and email not acceptable), and wait while my claim was evaluated. Several weeks went by and someone called me to schedule the cleaning. He warned me in his phone message that I needed to call right away or the warranty company would cancel the claim. I called and made an appointment for a week later – today.

This morning I removed all of the furniture from the dining room in preparation for the cleaning and waited for the carpet cleaner to arrive. Imagine my surprise when he showed up with a “carpet and upholstery cleaner” with a 5” wide nozzle. He very politely explained that he was not responsible for cleaning the whole rug, just the stain. When he left my house I had a 6-square-foot area of rug that looked brand new, and 72 square feet that looked like a family of 5 with a dog and 2 cats had been dropping food on it for 4 years. The technician was kind enough to confirm that I could use my Bissell carpet cleaner on the rest of the rug without damaging it. Honestly, I could have cleaned the rug with my Bissell cleaner about 4 times for the amount of time I’ve invested in this carpet cleaning. Not to mention that I dealt with my dog’s accident long ago, since I obviously couldn’t leave it while my claim was being considered for several weeks.

I don’t expect a refund or even a response (especially if you respond that I should have read the “fine print”), but I think your salespeople should understand and explain the policy more accurately to future customers.

Sincerely,

Lori Greene
.