Customer Service 101

In my first blog below, I mentioned that I may be on the look out for an ozonator. Well I failed to mention that when my current unit broke, I emailed the nice folks who supplied my pool, Platinum Pools in Houston, and stated that I was looking for parts for the Prozone Ozonator or maybe even to replace it.

So I get a phone call from some one at Platinum who states that they no longer supply or support the Prozone unit, but they’ll be happy to supply a replacement brand X unit and that unit is much better. So I asked for a discount from the replacement price of something like 600 bucks. Guy says he’ll check with the owner and call me back. He never calls back. That was over a month ago. So I started to research other brands and types on the net. I actually find a decent CD type unit (my old one is UV) for around 300 bucks, but wait… why not just purchase a new lamp for the prozone.

So I locate Prozone’s website and send them an email stating exactly what I am looking for, Part 8, the lamp, for a PZVII-1. I get an emailed response staying that I had to purchase from a distributor and to call Amerimerc (http://www.amerimerc.com). So I call these people and they say that I can only get parts from Prozone, they do not supply parts. I read Prozone’s email to the nice person on the telephone and so she called Prozone while I held. She comes back on the line to tell me that Prozone says to call them directly.

So I call Prozone directly. Prozone says they cannot sell to me and that I must go through a distributor. So I tell the about the email and the conversation with Amerimerc. She says yes, that she told Amerimerc to tell me to call, but she thought I was a distributor. Why she thought one distributor would be calling another, I just don’t know.

So now Prozone says again, we cannot sell you the part, you must go thorough a distributor. So the next part is mind boggling.

Me: So who do I go to?
Prozone: Where do you live?
Me: Houston…
Prozone: hmmm…..well I have a name, but no number you’ll have to look them up yourself.
Me: what is the name?
Prozone: Platinum Pools.

HELP, I’m stuck in a real life endless loop!!! These people really need some help in marketing and managing a distributor network.