Apollo Power & Light can suck a funky dick!

From: Gonnet, Jonathan [mailto:jgonnet@dallasnews.com]
Sent: Tue 9/7/2010 4:13 PM
To: Customer Service
Subject: Problem

I need the attention of a supervisor. I created an account for electricity and 8 days later, my electricity STILL has not been turned on. This has turned in to a huge ordeal as my pregnant fiancé and infant son are stuck in an hot apartment without electricity!

My payment was received the 1st. It is now the 7th. The earliest I am able to cool my fiancé and son is the 9th, and that’s even at $100 extra!

This is an injustice and is morally wrong. Please rectify this situation immediately and have someone call me.



From: Customer Service [mailto:customerservice@apollopowerlight.com]
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2010 4:24 PM
To: Gonnet, Jonathan
Subject: RE: Problem

Dear Jonathan,

Thank you for your message.

I have sent your message to both our Operations Manager and also the President of our company. We will get your account situation figured out and someone will contact you.

Regards,

Janet
Apollo Power & Light




From: Gonnet, Jonathan [mailto:jgonnet@dallasnews.com]
Sent: Mon 9/13/2010 1:46 PM
To: Customer Service
Subject: RE: Problem
Janet-

I can understand and appreciate that due to the inclimate weather this weekend your company has probably been under more pressure and has been further stretched thin to accommodate and help the clients and accounts in the direst need of your immediate support or face financial or bodily harm. I am not an unreasonable man, I can appreciate that.

The fact remains, though, that it has been over 6 days since your email and I still have not been contacted, as promised, by anyone; you, the President, or otherwise.

Flash floods or not, I was left in the precarious position, with my fiancé and 8 month old son, of having no electricity and air conditioning in our one bedroom apartment in the sweltering days leading up to the relieving deluge.

I need an explanation as to why it takes 8 days to set up electricity. I need an explanation as to why a sales rep would tell me 3-5 days, if that were the normal business cycle and, most importantly, I need an explanation as to why Apollo's employee's were handcuffed to the rigid and unmoving policies, flying in the face of reason, rationality, and the possible harm of an infant.
I want just compensation for inconvenience and costs, whether through service or monies. My family had to relocate to an in-laws house one night and in a motel another. I can provide receipts if need be.

Please allow me an audience with a decision maker, the ear of a C-level executive or a manager that can make this happen.

From: Customer Service [mailto:customerservice@apollopowerlight.com]
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 3:13 PM
To: Gonnet, Jonathan
Subject: RE: Problem

Dear Jonathan Gonnet,

We are sorry to hear you did not receive our two voice mail messages regarding your account, and that you feel your account was not handled properly. After researching all dates and pulling the original 9/1/10 recording, we have found the following:

9/1: 12:13 pm – a call to customer service was received to set up an account again with an agreement to pay via ACE for normal service. During that call, you were asked if you wanted “expedited service for an extra $100,” which you declined. Additionally, the represented stated that it would be 3-5 business days for activation once payment was received.

9/1: 07:04 pm – a payment sent via ACE received.

9/7: call to customer service for verification of start date (09/09/2010).

Because your payment was received after normal business hours, 09/02/2010 is considered the first business day, leaving 09/09/2010 as the 5th business day since 09/06/2010 was Labor Day holiday. However, our records indicate that as a courtesy we cancelled this date and sent a request to move your start date from 09/09/10 to 09/08/2010. We received confirmation from Oncor that your services were activated on this date.

In regard to our customer service representatives and the policy in which they are required to follow, we understand that you feel they are rigid and do not allow the representatives any movement; however, start dates are based on the customer’s decision as to whether normal or expedite service will be satisfactory, and also timelines provided to us by Oncor. In your case, you did select our normal service and you elected not to pay the needed priority fee. At this time, we find we did begin your services as promised to you during your 09/01/2010 call.

Regards,

Janet
Apollo Power & Light


From: Gonnet, Jonathan [mailto:jgonnet@dallasnews.com]
Sent: Mon 9/13/2010 3:37 PM
To: Customer Service
Subject: RE: Problem
Janet-

Payment was made on 9/1. The fact it is considered 9/2 was not messaged. Regardless, if the 3 day, which one were to have a reasonable expectation of it being, were to hold true this wouldn’t have been an issue. There is not way to excuse payment being made on 9/1 and power being turned on 9/9.

While your records indicate that the power was started on 9/8, I am not so sure as I had to make other arrangements after being told by a sales rep it was impossible and the earliest possible, even with a $100 payment, would be 9/9.

Unfortunately, I’m sorry to hear that you don’t recognize Apollo’s responsibility and participation in the severe inconvenience of a family, and most importantly, an infant, and that you are unmoved.

Fortunately, as an informed citizen with a happy talent for composition and vehicles with which to reach an audience with my message, I do have some recourse in that I can make sure future clients of Apollo are aware of how much you care about existing account members (and their families).

Thanks for your time and efforts with this matter

JG



From: Customer Service [mailto:customerservice@apollopowerlight.com]
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 4:20 PM
To: Gonnet, Jonathan
Subject: RE: Problem

Jonathan,

Apollo is a caring company and we all have families like you do. We are sympathetic to your situation. In fact, it was important to all of us to make sure ONCOR got your power on as quickly as possible once we were made aware of your situation. We all checked to make sure your power was on September 8th, and ONCOR confirmed that it was.

Because of the weekend and the holiday (when ONCOR did not work and connect people) the timing of your connection was at the long end of the spectrum. It was still within the parameters that we gave you on the call. Yes, we pulled the recording and listened to the call to make sure you were treated with courtesy and told the correct information.

While I can understand your unhappiness with the timing of your power being turned on, we did everything that we could given the time constraints of the weekend and the Labor Day Holiday. Our Apollo Customer Service Manager, Amanda, tried to reach you by phone and left a voicemail.

As a company, we do care about our customers. We work in conjunction with a long list of pledge agencies throughout Texas who help our customers with their bills if they are having financial difficulties, and we keep people powered up on the promise of pledges from these agencies. We contact our customers three times before a disconnect order is ever sent and we try our best to treat our customers with the same humanity with which we want to be treated.

Jonathan, we appreciate your business and we wish you and your family the best.

Kindest regards,

Janet
Apollo Power & Light






Janet-

On paper Apollo may be the greatest humanitarian company in Texas. You help the less fortunate, you give 3 phone calls before cutting off power (though it would ring the hollow ring of a token if this is done with the same effort that was put forth in getting a hold of me), and you probably do your global due diligence and duty by using Green energy, but the fact remains that when given the opportunity to have a ‘corporate values of compassion or sense of community’ tire meet road, you didn’t even start the engine.

I understand that you feel like you, as a company, are compassionate because there are some corporate policies in place to help the less fortunate. I also understand, and it is readily apparent, that it nothing more than a nicely shaded, highly theorized umbrella with which to shelter yourselves from responsibility.

I am an unsatisfied, unhappy, and unresolved customer and I will have to do what I feel is right and that is to voice my concerns for those who currently are and who are thinking about becoming Apollo clients.

You don’t need to feel obligated to respond, but, again, thank you for your time and your attempts at reconciliation, but we can agree to be in disagreement.

JG