HOSING AMERICANS – OPEN LETTER TO IRVING OIL

Irving Oil HQ
New Brunswick, Canada

Hi Karen,

I've been keeping running notes of this morning's calamity. I intend to send it to every paper in the state, my twitter tweeps & my 300 + email addresses.

Narrative: I called Irving at 6:50 this morning when I realized we had no oil. It's 6 degrees and snowing, and I was told that we had been scheduled for Sat 1.20 but didn't know why they didn't come. He said that drivers come in at 7 and someone would call me to let me know when the delivery would be here.

No one called so I called at 7:22 talked to Karen who said driver was on his way from Effingham & would be here within the hour. I told her that Eff wasn't that far away. She said he might have other stops. I protested vigorously that this is Irving's fault & we are sitting in a freezing cold house. She didn't know why we didn't get our "automatic" deliv on Sat.

Driver arrived at 8:20 & I asked him what time he starts: "6:00", said he. How many delivs this am, "one, in Ossipee.". Have you been to Effingham? "No".
He then filled the tank but didn't have the right size wrench to start the BRAND NEW Irving funace that we had purchased in the spring of '11. I loaned him a crescent wrench. The nut was on too tight and he had to call for a technician. The driver said he spoke to someone in the office who had talked to me earlier. He left an invoice for nearly $900.

He left at 8:45. The temp is too cold to register on our inside thermostat/thermometer, which mean below 50.

Update: It is now 9:25 I am dressed just as I was to go skiing yesterday in 20 deg weather. My nose is dripping. My wife is supposed to go to a family function today. Looks like no shower for her but probably warm where she is going. No one from Irving has called so we don't dare even go out for breakfast where they would likely have heat. We don't want to miss the tech.

I think: What would I do if I had 3 little kids wanting to know why they are so cold, and, when is the man gonna come to fix it.
Also too, what would I have done if, as happened one year ago, I was just 3 weeks into recovering from open heart surgery.

Dispatcher said that Karen is in New Brunswick Canada and is the weekend service person for this area. But when I called after an hr & 10 minutes I was put through to Lisa in "Eastern Canada". She didn't know who Karen was but said she would "try" to find out where the technician is that is supposed to re-start our furnace. That took 12 minutes of me holding & listening to the same crappy hold-music that Irving had the last time this happened. Lisa just came on to say the tech guy will be here in 5 minutes. Right.

I'm thinking that even though we are on "automatic" delivery, Irving tries to bundle their deliveries so they don't waste fuel driving all over hell and back even though they promised their customers they will not run out of heat. (Damn, my fingers are cold. Back into my parka pockets they go.)

After 20 minutes the Tech guy called from our old address of EIGHT YEARS ago! He said he got instrux from dispatcher in Canada. Wait. They already filled my tank this am. How could they not know where I live? Hosers!

FORTY minutes after they said FIVE, & more than FOUR hours since I woke up, the tech guy comes . Nice local guy I’ve met before. He didn't know why the original driver couldn't have loosened the nut even with a pair of pliers. We now have HEAT!!

This is the 3rd time this has happened with Irving. I encourage everyone reading this to find a local dealer with a local telephone number so if something goes wrong you can deal with a real person. You'll also not be sending your money out of the country.