ComplaintsforSouthland Restaurant Services, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  02/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am writing to file a complaint against Southland Restaurant Equipment. In December 2023, they installed a walking cooler that has malfunctioned since the first week. Despite numerous attempts to repair it, including ordering the wrong part and renting a temporary cooler, the issue remains unresolved. The company is now trying to charge me $3600 for damage that their own technician acknowledged was caused by their previous mistakes. To make matters worse, the temporary cooler they provided led to an employee falling and suffering a fractured hand, which is now resulting in additional medical expenses and lost worktime. I request your assistance in resolving this issue and holding Southland Restaurant Equipment accountable for their poor service, faulty repairs, and the harm caused to my employee.

  Business response

  03/18/2024

  Tijuana Flats requested us, Southland Restaurant Services, to install a customer supplied walk-in cooler. This equipment was not supplied by Southland. The installation was completed in full, and a couple weeks later the customer, *****, contacted us on a Sunday on our emergency line to state that the cooler was not temping. We explained our after-hours service fees and the customer was extremely rude, so we sent our Field Supervisor to Tijuana Flats to inspect. He determined that the expansion valve was faulty, which was part of the equipment supplied by the customer and not **********************. The manufacturer provides warranty on parts only, not labor. We explained to the customer that this expansion valve would have to be ordered through the manufacturer to receive the parts warranty, and that this is not a part we stock. The manufacturer is not open on weekends, so we ordered the expansion valve first thing Monday morning through the manufacturer, who is out of state. We offered the customer a temporary solution of renting a mobile walk-in cooler to store their food until we received the part. We explained to the customer that this is not covered under manufacturer's warranty and that he would be responsible for the charges, which he agreed to. We traveled to ***** (from our office in *****) to pick up the mobile cooler as this was the only place that had one available immediately. We rented the mobile cooler, transported, delivered, and set up. The cooler was secured behind Tijuana Flat's store per customer request. The mobile cooler has a small step down less than one foot. Two days later, we received the warranty part. The manufacturer of the did not ship the part directly to Southland, but to a 3rd party supplier. We were not notified immediately when the part was delivered, but as soon as we received confirmation that the part was ready for us to pick up, we promptly picked up the expansion valve and returned to Tijuana Flats. Upon arrival, the technician discovered that there was additional damage to the unit that was not present on the previous visit. The evaporator coil was damaged and leaking refrigerant. Upon discussing with the customer, it was discovered that the evaporator coil had ice buildup that the customer removed manually, thus damaging the coil. This would not be covered under warranty, however we repaired the coil at no additional expense to the customer, including using our refrigerant and welding supplies that are not covered under the manufacturer's warranty. We also installed the warranty expansion valve, which again the customer agreed to paying for the labor as labor is not covered under warranty. The unit was repaired in full and fully functional with no further issues. The customer then informed us that they had an employee fall off the mobile walk-in cooler and injure themselves. Upon inspection, it was determined that the food being loaded by the customer into the mobile cooler was leaking, which caused the employee to slip. This was caused by customer negligence and ********************** is in no way responsible for this incident involving a rented equipment. We removed and returned the mobile walk-in cooler and sent customer their final bill, which includes the mobile walk-in cooler, labor not covered under warranty, and the after-hours service call, which the customer is refusing to pay despite previously agreeing to it and despite services rendered in full to satisfaction.

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