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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
04/24/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
On 4/1/24 i called Gorman Clocks asking if they could service my grandfather clock, i explained in detail what was wrong, they said it would be about $275-$325 to repair, on 4/11 they went to the house, said it was about $1800 and would take over a year to fix, I refused the service as i thought it not practical at this time, but Gorman Clocks took the mechanics out and with them, only to return on 4/24 to return it and then charged us $150, which was never disclosed to us as a fee. I would never have consented to this fee as I could just bring the clock myself. It seemed a little fishy that they would commandeer the clock mechanics to force $150 out of us and claim they told us this up front. I know for a fact i would have declined, $150 for a car ride is ridiculous.
Business response
05/26/2024
******* Gorman-Gorman Clocks
On April 1st, we received a call from ************** regarding his grandfather clock. He mentioned that he wanted to get it fixed and did I have an idea what it would cost. I gave him a best and worst case scenario. If the clock could be serviced on site, the cost would be $325, if the movement was worn out, it would have to come back to the shop. I also mentioned, as I have for the 42 years that we have repaired clocks, that we had a minimum charge of $150 which covered our time should he choose to not have anything done.
we arrived at his home and were met by ***************. We removed the movement to inspect it and found that the movement was in fact worn which we explained to *************** and explained the reason that the clock would not run. At that point we gave 2 options. First we could rebuild the clock for $1200-$1300 and due to our backlog of work, the turnaround time would be about 18 months. The second option was to replace the movement with a new one at a cost of $875 with a turnaround time of 2 weeks. *************** called her husband at work to explain the options and was told that he had another call and hung up. . It was after the phone call that *************** told us that she was going to have it done for her husband for Fathers Day and that she would pay for it with her own money.
We took the movement, dial and pendulum back to our shop. We ordered a new movement, at our expense, that was due to arrive in 2 days. That same day I checked our phone messages and noted a call from ***************. I called but got no answer. The following day I called again at which point *************** stated that her husband decided that he wanted to keep the original movement and would have work done at a later date. We made arrangements to return the clock movement. We arrived and reinstalled the clock back to its original condition. We advised *************** that a housecall fee of $150 was due, which she paid. I might mention at this time that while re-installing the clock movement , *************** mentioned that her husband yelled at her, in front of company for allowing us to take the clock for repair.
We left the home and stopped for a water at a nearby store. When I got back in the car I noticed that I had a missed call. Listening to the message I noted the it was **************. He was quite aggressive in his conversation and accused us of taking advantage of the fact that he wasnt home and shaking down his wife. I mentioned that due to the fact that he was at work at the time of our initial conversation, perhaps he didnt hear the minimum charge portion and that I took offense to his accusations.
Upon returning to the shop, I sent ************** a photo of the housecall slip, which his wife was left a copy of. **************** complaint is unfounded in our opinion. Every service business that I am aware of have minimum house call fees. ************** feels that we should drive ***** miles for free.
******* Gorman
Gorman Clocks
************
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