 
Boshna
Member
Username: Boshna
Post Number: 171
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 2:05 am: |    |
My recently-purchased home had the water service shut off for non-payment. The balance was paid off by the seller at closing.
So, I have gone to the customer service centers twice to have my water turned on and twice have I been promised water and not received it. I tried both the downtown location and the eastside city hall/customer service center.
Any recommendations? I am tired of using my neighbors' bathrooms. |
56packman
Member
Username: 56packman
Post Number: 1239
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 7:27 am: | |
Go see Big Tone--he can get the water turned back on, he's got the tool |
Boshna
Member
Username: Boshna
Post Number: 172
Registered: 01-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 12:20 pm: | |
Who is this Big Tone |
Susanarosa
Member
Username: Susanarosa
Post Number: 1451
Registered: 11-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 12:31 pm: | |
It's a long-running joke.
Honestly, go back to the Water Building and ask to see a supervisor. Explain the situation and pray that someone feels bad for you. |
Jimaz
Member
Username: Jimaz
Post Number: 1936
Registered: 12-2005
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 12:58 pm: | |
Broken_main?
There's a member here named Broken_main that might be able to help if he sees this thread. |
Gannon
Member
Username: Gannon
Post Number: 8988
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, April 19, 2007 - 3:46 pm: | |
Go into the Water Building smelling from not showering for a few days, get the supervisor into close company and force them to realize the severity of the situation.
Ask for a glass of water the moment you walk in the door.
Ask for another after gulping the first one down.
Pant if they won't serve you. |
Broken_main
Member
Username: Broken_main
Post Number: 1213
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2007 - 7:19 pm: | |
Boshna, did you get the help that you needed?
Gannon...I love that response. Might even work. |
Gildas
Member
Username: Gildas
Post Number: 955
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Friday, April 27, 2007 - 9:42 pm: | |
Typical worthless DWSD. "Customer Service" must be that thing that other people (and cities)do.
I have never had a good experience with the DWSD. |
Broken_main
Member
Username: Broken_main
Post Number: 1216
Registered: 06-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, April 29, 2007 - 3:33 am: | |
Gildas, Are there any particular incidents that you would like for me to address to the department. I strongly believe that customer service should always be a high priority.
I am not trying to take up for any of their ineffectiveness but I do know that Customer Service was hit hard when it came to budget cutting.
I sure hope that the service gets better in that area |
Gildas
Member
Username: Gildas
Post Number: 956
Registered: 12-2004
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 12:51 pm: | |
Broken_main,
It really is just the "who gives a shit" mentality that the department has.
I have called on two separate occasions on a Saturday to ask a billing question and after being on hold for over 20 minutes, I was disconnected both times. This is after they initiated Saturday hours.
Another time, I did not receive the bill for my home as well as a rental home that I own, that is a block from my house. I recieved a water shut notice and when I called to explain that I never received a notice for either property, I was told to contact the post office about the error. After I stated that the odds of the post office losing both bills in the same period were slim and that I thought DWSD had made an error and that this was not good customer support, I was told that "if you don't like it perhaps you should move"
As many have done before me and as I suspect I will also do in a year or two. I did send e-mails to "higher up" people in the DWSD but (of course) never heard back.
The .$50 water recovery fee that is now assessed to help pay for water bills is a crime. If you want me to help, ask. Don't make me Opt out as that amounts to a extra fee. Why doesn't DWSD shut peoples water off when they don't pay the bills?
I know that in ALL of my rental properties, I pay the water bill, so I don't need the whining about the poor people and that water is a basic human right, perhaps it is, stick a straw in the Detroit river and drink your fill or catch rain water.
Purified water piped into a house costs money.
Most recently, I had an appointment to have meters changed, I was told to be there between 9:00 and 3:00pm, as is I have nothing more to do with my day except wait for these clowns, then at 3:20 someone shows up, I state that they are late and he shows me a slip stating to be there between 12:00 and 4:00pm.
Now why can't I be told to be there between 12 and 4? That way I could get at least some work done that day?
I could go on, but I am out of time, as I said DWSD is worthless, I can only hope that the suburbs make some headway into running the organization and get some accountability out of them because right now, they are beholded to no-one, and they know it. |
Ravine
Member
Username: Ravine
Post Number: 841
Registered: 01-2006
| | Posted on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 1:20 pm: | |
Broken_main, I apologize for being so opportunistic as to attempt to squeeze information from you in this forum, but do you have an opinion as to the condition of the general WaterWorks (like the pipes leading from houses out to the sewer, etc.) in the Plymouth Road/Greenfield area? (I live in what used to be called "Churchill Park".) My drains run like shit, to put it bluntly, and through the years, any time a plumber has been here to work on something more specific, we have asked about that drain problem, and they usually suppose that the pipes leading away from the house are old and falling apart, and that we will probably need to have extensive/expensive work done. Any comments, sagacious one? |
Drm
Member
Username: Drm
Post Number: 1097
Registered: 10-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 10:24 pm: | |
I've had no problems with DWSD customer service nor with the process of having my meter replaced. It almost seems as though Gildas and I dealt with different organizations. I wonder which of our experiences is more typical. |
Bumble
Member
Username: Bumble
Post Number: 76
Registered: 11-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 10:50 pm: | |
Mine have always been more like Gildas's. |