That's Good Enough

Ever wonder why when you are relying on someone to inform you about a certain action, say directions to a geographic location, it ends up being way harder than it should have?

Because for you, that's good enough.

I hear and read all the time about companies customer service being the linchpin of their business. "We have customer service second to none!" Or, "Customer service, after the sale. 24/7"

They open their mouths and the verbal equivalent of rotting meat just spews from their mouths.

What they, and most others don't realize(or admit) is that customer service BEGINS when something has gone wrong. If someone has the unmitigated gaul to question their lofty claims, they are submitting themselves to tired(and mostly fictional) claims of all the legions of satisfied customers who have nothing but praise and adulation to heap upon anyone who might care to listen.

Case in point: Epoxy coating my garage floor. I wanted to coat my garage floor so that it might be more easily cleaned(If you've ever tried to actually keep bare concrete clean, you know where I'm coming from) and to stop the never ending source of dust that bare concrete is. If you walk on it, it wears. Dust gets tracked into the house. Not to mention that I wanted to use my 500sqft garage for woodworking/finishing. You never appreciate dust until putting a clear finish on something you've put a lot of hours in, and having to contend with dust settling on the finish.

I was in the NAVY for six years, and the NAVY likes to keep the rust off their stuff by applying regular coats of epoxy paint...stinky, a pain and very tough. So I'm familiar with the stuff.

I read countless unhappy posting in the newsgroups about folks using water-based products, which didn't surprise me. So deciding on a true epoxy was easy. That leaves two choices: 100% solids(which are great. No fumes, single coat. 10mil Very expensive), or a lesser, more affordable semi solid(you need two coats. Fumes are brutal. A fraction of the cost).

I decided to go with a company called Durall. I read all of the information on their website. I downloaded the instructions in .pdf format. I read the claims of customer service, and took them at their word. So I called them four times prior to purchasing from them. I spoke to them at length about preparation and application. I bought two kits, which include the epoxy/hardener, acid etcher, soap/degreaser, vinyl chips in the color of my choice, putty for filling two cracks and two paints stir sticks.

I spent 12 hours with a rotary floor scrubber prepping the floor. I purchased a new wet/dry vac so I could get every speck of dust or grit off the floor prior to rolling the epoxy.

I followed the instructions, and laid the first coat down. I then filled the cracks with the supplied putty, and then sanded the cracks to feather them in.

The trouble began on the second coat. You are instructed to mix part a and part b and then wait for 30 mins for the reaction to begin and then paint. I ended up having to wait over an hour and a half before the epoxy was thick enough to cover the putty used to fill dents and cracks. I began rolling the floor. About half way through I noticed that the color wasn't consistent across the floor. I had to finish what I started, so I completed the coat.

The instructions indicate you can walk of the floor in four hours. Half of my floor stayed sticky to the touch for five days. And everywhere there was the slightest use of the crack/pit putty, there were hundreds of terrible fisheyes.

I called and left multiple messages on their 24/7 customer service number over a period of four days. I finally got hold of one fellow, who mumbled about bad batches and how I needed to get another coat down and that would fix it. He told me that they could mix me a batch with some anti-fisheye additive that would fix that for me as well. They had my information, so I waited.

Stupid me.

A week later I spoke to another gentlemen, who I had spoken to at length about how to apply their product. He started telling me things like "We like to stir the epoxy 200 strokes. Then pour it from one container to another several times so it will be properly mixed"

What????

Where was all this advise BEFORE when I was asking you about application?

Ok, so where is the epoxy that was promised to be a week before? You know, the one specially mixed for me?

"We don't do that. You'll just have to buy another kit." I didn't even get a discount on the shipping.

This brings me to the point of this post.

All that time talking to him about the details of applying their product?

It was good enough.

They weren't going to get stuck with a buggered up floor. As long as I bought their stuff, that was good enough.

There was no motivation to provide customer service. As long as they sell their crap...

Well, that's just good enough.