Valpak

Have you ever received one of these envelopes in the mail?

It seems like I receive them weekly, or maybe monthly but it seems like they come quite often.

The envelope includes coupons for “deals” on restaurants, carpet cleaning, etc. so I peruse each one to see if I can use one. And I found a great deal! Uh, well, I thought it was a great deal. I had needed to have the carpet cleaned and this coupon stuck out as a fantastic deal. (But, have you heard of the adage “if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t?”

I really only needed to have one room cleaned but since they had such a great deal (2 rooms and a hallway) for $69.95, I decided to go for it.

I called the company and scheduled a morning appointment and was told they would arrive from 9 to noon. Around 11:50 a.m. I received a call from the company letting me know that their truck was in the shop and they hadn’t received it back yet. The gentleman wanted to come later in the afternoon. When I asked “What time?” I was told they couldn’t give me a time. So — I rescheduled another morning appointment. The man was very friendly “anytime you want, ma’am.”

The next appointment date found me waiting until noon again. I called the company and was told someone would get “right back” to me. By 12:30 I had not received a call back. My definition of someone getting “right back” to me was different from theirs, I’m assuming. I called again and this time was told that they were checking and could have someone out within a couple hours.

I explained to the gentleman that this was the second appointment that they had missed and that I couldn’t wait around for them to come in the afternoon. I asked for the appointment to be canceled. It was as if I had said a “bad” word. The man then told me the truck was on the way.

Me: Where is the truck?

Them: On the way.

Me: Yes, I know, but where on the way is it because earlier you told me it would be a couple of hours.

Them: It’s on the way.

Me: Please just cancel the appointment.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Have you ever seen that movie? Same person but he can have different personalities.

“You are being unreasonable.” Uh, what? Yes, that’s what I heard. “You are being unreasonable.” He mentioned something about my being a woman and then hung up.

I stood there with my mouth open not quite knowing how to react.

Then, I did what I should have done in the beginning: I checked online for reviews of the company. The company also operates in Spring Park, MN where the Better Business Bureau has given them an F rating. In addition, a blogger posted that he had had similar experiences with the company not showing up AND their rudeness.

Truth be told, this company was going to “save” me $30. What a waste of two mornings. My time is definitely more valuable than that.

What did I do? I hired the company that came to clean our carpets when we first moved into the house, Daisy Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning. I called, made the appointment, and they were out as promised.

Now that’s a company I can count on!