American Home Shield Is GOLD in My Book

American Home Shield Is GOLD in My Book   

The home warranty company, American Home Shield has proven to me beyond any reasonable doubt that they are everything anyone could ever expect to receive from a home warranty company. 

I first met our local Rep, Judee Edgerton (ActiveRain Link) back in 2005 as I was getting started in the local Hemet - San Jacinto Real Estate market.  Judee is just one of those people that you can't help but like.  I had already established a strong relationship with a rep from another company, when I was working 30 miles to the south, in the more lucrative Temecula, CA market.  Yes, my contact did work the Hemet San Jacinto Valley, just as Judee also works the Temecula - Murrieta market area.

Truth is that Temecula - Murrieta is a much larger market, with over 5,000 agents as board members compared to the 300 we have in the Hemet San Jacinto Association of REALTORS® (HSJAOR).  The only real reason I had previously established the relationship I had was because my mega-broker had established it for me.  After I left the mega-broker, I rarely ever heard from the rep that I had given over 20 orders to in my first year in the real estate business.

Judee, on the other hand was everywhere I turned.  Not only is she one of the most active affiliates in the HSJAOR but she is involved in all sorts of community activities.  It is not uncommon to see Judee's smiling face at any event in town - real estate related or not.

You can see, how natural it is for anyone to want to do business with this amazing lady.

AMERICAN HOME SHIELD DELIVERS

I don't have the exact count in front of me, but I can almost guarantee that my team has been responsible for no less than 50 home warranty policies in the last year and a half.  Probably more.

There is always the nagging feeling though, are my clients getting the best policy.  Sure, I love my local rep and she is locally involved in the local community...but what about the company that needs to deliver on the promises that Judee makes?

Occasionally, I'll get an email from American Home Shield; alerting me that one of my prior clients had filed a claim and utilized the Home Warranty policy.  I make a point to call the client - after all, what better excuse is there to call and ask for referrals, then right after something that went wrong ends up going right?

THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING

Not sure how much pudding has to do with this, but my grandmother used to say that all the time, and it just kind of came to me right now as the perfect time to use that and spend a moment reflecting back on the love my grandmother had for me...and I her.

So, in July of this year, I bought a bank owned home.  All in all it was in pretty good condition but it did need a few things to bring it up to my wife's standards.  Fresh paint, new carpets, a gizmo here and a thingy there and on it went.

Most minor deficiencies, I went ahead and repaired on my own, as we transitioned into calling and making the new place home.  However, there were a few minor problems with different aspects of the plumbing.  In addition, the new place has a pool.  I did the acid wash thing, replaced all the filters and other maintenance items that needed to be taken care of and done right.  I actually spent about $1500 getting the swamp cleaned up and working properly.  Money well spent.

However, the heater went out a couple of weeks ago.  At first my regular pool guy checked it out and said that the limited diagnostics available from the ‘idiot lights' on the control panel were not very specific and in could be one of about a dozen things and that he would have to allocated a couple of hours towards diagnoses.  I told him to hold up, that I would get American Home Warranty out to fix the problem - after all, I did pay the extra premium for the pool service, so I might as well start taking advantage of it.

PROBLEMS PROVE HOW GOOD A COMPANY REALLY IS

So, I made the necessary arrangements with American Home Shield to have both a plumber and a pool guy come out and fix what needed fixing.  This was Friday afternoon.

Monday afternoon I received calls from both the plumber and the pool repair guy.  The plumber is a local tradesman - I recognized his truck from around town when he showed up the next day.  The pool guy is another story.

Apparently vendors sign up to service American Home Shield clients based on zip codes that the vendors feel they can provide service to.  Well, this particular vendor is from Palm Desert about 60 miles east of me, located in the Coachella Valley - east of Palm Springs. - on the other side of the mountain (Mt. San Jacinto, CA).  I was told they only service ‘my area' twice a week and that they had already been ‘out here' that day and would not be able to return until Thursday.  I explained that I had commitments Thursday morning and a regular lunch (LeTip) that I attend and could not possibly be back home until 2:00 p.m.  It was agreed, I would be the last call at the end of the day.

Late Wednesday afternoon I received a call telling me that they can't be here for me as they have nothing else going on in the area and they can't send a truck, just for me.  OK, so I got a little hot and tried to have a discussion about being local and biting off more than they could chew.  I brought my own business into the mix and explained that I may be licensed to sell real estate throughout the entire State of California but rarely do I stray from my local market because SERVICE is more important than potential PROFIT by tarnishing my reputation with BAD SERVICE.

In the end, this fabulous vendor told me that he doesn't need my business and that he is not worried about his account with American Home Shield as he has been in business since 1968 and blah, blah blah before he hung up the phone on me.

BLOOD PRESSURE IS CLIMBING

I immediately sat down and sent Judee Edgerton, my American Home Shield rep a very sharp email pointing out how I had been treated by a vendor who is too busy for me.  I came short of threatening (Judee is just too nice to threaten) to move my home warranty to another company if this is the way MY clients are treated when they use HER service.

Needless to say, Judee instantly diffused the entire situation, skillfully getting to the bottom of what happened.  I do believe she spoke with the vendor and got their side of the story as well.

The next day, a new LOCAL pool guy called and came out.  Diagnosed my heater problems, inspected my system and gave me a few really good pointers (being the only guy in California who lived 55 years without ever owning a pool before) on maintaining it and avoiding potentially expensive repairs in the future.  When the new pool guy came out to fix the problem the next day, I was not available to meet him, but we did talk several times on the phone.  He was awesome.  I actually now consider him a new friend and trusted vendor whom I will refer my clients to, who need the services of a pool guy.  I liked this guy so much I invited him to my LeTip lunch meeting next Thursday, which he sys he will attend.  Awesome.

PLUMBER IS COOL, TOO

When the Plumber came out he was wearing clean work clothes.  (No plumbers crack - thank goodness) He was very professional and inspected each item I asked him too.  He figured out what parts he needs for a broken drain, a toilet flange and the spa tub switch, which is cracked.  He even took the time and cleaned out a couple of aerator filters to improve water pressure to my wife's sink (not sure why I didn't think of that? - But that is why we rely on trained professionals).

AMERICAN HOME SHIELD IS MY HOME WARRANTY COMPANY

When the dust settled, I was thanked first for expressing my concerns so that American Home Shield could manage their vendor pool and ensure that only vendors who provide the quality of service expected are allowed to interact with the clients of American Home Shield. .  It turns out that after a week of checking into this particular vendor, American Home Shield terminated their relationship by removing him from their list of approved vendors.  There is justice and I do feel good about American Home Shield interacting with my clients.

I was also thanked for my business - both as an end user and as a REALTOR® that puts my trust into their product   I can tell you, there will never be another Home Warranty Company that I will ever use...ever.

Thank you Judee...