AQUARION CO

The objective was accomplished but not smoothly. We called last week and set an appointment for Tuesday this week between 12 and 4 P.M. My wife made a special effort to be here in the 12-4 time period. We got a robo call saying we would have to pay a fine if someone showed up and we weren't home. On Tuesday, my wife noticed blue paint in the street when she showed up at noon. I called Aquarion and they said their field tech showed up in the morning but didn't notice that the work order said operate the valve. Nobody knocked on our door or tested anything. We set a new appointment for today, Wednesday in the 1-4 time interval. My wife arranged her schedule to suit. Today at 9:50 a tech showed up, knocked at the door and asked if the water was shut off. I checked and it was. He turned it back on and returned. I checked and the water was back. He left. We were planning on coordinating a plumber's visit with the water company's closing and opening the curb valve but my instinct was that it would be impossible to coordinate and would cost us money for waiting time. We didn't engage the plumber and there was no charge for locating and operating the valve. Aquarion is supposed to fine themselves if they don't show up for an appointment. When I asked customer service about this, they said they only fine themselves -- the customer gets the money -- when they don't show up. This is not the best customer service policy. I suppose if they showed up an dropped off a bottle of water on the porch, you wouldn't qualify for the self-fine. Anyway, I gave them a C because they showed up twice, finally got the job done and didn't charge us. I think we should get half the normal self-fine to calm my wife. Many businesses in this part of CT charge high prices and deliver mediocre results. It ain't the Midwest, Angie. Cleveland does a better job and for less money.