Prospect Propane, LLC

I purchased the two one thousand gallon propane tanks as opposed to renting them (the usual procedure) because I didn't want to be locked to a single propane provider. They were obtained from a Big National corporation that out of courtesy I will not name other than to say that if it were located five hundred miles farther north than it would be named 'CanadiGas'. The problems with the Big National began with the delivery of the first tank; while the delivery driver was winching the shiny, new, freshly painted tank from the bed of the truck, he was earnestly bemoaning the fact that he was finding it difficult to find qualified personnel. While this homily was being delivered to myself and the contractor in charge of building our house, this worthy neglected to notice that the tank was caught on a stantion on the truck, and the winch cable was subtending a sharper and sharper angle. Just at the moment when we were about to interrupt the driver's diatribe about incompetence to warn him of the situation, the tank released, swung around in a three-quarters circle, and smashed into the side of his truck with enough force to rock one side of the truck off the ground for a moment. There was silence for a moment, and the driver, surveying his smashed truck and the dented and scraped tank that now was ready for a Scratch and Dent Sale, and bespoke a single word said by many American men in moments of high drama and frustration. For convenience and to avoid vulgarity, let's say it was, and quot;Golly!and quot; Thanks to my contractors who called them in, it wasn't the Big National, but Prospect Propane that installed the tank, quickly and carefully, and also did the initial filling. Then, after a few weeks, it needed to be refilled. I already had reservations about calling Big National, but the very nice lady who had handled the tank sale to me had done the sale with such great skill and thoughtfulness that I promised to get at least one fill of propane from them. This is when I ran into the snarl of Big National's rules, regulations, customs, paperwork, traditions, and other blarney. They wanted a credit check; I refused. they had just trusted me on my say-so alone for five thousand dollars worth of tanks -- I didn't think they needed a credit check for fifteen hundred dollars of propane when I could give them a credit card number. They wanted to know my spouses and my SSN's, birthdates, and other completely irrelevant personal data. You know, the kind of stuff that it seems ALL stores and business want to get from you anymore, and that takes just one bad apple in the organization to steal your identity. They finally agreed to deliver the refill -- this after nine days of telephone calls, refusals to provide information that they clearly had no need for, and watching my propane gauge drop from twenty percent -- when I started to try to get a refill -- to three percent on the day that they finally agreed to deliver. One final wrinkle, though; they insisted that I had to be physically present to accept the first delivery. The local staff couldn't explain why other than the usual, and quot;It's God's will, or Corporate's policyand quot;. So, irritated, I blew off an entire day of work, because they couldn't be more exact than 'sometime today'. After waiting at the barn since 6 A.M., I finally called them about one in the afternoon, and asked for an update. and quot;Oh, they tried to deliverand quot;, said the young lady in the office, and quot;but they couldn't get up your driveway because of the ice and snow.and quot; and quot;Um.....What?and quot;, I was puzzled. and quot;This is a gravel driveway, and perfectly level. How is it he couldn't get up the drive?and quot; Then it hit me. and quot;Did he by chance go to the BILLING address instead of the DELIVERY address? Because THAT driveway is asphalt, and IS steep.and quot; and quot;Let me checkand quot;, she said, and contacted the driver on the radio. and quot;He said he checked twice, and went to the correct address. He's a Regional Manager who is working a truck. Because of the weather conditions we're short of trained personnel, and he knows what he's doing!and quot; I leave it to the reader's imagination of my complete lack of surprise when I arrived home -- to the BILLING address -- after a wasted day at the DELIVERY address, checked my security cameras, and -- amazing! -- there was the highly experienced Regional Manager in a propane delivery truck, in my driveway. I also leave it to the readers' imagination as to what I said about my ruined day. It was something like, and quot;Golly!and quot; Having expended all of the patience I had on Big National, I called Clay at Prospect Propane, and explained the situation. The security cameras at the barn -- the DELIVERY address -- showed the Prospect Propane truck arriving seventeen minutes after my call. And just on my request, without any paperwork (other than a credit card number), or me needing to be there. So, I leave it to your best judgment. Who would you rather have handling your propane services; an indifferent Big National that is almost comically incompetent right up to the Regional Manager level, or a small, local company, run by a couple of guys that are hungry for your business, and willing to work for it? Trust Big National? Golly!

I needed to have propane installed to power my cook-top. As none of the providers on Angie's List were within a reasonable distance I did a search to find Prospect Propane near my home. I called and left a message and Brian, the manager returned my call very quickly. The company was running a special on a 120 gal. tank and I thought that would work nicely for me. He even sent out the installation guy tto recommend the location for placement as my husband needed to run the piping. Later when I called back to arrange for installation I discovered I would not be able to get the 120. Since I had already been quoted at a lower rate, Brian recalculated the price of a twin cylinder to reflect a similar savings. After signing the contract and making a payment, Brian offered to have the cylinders installed yet that afternoon (I was in the office at noon). Brian is eager to please his customers. The office is very small and you may need to leave a message but rest assured, it will be returned quickly.