SUBURBAN PROPANE

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In late November we received a another 'top off' fill of 40 gallons for $245.  The price per gallon was $5.85.  We knew that natural gas prices were going down as supplies in the US were going up; propane is a by-product of refining natural gas.  There are several good websites online that consumers can enter their propane prices per gallon and others, like us, can see the range of prices.  We found out that suppliers that were highly rated by Angies List were selling propane from the $1.90's to $2.50's per gallon.  We couldn't believe that Suburban was gouging us so badly.
Our new supplier is charging $1.96 per gallon, literally one third the cost of Suburban.  And, yes, I called Suburban, told them out of about 30 Oregon customers reports of their propane prices, Suburban, at $5.85 per gallon was the highest price of the 30 data points which represented locations all over the state.  While they apologized, they said there was much they could do; they especially could not come close to our new supplier's price.
We are giving Suburban Propane an overall "F" even though, aside from "Price", we gave them straight "C's".  The reason for the "F"...for a propane distributor, price is the main thing most consumers care about.  When a distributor gouges their customers by a factor of 2 1/2 to 3 times the going rate, as far as we're concerned, an "F" is the only appropriate rating.  Again, there are highly rated distributors on Angies List that are selling propane at prices that are at the low end of the range, between $1.90 and $2.50.

It went OK while we were their customer, though we didn't like the way they changed from mailing us a bill to just leaving it on the front door. My main complaint is that when we discontinued service with them, they said they would be out in a month or two to pick up the propane tank. 3 months passed, I called them again, and they again claimed it would be a month or two. I told them I had already waited that long, and they said they would expedite it. It's now been a year since we discontinued service, and their tank still sits on my property.

It went poorly. They wanted us to sign a long-term contract to provide propane too. We didn't want to, and things got held up leaving us without any heat. Their sales group does not report to the local office. The local repair/installation people had been great, but I'd rather not experience something like this again.

BBQ WENT FINE. LOG INSTALLATION WAS AWFUL. WORKERS HAD TO RETURN MULTIPLE TIMES WHICH CAUSED US TO TAKE WAY TOO MUCH TIME OFF WORK. DIDN'T BRING A LONG ENOUGH LADDER FOR THE CHIMNEY SWEEP, A COUPLE OF TIMES. TRIED TO LEAN A SHORTER LADDER UP AGAINST THE CHIMNEY WHICH I THOUGHT WOULD KNOCK IT OVER WITH THEIR WEIGHT. CRACKED AN EXISTING INSERT, BECAUSE THEY DECIDED TO COME UP THE BOTTOM INSTEAD OF THE KNOCK OUT ON THE SIDE. IT'S A RENTAL HOUSE. THEY DIDN'T TELL US THIS WHEN I WENT OUT THERE WITH THE INSPECTOR. SHE SAID THE UNIT WAS COMPROMISED, AND IT DIDN'T PASS INSPECTION SO THERE WAS ANOTHER WASTED TRIP. THE INSTALLERS ARE SUBURBAN AT HOME. THEY TRY TO PASS THE BLAME ON EACH OTHER. THE SET UP OF THE LOGS IS NOT AS PROFESSIONAL LOOKING AS I EXPECTED. THE RENTAL HOUSE LOGS ARE STILL NOT RIGHT (THEY WHISTLE), BUT DESPITE SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE COMPANY, THEY DO NOT SEEM TOO CONCERNED ABOUT FIXING THEM. I WILL NEVER, EVER USE THEM AGAIN.