This is the second year I'm under contract with Westmore for auto-delivery of heating oil. I left…read moremy prior provider, Robison, because Westmore's rates were much more competitive.
My review is based on the fact that I am set up for auto delivery with Westmore, and recently, they failed to auto deliver heating oil in time. My thermostat the last cycle was set no differently than usual. While the temperatures some days last month were extremely cold, Westmore should take that into account when determining when customers' tanks need re-filling. Most importantly, in the four years I was under contract with Robison for automatic delivery, they never missed a delivery. To Westmore's credit, once I notified a customer service agent that I was without heat, a technician came two hours later and provided me with 15 gallons of heating oil - enough to get me through until a truck came to fill the tanks the next day. But it wasn't that simple. Because Westmore allowed the tanks to run dry, the technician had to bleed the boiler before it could start up again. All of this occurred at 8:30 pm, I had to let the technician in to service the boiler, show him where the tanks were, etc.
Was it the biggest ordeal ever? Obviously, not. But it was still an ordeal, an inconvenience and frustrating given how easily avoidable the situation should have been. When I'm under contract, for which I am paying fees for automatic delivery in the first place, it should never happen at all.
Perhaps instead of using an algorithm for calculating heat usage, which obviously was not accurate, they should utilize a Wifi-equipped tank monitor, as Robison would, so that they can be certain when customers' tanks, such as my own, need to be refilled.
I called the next day (prompted, in part, by the fact that I received an invoice for the 15 gallons of heating oil that they provided at 8:30 pm, which just seemed to be in bad taste given what had occurred), and I was informed that they have adjusted the algorithm they use to estimate my usage of heating oil. I appreciate the attention they gave, but it's disappointing it happened at all (again, I never had this experience in four years previously with Robison). I am hopeful that this is a one-off incident.
