Beyond the Boiling Point

From: AVIDA Ellen
Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 10:47 AM
To: Nicole
Cc: Earl, AVIDA Desiree

Hi Ms. Nicole,

Please be advised that your house and lot unit will be ready for inspection and turnover on the 30th of April.

As part of our turnover requirement on bank financing, the latter should issue your loan release prior to the turnover of your unit.

Kindly advise your bank to proceed with the loan release so we can finalize this week’s turnover.

Thank you and our apologies for all the inconvenience.

Best regards,

Ellen
Customer Care Dept.
Avida Land Corp

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From: Nicole
Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 2:35 PM
To: AVIDA Ellen
Cc: Earl, AVIDA Desiree, Stephen, AVIDA Ferdie, AVIDA Noel

Hi Ellen,

I just talked to the contractor and he advised that the house is still green and he has no instruction about it being painted blue.

Is that house going to fall down the moment we move in? You can't tell me it's a quality checked house since you guys couldn't even follow the color stated on the contract. I really fear for this house since you've now rushed things and even the simplest note could not be followed.

Allow me to quote Noel's email last week:
"I have been monitoring updates given to me by Ellen on a daily basis regarding your account since she is my account manager for Avida..."

We already informed you last Monday that the house is the wrong color. Has Avida done anything to resolve this? No. You are obviously not paying attention - otherwise that house would have never been green to begin with.
"...I am handling your account now personally and make sure things will move as what you have expected."

We expect that by now, the house has painted the correct shade of blue. Green is not, and will never be, blue.

I don't think you have any idea just how ANGRY I am at the moment.

Nicole

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From: Earl
Date: Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 4:01 PM
To: Nicole, AVIDA Ellen
Cc: AVIDA Desiree, Stephen, AVIDA Ferdie, AVIDA Noel

Dear Noel and Ellen,

You tried to call Nicole this afternoon but she cannot talk to you right now. If there is anything that you would like to relay, kindly contact Atty. Stephen. Please DO NOT contact us. All communication must be coursed through him.

Thank you!

Earl

Avida, what were you thinking? You'll turnover a green and haphazardly made house?

You think that at this point, another apology will do? For all the pain, misery and depression we've gone through this past year just waiting for this house, NO.

And again, if you tell me that the house was done with quality work, please save your breath. Everyone I've talked to yesterday have the same reaction - they're all asking if the house will fall apart the minute we move in.

This country is known for the "pweda na" mentality. Basically, it means that if a dress you're sewing is supposed to have two pockets as per the design but you're too lazily OR YOU'RE IN A HURRY, then you'll just make it with one pocket and pass it off as "good enough".

And another thing, the contractor told me yesterday that the quality control people will be checking the house today. How can you schedule the turnover BEFORE knowing if there's anything wrong with the house? Aren't you supposed to get the "all clear" report first before giving the go signal that the house is fit to live in?

Avida, whatever you tell us from this point, we will have trouble believing you. The past few months have proved that you'll say anything to make yourselves look good. EMPTY WORDS. EMPTY PROMISES.

Post Script

You know, most people I know dream of buying a house. The prospect is so exciting and all you can think of is how happy you'll be when you finally have a home to call your own.

One of the reasons we decided on buying from a developer instead of building it on our own was that it would be less stressful. Of course, we were expecting a few bumps along the way, but we never thought it would turn out like this - Uncle Stephen sent the demand letter today.

I just hope that the house itself will not be a reflection of our experience with Avida thus far.

On a lighter note, my Mom commented that if Noel had been monitoring the updates given to him by Ellen on a "daily basis" regarding our account, then why has the house been painted green? That was funny!

The Last Straw!!!

Do you see anything wrong with the first picture?

The house has been painted the WRONG color. As per the contract, it's supposed to be BLUE. It's in Annex C - Avida even typed it in.

Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 1:44 PM

To: "AVIDA Ellen

Cc: Earl, AVIDA Desiree, AVIDA Noel, AVIDA Ferdie, Stephen

Hi Ellen,

I just spoke to the new contractor as the second one has apparently quit. He advised that the house won't be ready by the end of April.

This was also what the previous contractor told me over the phone a few days ago (he was at the house last week).

Also, they have painted the house green. May I please ask why since it's supposed to be BLUE?

Oh, by the way, the new contractor mentioned that the previous contractor didn't do a very good job. For the UTTERLY SLOW pace that it's taking for the house to be built, and he still didn't do a good job - what more for now that they are obviously trying to hurry things up?

I wonder what else is wrong with the house - aside from it being painted green?

Top priority, huh? That's what you also said when you promised the March 31 and April 30 turnover.

So the list is growing - EXTREMELY SLOW construction, shoddy workmanship (according to the person I talked to today) and now the house has been painted green.

Nicole

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From: AVIDA Noel M

Date: Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 02:45 PM

To: Nicole

Cc: AVIDA Ellen

Hi Nicole,

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you for a meeting to discuss and clarify actions being taken to resolve this issue.

Please let us know your convenient time. Thank you.

Kind regards,

NOEL

Customer Care and Product Delivery Department

Avida Land Corporation

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Nicole: You know, if you guys were really making this "top priority" as per the email of Ellen, you would be aware of what's happening with the house and I wouldn't need to send an email regarding our concerns. Fact is, if it were "top priority", there wouldn't be any concerns at all.

Also, we've already met with Avida (ask Tin and Cathy), not that much came out of it. So if you have any clarifications to make, please do so in writing with Earl and Stephen copied in.

We no longer wish to waste our leaves just to meet up with you. By the way, I thought you told Maxi last April 6 during your meeting that you already have a schedule to meet with us? If that were true, then why are you just asking now?

Noel: Your account is in our priority list. I perfectly understand where you are coming from; I am upset that you are experiencing this situation. I would like to let you know that I am here to give solutions to your concern/s. Trust me, I can help you. I wanted to meet you in person to personally explain the reason behind the delay and I would like apologize for this. Moving forward, I am handling your account now personally and make sure things will move as what you have expected. I have mentioned to Maxi that I have also asked Ellen to set a meeting for me to meet you in person.

Nicole: Again, we will not waste our leaves. And for what? Yet another apology? Anything you care to explain can be done in writing.

Also, for something that's top priority, it took you two weeks to set up a meeting? You told Maxi that you already have a schedule to meet with us - that's completely different from "we're going to schedule a meeting".

Why do I have this funny feeling that if I had not sent an email today, we would not have heard from Avida at all?

Noel: I have been monitoring updates given to me by Ellen on a daily basis regarding your account since she is my account manager. I will send a letter to formalize our commitment date for the turn over of your unit. Thank you.

In his email, Noel mentioned that we should "trust" him. Uh, Avida can't be trusted to send us updates, tell the truth or even get the color of the house right...

Now, they want to meet with us to apologize and explain in person? What, take time off from work just to hear how sorry they are? What will that accomplish? Absolutely nothing unless they can magically turn the house over to us by this Saturday.

He can help and now things will move as expected? I don't know, we were expecting the house last year. Can he help with that?

I pointed this out to Ruth before - what if we were paying for the down payment on installment and we were late by six months? Would saying "sorry" over and over again suffice? I don't think so.

We also told Ruth that we were okay with the house being late provided the gift certificates could be extended. Well, not anymore.

Did I mention the house is green?

Re: Post Below

"They even asked me if they can get my name and become one of the official members of the homeowners association."

Uh, what does being on the homeowners association have to do with getting the house finished on time? Does it make the buyer feel better? No, they would rather get the house on schedule than be involved in village politics (which some would consider to be more of a bane rather than a boon).

"I asked them if they read your blog and browsed your painful experience with Avida. They confirmed they read it and can’t believe it happened to one of their customers. I told Ellen that I read her name on the blog and she confirmed that she knew you as well. She told me that they already have a schedule to meet you. Are you aware of this?"

They can't believe it happened to one of their customers? Who are they kidding?!?!? I personally know someone in that same village (they live a few blocks away from our place) whose turnover was delayed by seven (7) months. They complained and Avida ended up offering to pay for their rent until such time they could move into the house.

They have a schedule to meet with us? Uh, the last time we heard from Ellen was when she sent us an email about the new April turnover date (which was almost a month ago)...

"According to them, the delay of your house construction is due to shortage of materials because of some technology patent issues :-) Were you made aware of this?"

If there was a shortage, then why is the other house way ahead in terms of construction - complete with paint and actual windows? And NO, they never mentioned "patent issues". They blamed the contractor but were vague on the details.

"Before we parted, they asked me if they can invite me as one of their speakers for giving them inspiration and motivation."

Again, will inviting buyers to be motivational speakers make everything alright if the house is late? I sincerely doubt it.

Yarns, tall tales, and whoppers. Avida, kindly credit your customers with a little bit more intelligence. Ever heard of a used car salesman? You remind me of that.

In the Same Boat

A few weeks ago, I received an email from someone who just recently purchased a house from Avida. Maxi had been searching online for feedback regarding their customer service and found this blog.

What he read made him and and an officemate (who also purchased a house and lot from the same village) quite worried. Especially since he received a letter from Avida informing him of the on-going construction but he didn't see anything that matched the report when he last visited the site.

Due to their concerns, Avida arranged to meet with them in Greenbelt for lunch.

Can I just make a comment before I continue? We never received a letter from Avida informing us of construction updates. We had to find things out by ourselves through numerous phone calls and getting passed on from one person to another. And for all our issues, they have NEVER offered lunch.

I asked Maxi to send me a recap of their lunch meeting and here's his email in full:

Hi Nicole,

I met Mr. Noel and his staff Ellen at Greenbelt 1 during my lunch break. I was really furious to see them without my Account Manager. Maybe I expected too much - as a business practice the Account Manager should be present on such meeting right?

Anyway, we started with their internal process issues; turtle slow development, account manager issues, broken promises, update issues, no reply on text messages and phone calls. Good thing I didn’t order anything that will accelerate high blood or else I’ll be dead at the restaurant.

My friend also raised his documentation issues. His CTS was missing however he was able to get his DOA. Ellen was also curious on the report and promised that she will investigate on this matter. Another promise :-)

I reported everything to them and kept on reiterating the value of customer experience. I believe something hit them and they appreciated my boldness in saying the truth right on their face. They even asked me if they can get my name and become one of the official members of the homeowners association. I almost laughed and fainted in disbelief! Are they really serious in meeting me?

Anyway, I asked them if they read your blog and browsed your painful experience with Avida. They confirmed they read it and can’t believe it happened to one of their customers. I told Ellen that I read her name on the blog and she confirmed that she knew you as well. She told me that they already have a schedule to meet you. Are you aware of this? Don’t forget to bring your pen, they might ask for your autograph :-)

I escalated so many issues and told them that customers should be treated well, commitments should be delivered, and communication should be open.

I asked them about the mysterious progress of your neighbor and if there were special arrangements for such treatment. To my surprise, there are no special arrangements and it’s their regular routine. According to them, the delay of your house construction is due to shortage of materials because of some technology patent issues :-) Were you made aware of this?

Our conversation lasted for almost 2 hours and they gave assurance that my concerns will be discussed internally, improvement will be made, the account manager who handled me will be dealt with accordingly, delays will not be encountered, they will be transparent by sending regular updates, and the customer care manager will closely monitor the progress of my house and lot. Before we parted, they asked me if they can invite me as one of their speakers for giving them inspiration and motivation. I told them yes, and make sure to reserve the front seat to the account manager who handled me.

After reading this, I was not only laughing so hard but thought it incredible that Avida thinks they can just say anything and people will swallow it hook, line and sinker. Gullible are we? I think not. My full reaction to follow - I'm trying to shorten everything to fit just one page...

Bank Update

All is as it should be. We signed the renewal documents last Wednesday and we are expecting the refund by next week.

The refund amount is miniscule but as I mentioned to Christine, it's the principle that counts.

There's More Happening Next Door

Two weeks after our last visit, there's STILL not much to report:

As opposed to the neighbor's house which already has windows and half the roof:

When Avida told us last September that the latest completion date would be February 2010, I mentioned in this blog that I was betting more on March. Well, we were BOTH wrong.

In their last email, Ellen said that the house will be completed by the end of this month. Well, we know how good Avida is at schedules and promises...