the Cost of Heating Oil Refills

The service provided was a simple refill of heating oil for our outside tank. We had a coupon of $20, so the total would have been $1026. The tank is 250 gallons, which I believe resulted in $3.79 a gallon, and the rest is tax. So $947.50 was for the product, and $78.50 was tax. The service took all of 5 minutes, and required only one person from the vending company. I did not need to interact with the person at all since my phone call to the company to order the service accepted a credit card. I literally placed the $20 coupon in a clear plastic bag and hung it from the line going into the house, and watched the quick service be performed from afar, from the safety of my house if you will. I believe only one person from the vending company was required. He/she -- I didn't even see "who" performed the service per se -- ran a line from their truck, which was parked in the driveway behind my vehicle. The service was really quick, though we wished the pricing was different. On the phone with the customer service person, she offered that diesel from the local gas station could be substituted for the oil they deliver in cases of emergency.

Overall, I would say that we were satisfied with the work. The heat is back, which is always a good thing, and the service was performed on the day and time that was discussed with the customer service person on the phone. The entire process -- from scheduling to delivery -- was as perfect as one could expect, though, again, I wish the price was better. Fortunately the lady I talked with empathized with me, which made the impending pain a little better. Paying over $1000 for heat in one sitting is quite an experience. It has to be the most unresearched $1000 that my house hold has ever spent.

I will add that we selected this particular company over another simply based on price and, primarily, based on my interaction with the person from the company on the other end of the phone. Company B had a pretty big jerk telling me that he wasn't a bookkeeper, which was an out-of-conversation comment to make. Proof positive that customer service, even in terms of basic phone interaction, can go a long way.

We have not rescheduled this service with this company for 3-4 months, though I entirely expect to do this with them again. Well, not unless we can get a few computer servers up and effectively "transfer" to electric power. :)

With any service that you schedule, "trust your gut" regarding whether something will work out or not. In our case, I avoided the company with the customer service representative who seemed unfriendly to me. If we had problems with our delivery, how would I work this out to my satisfaction with him?

Secondly, consider price. Though a whole $20 separated my choices for this service from one another, it still made a difference. Particularly with energy prices, merchants / vending companies should recognize that minor differences in price matters these days -- I, and most other consumers, WILL shop around, mostly out of the macro-level frustration that exists in American society these days.

Thirdly, plan ahead for energy shortage. We should have scheduled this service sooner. Instead, we let our heating oil be consumed, which could have resulted in our pipes needing to be cleaned. And, obviously, we were cold for a few moments!

Finally, gather all requirements from you for the successful performance of this service. It turns out that my coupon would not have been honored if I had not provided it -- despite the fact that the company personally mailed the coupon to our address. I couldn't assume that they "knew" we received and were responding to their coupon.