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I own a company which up until recently has been performing service work for American Home Shield as a service vendor for their home warranty customers since January, 2006. By our second year into our contract we were elevated to "preferred" status and was receiving so much business from AHS that we had to purchase another service van and hire another technician.

We were guaranteed under our contract with AHS to receive enough service work per year at the rates we quoted to them in our contract that AHS had been providing almost fifty percent of my company's sales volume. We had a good working relationship with AHS' vendor coordinator and were quite happy doing business with them for the first year or so. They paid promptly and we were ecstatic about the increase business from our relationship with them. Customers were extremely happy with our work and recommended us to their friends and family.

About a third of the way into the third year of our contract (April,2009)AHS replaced our experienced vendor coordinator with a new hire and we were summarily informed by the new coordinator that if we did not lower our rates significantly and that we would be demoted from "preferred" status, so we renegotiated our rates down by 20% in order to satisfy them. We were also told that we were replacing too much equipment rather than repairing it even though the equipment being replaced was obsolete and unserviceable. Six months later our vendor manager left the company and was replaced by another new hire who also came back to us and threatened to do the same thing again!

Again, we complied. By this time the rate cuts had drastically impacted on our cash flow and we were in many instances performing and getting paid for service work for less than it cost us. We are now no longer doing service work for AHS and have laid a man off and making payments on a van that is sitting in the parking lot unused.

AHS *** companies in by promising the moon and the stars if you do work for them. Once you become dependent on that work to keep the lights turned on and office doors open they smack you down. I have learned that most of the other reputable local contractors in my business refuse to do business with AHS.

What AHS expects from their service vendors;

Band aid what ever you were sent to repair the best you can for as cheaply as you can but "just keep it running"

Unlike all other home warranty companies in the business, replacement of obsolete equipment (parts no longer available) counts against the vendor even if AHS purchases the equipment and pays the vendor their "book price" flat-rate for labor.

We can not be the only company that has done work for them that has experienced what I have just described. In my estimation, the constant downward price pressure AHS exerts on its service vendors promotes a climate in which good service providers are forced out of the system in exchange for companies that are willing to do marginal work and/or obtain claim denials for a cut-rate price.

You get what you pay for.

Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Guest

I'm a journalist with a publication called The Capitol Forum--I've been looking into American Home Shield's business practice and I'd be very interested in speaking with any contractors or vendors who've worked with American Home Shield about their experience contracting for the company.

Please give me a call at 202-813-**** or shoot me an e-mail at cwinters@***.com.

Thanks!

Guest

I agree with this company 100%. The rates they pay their contractors hasn't increased since 2006.

They expect every service call to be under $200.00 no matter what. In todays prices most parts cost over $200.00 wholesale not including labor part availability gas vehicle expense. Remember you only get what you pay for. You either have to come up with some reason to void the customers warranty or you will be dropped from the program We had one of their customer tell us when he placed a call for his A/C unit he had two hispanic men come to his house with no uniforms, no ID, a station wagon with no company ID on it 2 hours late for the appointment.

The men then were working on the unit for about 2 1/2 hrs when one of the service men said to the homeowner what do you think is wrong with the A/C . The homeowner then furiously responded how the *** do I know I'm a painter not a technician. Then the men gave the cust a invoice written on a scrap piece of paper and wanted to know if customer was going to write a check that the check be made out to one personally.

If you want a quality home warranty company stay away from this one. They want to collect your monthly payment but they don't want to spend a dime of it on a service complaint.

Guest

We worked with AHS for many years and found that the service they offered to their customers was well below what our company wanted to be associated with. We had to cut off any business relationship with them in fear they would ruin our company name among the private sector.

We were told that customer service wasn't what they were after and that low numbers is all they cared about and when we saw what companies they hired for plumbing we were shocked!

Those companies shouldn't even be able to do business their reviews were so bad. We distanced ourselves and it hurt because like I said we had done business with them for many years but the face of the AHS had changed in a bad way and I am not even sure it is worth it for people to purchase home warrenties because it ends up costing them more to own it then it would for them to repair or replace it.

miami Qya

I have to say they sent a great company when my garage door openers died problems and needed to be replaced. That company, at that time, liked AHS.

HOWEVER, that was it and after that they sent incompetent *** for ever other item that I had a problem with. I could have fixed most of the problems and even told the repair guys what the problem was but if I am paying AHS - they will fix it. There are good and bad every where and the problem is that with what little AHS pays they cant get and keep good quality vendors.

2-10 Home Buyers Warr. while more expensive is well worth it you can see it in the quality.

Guest

I have been doing ahs work for over a year and thay said they had no vendors out here local the vendors thay had were 100 miles away and it would be a week to get them here. all the people that had ahs here were sick of this.

the real astates would sell ahs to a new buyer but would not tell them theres no vendors out here.I do plumbing for all the people in this area and no allmost eveyboby here.ahs come to me and to get me on board at first i said no then went ahead and set it up . a lot of red tape alot of phone time and computor time pre call. you send one hour per call from start to finish .new rep at ahs and my call outs stop coming in she sent me an email and said we need to work on the over all cost and that im to high. well my cost was the same as for none ahs people and that living in a out of the way area and parts are more out here and water heater here are 500.00 plus and ahs would not seed me theres so that was that.

thay wanted me to cut my labor down . its a low rate allready when i got her on the phone she had allready sent me what thay say the normal rate per parts and labor were. what a joke. i would go belly up in a mouth.

she told me that she had a nother plumbing company ready to come here and service there calls if i did not work it out. under her pay scale noboby coming here for that much less travel time. so i told her good luck with the new company im done. iv been called by ahs 2 time in too day wanting me to cover a call out after i was told we have some one else.

i told them get the new guy. thay said there is nobody.

ahs people here were unhappy befour i took over and when a local plumber started ahs here thay were happy and now becauce of ahs do it my way aproach or else there s allready people mad.i did a good job for them helped sell more plans and get renewed plans. my rating for happy ahs people was 100% thay only care about the dollar not the people thay step on the little guy to make more at the top

Guest

WOW...amazing how AHS does the same thing to all their contractors...I also was a preferred vendor with them and due to my cost, i lost 2 accounts and then lost my preferred status and basically get nothing from them now but some emergencys and calls other companies cant figure out...They are not for their customers or for their vendors...

Guest

I had those same issues,,, One day the phone stopped ringing all together and I called and ask what was going on. I was informed that they where in a national contract with A&E {SEARS) to do all their work at a flat rate price and I wasn't even on their list anymore. We barely charged enough to even get by butthe wanted parts and labor{no matter is price} at a flat rate.

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