5 On Your Side: AmeriGas delivery delays have customers cold in their own homes

Customers of AmeriGas reached out to 5 On Your Side about deliveries scheduled, then rescheduled again and again, even as their tanks started running low.

"We’re keeping our house at 60 degrees," said Tony Lymer.

He was trying to conserve what’s left in his propane tank. Propane is his only heat source. It fires his furnace.

Lymer called AmeriGas on Jan. 6 to get a next-day delivery, as he has in the past.

Instead, he was told he’d get gas by Jan. 20.

"The 20th came and went, so we called on the 21st and `Yeah, it’ll be out there today,’ and then the 22nd, and this just went on, and it’s every day," Lymer said of the delays. "I mean, I’m not asking for the world. I just want to get my propane"

Similar complaints are piling up. Customers told 5 On Your Side of long waits and promised deliveries missed.

Pam Lee says she’s been requesting a fill up since Dec. 28. As of this week, she still had no delivery.

Because of state regulations, only the company that owns a propane tank can legally fill it. Customers can’t just call another company.

When 5 On Your Side contacted AmeriGas, spokeswoman Brilynn Johnson apologized for the delays and explained them in a statement.

She says AmeriGas is transforming its business model to rely less on store-centered service. She says that has caused some breakdowns in customer care, exacerbated by the pandemic.

Johnson says to help, AmeriGas more than doubled staff, with some working six days a week, 10 hours a day to catch up.

The day after 5 On Your Side called AmeriGas, Lee got her delivery.

She says the driver "indicated he was from Kentucky and was helping AmeriGas catch up on deliveries."

Also after 5 On Your Side reached out, AmeriGas showed up at Lymer’s house.

The couple got video of the delivery in action, thrilled to no longer worry about keeping warm.

AmeriGas recommends customers check their tanks, and as soon the gauge hits 30%, go ahead and call for a delivery.