Sunday, November 4, 2018

The Lowe Down on Buying a Dishwasher


As homeowners, we know that appliances need to be replaced now and then. It is a given! Our dishwasher finally came to the end of its life. So off we go to a large DIY store that carries everything for your home, including a large selection of appliances. 

We had a chance to look around, because there did not seem to be a sales person available. We actually talked with another customer on what he had just purchased and he gave us all of the pluses this particular model had. Apparently, the sales clerk was off checking on something for this customer. I can only assume that they only had one clerk in this department, perhaps due to downsizing? 

Once this young sales associate talked with us, he was very personable, helpful and professional. He did not try to take our choice up to the most expensive model or change our minds. He verified all that we had been told by the customer that he was helping before us. It then took us another thirty minutes to fill out all of the paperwork to purchase our new dishwasher. 

He went to the back of the store only to return to tell us that there were no more in stock at this store. One would be ordered for us to come in from some other store. Once it was delivered, the installer would call us to set up a day and time. Because it was Wednesday morning, it would not be arriving for the installer to call us to set up the installation day until Monday. Exactly how long does it take to pick up a dishwasher at one store and deliver it to another store? I was told they did not work weekends. But still, this was Wednesday morning!

I am not sure that I bought that, but really we had no choice. Monday came and the installer called us. Not with the news that we wanted to hear though. He said that it has always been his practice to open the box before he loads up to deliver to check for any damages and sure 'nuff he found them. He told the store that he refused to take the damaged dishwasher to any customer. The installer apologized to us profusely. 

Next step, order another dishwasher. We were patient until we were told that it would be the next Monday before an installer would call us. We already have waited 6 days, now it will be 13 days since we bought our dishwasher before an installer calls us. The days seemed to pass so slowly. Dishpan hands were starting to set in! There always seemed to be dishes out which is a big pet peeve for both of us.

What I am about to share with you may seem unbelievable, yet I am here to tell you, it is true. What are the chances of the same thing happening all over again. Obviously, someone is very clumsy in loading or unloading dishwashers or else GE does not have sufficient protection around their boxed dishwashers. This was not acceptable. 

In the meantime, we received a call from this company asking us how we were liking our new dishwasher. Really? This poor customer service person could not help by directing us to someone who could. She just said that she was sorry and hung up. That was the last straw.

I looked up the Customer Service number for the BIG problems, and we considered this to be a big problem. We received no help from the store manager. He was to call us back when he returned to the store. NO call. Then when we called the next day he had an employee handle the complaint. We asked for compensation for this big goof-up. It did take some negotiations for two days. We were able to get two hundred dollars refunded. 

No one could tell us when we would have our dishwasher delivered and installed. When the second dishwasher was delivered to the store damaged on October 8th, we tried to get the manager again. It is my belief that this man had no clue how to manage a store this size, nor how to treat his customers. We continually had to deal with one of his poor employees to relay messages.

In total, we waited 23 days from the day we signed on the dotted line to purchase the dishwasher, until it was put in our home in fantastic working order. The installer was a contracted out worker. He could not have been more professional. He cleaned up after himself, made sure it all worked and showed us how to operate some of the newest buttons on dishwashers now-a-days. This model has all the bells and whistles. Oh, and by the way, besides the two hundred dollars refunded, we also were able to get the fee for installation and haul away taken off our bill by the store. 

Some friends told us to go back in the store and demand a total refund and then go to another store to purchase the dishwasher. You know that did cross my mind, however, to start back over from scratch just did not appeal to me anymore than dealing with the pitiful customer service at this store.

The squeaky wheel gets the oil. Eventually!

No comments:

Post a Comment