Service Woes

Nearly 3 years ago, we bought a washer/dryer set from our local Warehouse Discount Center. They had a sale whereby we got a small Frigidaire front-loading washer plus matching dryer for approximately $900 (after taxes, etc). Best of all, the set was stackable, which would be instrumental in saving us space in our apartment. I had intended to blog about our adventures in customer service, dealing with getting our washer and dryer stacked, but kept forgetting... until a recent Bulletin post (sort of an internal Craigslist at work) from a guy soliciting feedback about washers and dryers.

I had actually printed out a calendar and marked down all our adventures with WDC. I figured, if I had to escalate complaints up to corporate, or if they were going to make me pay for something that wasn't my fault, I would have a written timeline of what exactly transpired and when. So here goes:

The year is 2008. The mood is giddy. After years of community washer/dryer usage and using a red wagon to haul our laundry basket back and forth across the apartment complexes, we were finally going to get our own washer/dryer set to put in our balcony storage.

Sunday, Sep 14: We visited the WDC in Santa Barbara and ordered the set we had seen advertised in the newspaper. Understandably, it would take a couple weeks for the order to arrive.

Friday, Sep 26: Washer and dryer arrived, yay! Workmen installed it, side-by-side. We told them we wanted the washer/dryer stacked. The tech noted that the stacking kit was missing, and instructed me to call WDC and order one (no cost). So I did. But the salesman at WDC insisted that a stacking kit was not necessary. So we had to set up another appointment for the techs to come back and stack it.

Wednesday, Oct 1: The day we scheduled for the stacking. Despite explicit instructions to please call us when they were on their way from Oxnard (as we worked only 2 minutes away from home), nobody called. They didn't even attempt to call us when they arrived. They didn't even leave a note! For all we know, they never showed up, though they claimed to have. So we had to reschedule. Again.

Friday, Oct 3: Second stacking appointment attempt. Tech comes out, takes one look at the washer/dryer and says: "Nope, we need a stacking kit". When I told him that the salesman had insisted we didn't need one, he got a disgusted look on his face, whipped out his cell phone, and called the sales floor directly. He had a brief argument with whomever he reached on the line, and finally got them to agree that a stacking kit was needed and to PLEASE order one! As he explained, salesman don't know how to install washers and dryers, that's the tech's job. I was inclined to believe the tech.

Wednesday, Oct 8: Thinking that by now the stacking kit should have arrived, I place a call to WDC to find out what the status of the order was. They claim they can see the order in the system, but can't pull up the invoice on the computer. WTF? Fine, I'll wait a couple more days.

Friday, Oct 10: I called WDC again, only to be told that the kit should arrive at our apartment in the mail, and that as soon as it does, we should call back to reschedule another service visit. Sigh. This is starting to get old.

By this point, I am scheduled to fly out of the country for the next couple of weeks, so I updated Allan on what was going on, and told him to expect the stacking kit in the mail, and to call to schedule service once it arrived.

Tuesday, Oct 27: I am back in the country and back in town, and what do you know-- nothing in the mail! So I called WDC yet again, only to be told that the salesman was out of the office. They promised he would call back. I didn't hold my breath :-P

Surprise surprise-- no call back.

Friday, Oct 31: Rather than twiddle my thumbs, I called WDC and managed to get a hold of the salesman, who said he would come by on Monday after personally getting the stacking kit himself from another store. Okay! Now we're getting somewhere.

Monday, Nov 3: Monday has come and gone, and no sign of any service techs or salesmen. You aren't surprised, are you? When I called, they claimed to have received a call from a man trying to reschedule the service date. They thought it was my husband. I checked with Allan, but of course, he had done no such thing. Apparently they got our service call mixed up with someone else's, and canceled ours by mistake. Sigh.

Thursday, Nov 5: Placed another call to the same salesman at WDC, who told me that the warehouse guy had been injured, so he couldn't come out today, but promised that he himself would come out, along with a manager, to stack the washer/dryer on Saturday morning.

Saturday, Nov 8: THE WASHER IS FINALLY STACKED!!! HOORAY!!!

It took nearly 2 months from the time we ordered the set to the time it was finally installed and set the way we wanted it to. Throughout all this time, because our washer and dryer were set side-by-side, they took up so much space in our balcony storage room that we had to put all our storage boxes outside on our balcony. Fortunately, our apartment at the time faced a back parking lot, so there wasn't a lot of traffic to get offended at this eyesore. Also fortunately, we're very happy with the appliances themselves. Small but efficient, and perfect for our small family's needs. That and the convenience of not having to haul heavy hampers downstairs and across the street to the community laundry every week, were the only redeeming factors that enabled us to put up with all the bullshit that went back and forth with WDC. I will be hard-pressed to do business with them again in future, and if I do, you can bet I will be taking careful notes on whom I talk to, what they say, and what ends up happening at each turn!

Now that we will soon own our own home and have to fend for ourselves when it comes to repairs around the house, it will be interesting to see what sorts of service we get from the myriad of providers out there!