Sunday, May 02, 2010
Deep breaths... deep breaths...
Here's my tale: September 2003 I purchased a Kenmore front-loading washer. I live alone and since that time (it is now April 2010 -- 6.5 years later) I have worked out of town on two large projects for a total of 1.5 years. So essentially the machine is only five years old.
In December I was home doing a load and the machine was making incredibly loud noises during the spin cycle. I made a repair appointment (after agreeing to the $320 'Service Smart Protection Agreement).
The repairman said the bearing and basket or something needed to be replaced. Total cost is an additional $180 I think and he said I would have the option of getting a $500 credit towards a new machine or having this one fixed.
A few days later I go back out of town for the job (and I told Sears and the repairman that this would have to be on hold until March when I was originally scheduled to be back). I had no reason to decide in December about repair vs. new machine.
I arrived back in Los Angeles four months later when the job finally ended and my first call was to Sears. I told them I had decided to take the credit toward a new machine.
I call the 800 number (India?) and tell them what I'd like and they say the replacement machine is not an option with my agreement. I have to get pissy, then get to speak with a supervisor, who looks at the notes from the technician in December and he says okay you're right.
So he has Sears call me to schedule and appointment --- presumably now I need another diagnostic appointment because it has been more than three months since the first appointment.
Okay… how about Saturday between 10:00-2:00. Great.
11:00 Saturday I get a call from Sears, the guy is running late but he’ll call you. Okay… noon… one… no call… two o’clock I call Sears. Where the heck is he? ‘He’s running behind. He’ll be there by 3:00.’
I call again at 4:00 and am told he’ll be here at 5:00. I am only still home and sort of patient 4:00 and 5:45 because that’s when the DirecTV guy was here, as scheduled(!) to do his thing. (So far I love them!)
At 5:50 I call the 800 number yet again and they tell me he’s ten minutes away. Five minutes later the guy calls me and asks ‘what’s the problem with the machine?’ Are you kidding me? I start to tell him about the spin cycle and give him the re-cap about the warranty option and my understanding is just that I needed a more current diagnosis. He says, ‘the Service Agreement office is closed on Saturdays so even if I came out now I couldn’t phone in the diagnosis.’
Are you shitting me??? Why the eff did the so-called ‘supervisor’ the other day let me make an appointment on Saturday? And how the frig does anyone coordinate a service agreement repair if they work Monday through Friday?
By the way, the guy was about twenty minutes away.
The saga continues…
Labels: hate Sears washing machine
