Let's hear your customer service horror stories

[jack bacon]

i have been in customer service for 40 years as a service rep so I easily recognize poor service when I am out spending my hard earned money. At Target half the time the cashiers offer no greeting or thank you. Yesterday after spending $225 at the Plymouth Lunds grocery store the cashier offered no greeting, no thank you infact may have been a deaf mute as she spoke not even one word and seemed to have an attitude. I have always had good luck at Home Depot, Menards and Lowes.

Here's my horror story of the year. Two months ago we just finished up a $10,000 laundry room remodel with tile floors, semi custom cabinets, granite counter, stainless sink with delta kitchen faucet/sprayer so wash the dogs, under cabinet lights and stacking Whirlool Duet washer & dryer.

Warners Stellian sold and installed the washer and dryer. A couple of weeks ago I noticed brown staining on the bottom of the cabinet wood and it got increasingly worse. I noticed a small amount of water by the right side of the washer and called Warner Stellian for service. The rep came out on Tuesday and since it was a stacked unit he could not move it by himself. This should have been noted on the company records. So, rescheduled for Friday with two service reps. The two of them looked over the washer while we ran a load of clothes and determined that the washer was not leaking even without pulling it out from the wall. They stated it has to be a leaking pipe in the wall.

So, we called our plumber right after they left and he came right out. to inspect the pipes he cut out the back of our new cabinet to access the drywall then cut thru the drywall to access the plumbing and found the pipes were in perfect condition. The plumber then called one of his fellow plumbers who came right out to help move out the stacked unit and found water leaking from the hot water hookup hose AT THE WASHER!! the water had been leaking for a long time since it had rusted away below the hose connection and down the back of the washer. The plumber pulled off the hose and found the washer was improperly installed. Since it was an installation error on the part of Warner Stellian they are contractually obligated for the repair and all the damage. My wife called the Warner Stellian rep who was out earlier and proceeded to argue how that was not possible and we told him to have the manager call us immediately which never happened.

They are on the hook for a couple of new cabinets around $1000 plus carpenter labor , the plumber's bill of $180 for telling us it was a plumbing problem, and a new washer since it is rusted thru the paint $1400 all because of a 5 cent part and an improper installation. The manager better be calling on Monday and setting up an appt. with their insurance company, Warner Stellian and our carpenters to access the total damage.

The best part of customer service company is the follow up call to see if all is well and the customer is happy and had a good experience.

Wish us luck!

Jack

 

[bazzateer]

Good luck.

Loving your brother's work, Footloose, A Few Good Men ........................ sorry

 

[sawbuck]

yup, good luck ...you are not asking for too much.....

 

[mrpizza]

You should be compensated for their f up for sure.

 

[KPSquared]

Good luck. I'll bet you never see a dime. *****, but most companies don't give a ****. They know you won't get a lawyer and you don't know enough people to make a dent in their bottom line.

I have lost faith in the retail industry. For me, cost is the bottom line and I don't count on customer service from anyone.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

You will never hear from them.

It's all about the dollar these days; so what if they have to screw over a few people to do it; just business.

 

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

I feel your pain.

In October 1999, just out of college and married about a year, we moved into our newly-built house. We bought our first refrigerator (since we lived in apartments before), and it had an icemaker in the door. Neither of us growing up had one so it seemed pretty cool to have one. The house was plumbed for it, too, so installation should be easy.

6 days after closing on the house, Best Buy delivered and installed the refrigerator, including connecting the icemaker.

The next morning I went to work but never ventured into the kitchen. Our cats were yowling at me but, they're cats, right? Not long after getting to work, I got a panic call from home that the kitchen was flooded, and it was also soaking into the living room carpet. The cats were upset because their food bowls were in the now-flooded kitchen.

I came home, and figured out what happened. The connection to the ice-maker was cross-threaded and leaking. Easy fix.

My wife called a local company that came by, dried out the flooring (including the carpet), and left giant dehumidifiers running for a while. That company was great.

I went round-and-round with Best Buy with them constantly transferring me to a new department until I said, "The next person that transfers me gets named in the lawsuit". That stopped the phone-transfer game. They came out and determined that it wasn't their fault (?)

My insurance comany looked at it and cut me a check to replace the flooring. They said they'd take it up with Best Buy. I'm guessing they didn't bother. My adjuster did mention that I shouldn't have touched it, because now that I had fixed it, there wasn't any solid evidence of where the problem was. Makes sense, but at the time I wasn't thinking about preserving a chain of evidence.

We never did use that icemaker -- my wife was gunshy at that point. When we replaced that refrigerator in 2009, I did the installation. I figured if I screwed it up, I'd at least take responsibility for it

 

[bad12jr]

These are the reasons I won't let anyone touch anything at my house. If its messed up its my fault. hopefully you get it taken care of.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk 2

 

[chicken89]

i walked into Best Buy once...
enough said

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

I doubt if they are liable for your plumber's wild goose chase. If he had double checked their work and looked at the back of the washing machine he would have saved a bunch of work. They certainly owe you an apology and reimbursement for a service call, but they never agreed to pay for cabinets and drywall repairs, especially since the leak wasn't there. What if the leak was coming from the roof after your plumber tore into the wall? He is still wrong but who is responsible for paying for his mis-diagnosis?

I also don't think they will give you a new washing machine based on a rust stain hidden on the backside. At most they would buff out the stain with a bit of polishing compound.

Sorry about your situation though.

 

[ybnormal70]

What plumber would tear into the walls without even looking at the washer connections???

Kevin

 

[CTyankee]

What plumber would tear into the walls without even looking at the washer connections???

Kevin

A better question would be...Why after rescheduling to have 2 servicemen come out because 1 couldn't/wouldn't move the unit, why DIDN'T the 2 pull it out when they came back?

You should have insisted the machine be inspected thoroughly for leaks before doing anything else...by either the service guys or your plumber. Hopefully you'll be able to get some kind of relief, but I doubt it. Good luck.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

i walked into Best Buy once...
enough said

Best Buy is the showroom floor for Amazon....

BB days are numbered.....

 

[rmc115]

This summer AT&T shredded my Comcast cable doing a upgrade in the easement. My neighbor has at&t fixed next day. I call comcrap and they can't come for 4 days, I say "i can see the ripped out cable in the trench out back" then she says I will need to be there, why do i have to be there? "the problem could be in the house" did you miss the part i can see it shredded? I remind her none of this is my fault and she says " i will make a note on the repair order but it is up to the tech if he does not want to come out w/o you being there". He did come out and I got home before he left. it has to go under my driveway so he says they will come back. guess what i cut with the snowblower a couple weeks ago. Mike

 

[rubberrodder]

Most of my customer service encounters have been positive. My negative ones come from CUSTOMERS themselves. Working in retail auto parts and repair, I have my share of horror stories as you can imagine. Most of them due to not knowing what they are really after or knowing how a car really works. I hear, quite often, " I need that thing under the radiator/dashboard/etc. You know, the one that {rattles, leaks, or ???, pick one} all the time and every body has to replace it. You cant find a good one in a wrecking yard 'cause they all gone. You know what I mean, that thingamajig.

 

[Cobra5150]

Mr. Bacon- One word: Facebook. Don't underestimate the power of social media. True they aren't liable for the plumbers not doing a proper job but do owe you the service call and then some.

 

[cburnscrx]

Best Buy is the showroom floor for Amazon....

BB days are numbered.....

Maybe not...they now price match Amazon. Better than free shipping is picking in up in store when showing them your iPhone.

 

[Iowa Mark]

A couple of years ago I was reroofing our barn. 45 squares of 2x stripping, tin, trim, screws, and various extras bought at our local Menards. At the end I needed two more lengths of trim metal, so I head down to the store to get it. "Sorry, but we will have to special order that since it's late in the season. That will be $62. and change for those two pieces of "J" channel." "WHAT?" "There is a $47.00 boxing charge for your special order, and we will have to wait until there is a large enough order to send it out." "I didn't have a box charge for the first order I got a few months ago!" That's because a lot of the time we combine orders and they come in the same box." "So the first idiot that places an order gets charged the box fee?" "Oh, you get it back when you return the box in good shape, in the form of an in-store credit." "Let me get this straight. For ten dollars worth of something you usually stock, I need to pay you for a box to handle not just my order, but everyone after me. I will have to wait until you determine there is enough to fill that box and when everyone else come to empty that box I will get the opportunity to let you keep my box fee several months from now." "That's about right sir. Would you like to put that on your Menard's card, sir?"

 

[Throbbin Rods]

My customer service horror story is Auto Zone. 4 different occasions I called for parts and was told by the manager (very distinctive voice) that my part was in stock. Each time, when I went to pick it up they either never stock those because no one buys them, or they had a run on them, must have sold 25 of them in the last hour. I am a former professional mechanic and I know what to order so it isn't me. Last episode was a Sunday wheel bearing repair for my buddy. Brought the bearings in on a cold, windy, rainy Sunday and was told that "We must have sold 25-30 of those this morning, we are all out. Never checked. Just looked at the bearings and told her little lie. New MO is that if I need parts on Sunday I go fishing and get the part at Napa or Bond on Monday. No more Auto Drone.

 

[Chukster]

Join "Angie's List" and write up your experience.

And call your local TV station troubleshooter.

 

[Ray916MN]

Good luck.

I live close to you. Unfortunately I think the assumption of western suburb affluence leads to particularly poor customer service in our area.

I caught the Mini dealer selling me unnecessary repairs. They claimed my wife's car needed a repair so I had it done. Found out later that the car was still under warranty. The dealer refused to refund the cost of the repair, stating "Had we known the car was under warranty, we would not have recommended the repair. We are over our warranty quota." Penske owned dealership and the only Mini dealer within hundreds of miles. Caveat Emptor.

 

[RaptorDuner]

Most of my customer service encounters have been positive. My negative ones come from CUSTOMERS themselves. Working in retail auto parts and repair, I have my share of horror stories as you can imagine. Most of them due to not knowing what they are really after or knowing how a car really works. I hear, quite often, " I need that thing under the radiator/dashboard/etc. You know, the one that {rattles, leaks, or ???, pick one} all the time and every body has to replace it. You cant find a good one in a wrecking yard 'cause they all gone. You know what I mean, that thingamajig.

A friend of mine in high school worked at a Napa and he just loved the customers that came in said something like, "I need that little black thing behind the little metal part by that other thingamajig". Oh yeah, I'll look that up under doodads.

 

[jack bacon]

FYI, the Warner Stellian reps are the buffoons. It was my plumber who found the problem that Warner never bothered to troublshoot properly. If you have a leak, you inspect where water enters the device and everywhere it might exit incorrectly. Warner told us to call a plumber so they are on the hook for incorrectly diagnosing the problem $$$

Jack

 

[Zeke]

You need to document what you've told us and add the dates and times of each call and visit. Then write a letter of demand for whatever you feel is due. Give them 30 days to completely fulfill your demands and if not satisfied file a claim in SCC. With complete documentation you should receive your court award in a few days.

That is unless the company capitulates when they are served. BTW, the company may have used sub contractors for the delivery and install. Name them in the suit as well if you are allowed to sue multiple entities in one case. Otherwise just present all your paperwork in duplicate to the court bailiff organized chronologically. Since most come to court with less than a case, you will prevail.

Be sure to add in examination for mold inspection and remediation. Things like this will set you apart from some rent dispute over a deposit. When your seller sees this preparation I think they will sign your check with pure gold ink.

 

[Twiggss]

So what does this have to do with garages?

 

[Zeke]

So what does this have to do with garages?

What does your post on the 27th about rifles and news reporters have to do with garages?

 

[richla]

Earlier this year, I was shopping for a lawn tractor and went to one of the large box stores. They had the green ones for a nice price.
Right down the street is a dealer for the green ones and I thought "I'd rather buy direct, this thing will need service some day"
I called the dealer, spoke to the manager, wanted to know if he could throw in the small cart the box store was tossing in?
Not only could he not, he was so rude about it, I drove there at lunch thinking "that didn't go well" and he was pretty much just as rude in person, complaining about his lack of margin, etc.
I bought a new tractor: It's ORANGE.

 

[ybnormal70]

FYI, the Warner Stellian reps are the buffoons. It was my plumber who found the problem that Warner never bothered to troublshoot properly. If you have a leak, you inspect where water enters the device and everywhere it might exit incorrectly. Warner told us to call a plumber so they are on the hook for incorrectly diagnosing the problem $$$

Jack

Sorry but it sounds to me like the plumber or whoever instructed the plumber is at fault for the plumber mistakes. I mean, you have a washer installed and soon after find a leak. You even said that the other guys never pulled it out to check the hoses. Would you tell the plumbers that? Or wouldn't you pull it out to check or something? Just because they said you need to call a plumber wouldn't make them responsible for an incompetent plumber mistake. Isn't this where the old KISS "Keep It Simple Stupid" would come into play? Always assume the guy before you didn't do his job and check it first. Especially when ripping holes in new cabinets and walls.

Did they install new hoses to the washer? Were these your old hoses? If so, that washer might have been installed that way previously and just tight enough to not leak. Who knows....

Kevin

 

[Scott H in Wheaton]

The manager better be calling on Monday and setting up an appt. with their insurance company, Warner Stellian and our carpenters to access (assess) the total damage.

So its monday, did they call?

 

[ShaneMSnyder]

Worst customer service experience I've had was trying to set up my internet to my existing cable account. They dude kept saying, "sir, that's not how you spell your last name."