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View Full Version : Gotta love Customer Service



Glenn Vaughn
08-20-2010, 5:16 PM
I contacted MAytag about levelling our refrigerator (side to side). There response ws simplistic::

"I understand that you are experiencing a concern with the leveling of the refrigerator from side to side.
The leveling legs are located in the front and there is not a side to side option.
If the unit is not leveled based upon the front legs please check the leveling of the floor."

I guess I need to rip the floor up and put in a new one that is more level.

John Coloccia
08-20-2010, 5:58 PM
Your house is built wrong. It's supposed to be level side to side, and all out of whack front to back with respect to the refrigerator cubby.

Mitchell Andrus
08-20-2010, 6:57 PM
.... you could maybe turn the refrigerator?
.

Roger Newby
08-20-2010, 7:17 PM
Hang it on some bungees:rolleyes:

Joe Pelonio
08-20-2010, 8:01 PM
The really sad thing is, if you actually spoke to a human, you'd get the same line. No one really knows anything any more, they just read from a script.
Actually, they enter keywords to a program and read the response.

Matt Meiser
08-20-2010, 8:49 PM
Sounds like a good story for Ask This Old House.

Or maybe Holmes on Homes. He can build you a new kitchen while you cry on camera about how badly you were taken :)

Mike Cruz
08-21-2010, 7:07 AM
You only need to level you fridge if you have a side by side, otherwise if you have an upper/lower unit, you have to level it up and down.

Did that fix the problem? No? Okay, please tell me again what the problem is that you are having with your floor?

Oh, the problem isn't with your floor? Well, sir, I don't see how the walls are affecting your unit, but I suggest you contact the manufacturer of your walls so that they may help you. We cannot be responsible for someone elses mistakes.

What? The problem isn't with your walls? Then it must be your floor, sir. I suggest you contact the manufacuturer of your floor so that they may help you. We cannot be responsible for someone elses mistakes.

Levelers? Yes there are two levelers in the front of the unit. If you adjust them by screwing them in or out, you may raise or lower the front of the unit to get it level. Please adjust those levelers while I wait.

Did that fix the problem? No? Okay, please tell me again what the problem is that you are having with your floor?

Oh, the problem isn't with your floor? Well, sir, I don't see how the walls are affecting your unit, but I suggest....

Bill Leonard
08-21-2010, 8:14 AM
You only need to level you fridge if you have a side by side, otherwise if you have an upper/lower unit, you have to level it up and down.

Did that fix the problem? No? Okay, please tell me again what the problem is that you are having with your floor?

Oh, the problem isn't with your floor? Well, sir, I don't see how the walls are affecting your unit, but I suggest you contact the manufacturer of your walls so that they may help you. We cannot be responsible for someone elses mistakes.

What? The problem isn't with your walls? Then it must be your floor, sir. I suggest you contact the manufacuturer of your floor so that they may help you. We cannot be responsible for someone elses mistakes.

Levelers? Yes there are two levelers in the front of the unit. If you adjust them by screwing them in or out, you may raise or lower the front of the unit to get it level. Please adjust those levelers while I wait.

Did that fix the problem? No? Okay, please tell me again what the problem is that you are having with your floor?

Oh, the problem isn't with your floor? Well, sir, I don't see how the walls are affecting your unit, but I suggest....
And the "person" with whom you're speaking is employed by the outsourced company for customer support who happens to be located in Bangladesh, and the voice has never seen a refrigerator nor understands more than 30% of what you are saying. Furthermore, you only understand 15% of their response.

Stephen Tashiro
08-21-2010, 11:44 AM
An interesting customer service experience is to visit the MySears.com "discussion groups" and look at the threads about customer service. It turns out that people who work in Sears customer service have joined the site, including ( I think) people who work in the overseas customer service call centers. So when a US consumer complains about customer service, the dialog can get very interesting.

Mike Cruz
08-21-2010, 4:08 PM
Oooooooh, they DO NOT want me in there! Sears' CS (or lack thereof) is what swore me off buying ANYTHING from them ever again. I won't even buy their stuff used because I know that if I want parts I have to give them some of my money. Yeah, I know they are now owned by some big box store, but I can still taste the horrible CS experience I had...some 15 years ago.

It was all over a jig saw. It didn't work out of the box. Didn't realize that until 6 years after I got it. Didn't have a use for it until 6 years after I got it as a Christmas present. Took it in. Parts department said $25 for the part plus labor. I spoke with the manager of the store. She held her ground and refused to do anything about it...except to give me 10% off a new one. Sooooo, that is $6.90 off a new jig saw when the last one that I got from them didn't work... Hmmmmm, I just threw it in the trash and bought some other brand. Can you tell I'm still bitter?

David G Baker
08-21-2010, 4:50 PM
I was totally turned off by Sears when their auto repair department got busted in California for bad behavior. It was downright evil the things they were doing to people that took their cars to Sears repair facilities. They got caught and lost the faith of thousands of previous customers that really believed in Sears/Craftsman.
When I deal with phone CS I tell them that I am hearing impaired and need to talk to a person that speaks in a manner that I can understand. I usually get a person in the USA that knows the product and talks so I can understand them.

Mark Maleski
08-22-2010, 9:36 AM
It was all over a jig saw. It didn't work out of the box. Didn't realize that until 6 years after I got it. Didn't have a use for it until 6 years after I got it as a Christmas present. Took it in. Parts department said $25 for the part plus labor. I spoke with the manager of the store. She held her ground and refused to do anything about it...except to give me 10% off a new one. Sooooo, that is $6.90 off a new jig saw when the last one that I got from them didn't work... Hmmmmm, I just threw it in the trash and bought some other brand. Can you tell I'm still bitter?

Not to open a can of worms, but from your tale I don't see why they'd owe you anything in this situation. 6 years is a long time to wait for a warranty claim. I do understand your hesitation to buy from them again based on your experience with the product.

ray hampton
08-22-2010, 10:04 AM
I was totally turned off by Sears when their auto repair department got busted in California for bad behavior. It was downright evil the things they were doing to people that took their cars to Sears repair facilities. They got caught and lost the faith of thousands of previous customers that really believed in Sears/Craftsman.
When I deal with phone CS I tell them that I am hearing impaired and need to talk to a person that speaks in a manner that I can understand. I usually get a person in the USA that knows the product and talks so I can understand them.


do the colleges have a class that teaches the students how to speak up so that the hard of hearing can understand ,,,I want a telephone that can be connect to my computer so I can see the words on my monitor

David G Baker
08-22-2010, 10:50 AM
Ray H,
Can you imagine seeing the text from a CS individual in some foreign country, I doubt that you will be any closer to solving your problem. If you can't understand them when they are speaking, wonder how it will look in text form. Maybe in text form they can copy and paste the answers to your questions.

ray hampton
08-22-2010, 11:26 AM
how can I understand the spoken word when mine ears do not hear that well

Myk Rian
08-22-2010, 12:58 PM
I contacted MAytag about levelling our refrigerator (side to side). There response ws simplistic::

"I understand that you are experiencing a concern with the leveling of the refrigerator from side to side.
The leveling legs are located in the front and there is not a side to side option.
If the unit is not leveled based upon the front legs please check the leveling of the floor."

I guess I need to rip the floor up and put in a new one that is more level.
Do like is done in mobile homes. Screw it to the wall. :D

Mike Cruz
08-22-2010, 1:38 PM
Oh, you're right, it was a long time and they may not have been under any obligation to do anything, but it was the manager's snotty attitude about it that made me realize that I don't want any more of my money going to them. She could have offered to fix it. Given me a break on the repair. Parts free, labor free. SOME sort of honest effort. 10% off a another one was a slap in the face. It probably was going on sale the next week for 15% off...

John Shuk
08-22-2010, 2:30 PM
I too have sworn off of Sears after a crappy lawnmower drove me nuts. I don't mind looking there and may even buy good deals but I mostly spend my money where I'm treated like a customer should be.

Jim Becker
08-22-2010, 5:26 PM
In all seriousness, I had to put shims under one side of our fridge to deal with this due to the slope of the (brick) floor.

Bill Cunningham
08-22-2010, 10:23 PM
One of the members of a club I belong to had his sears snow blower in for repair. A while after he got it back, we had a pretty big snowstorm. He hauled out the blower, and spent 30 minutes trying to get it started. By this time he was pretty angry.. He called what he thought was the local Sears Service center, and let loose on them.. He spent several minutes ranting, raving, and tearing a strip off the guy on the other end, before grabbing his chest, and falling over dead... Sometimes it just doesn't pay to get too angry! Particularly if the guy your berating has no idea of what a snow blower is!

Rich Engelhardt
08-23-2010, 6:04 AM
Ray H,
Can you imagine seeing the text from a CS individual in some foreign country, I doubt that you will be any closer to solving your problem. If you can't understand them when they are speaking, wonder how it will look in text form. Maybe in text form they can copy and paste the answers to your questions.

Actually - a lot of online tech support instant messenger type chats (text-support) - are handled by outsourced (India) labor.

I prefer them over trying to figure out through the accent what they want me do do.

Rick Markham
08-23-2010, 9:21 AM
There's a reason the Maytag repairman is always seen sitting on his fat can in the commercials :D

Matt Logana
08-23-2010, 3:48 PM
I had a problem with Hewlet Packard a while back myself. I was intrested in putting a new graphics card in. I asked them if it would work. When I asked them for the specifics of my computer(airflow, power) they said that the information was proprietary, yet they assured me it would work.

2 weeks later, I bought the parts, and had them installed. $150 later, it was overheating, risking damage to my GPU. I contacted them again, they told me that I was putting too much current through the Motherboard, which could result in fire aswell as telling me that "I was told no such thing" regarding the Airflow and that there was nothing that would be done....

So I reluctantly bought another $300 worth of parts ( Bigger better case, and a new Motherboard that could handle the current.) It is safe to say I was very ticked.

Well.. one email to the Better Buisness Bureau, resulted in me getting a personal email from the Executive Team of CSRs. I informed them of my issue. They requested reciepts of what I had to buy. The next day I was informed I would be getting a full refund for all I had to buy. Including Shipping and handling.

The best part is... the stuff I had bought had Mail in Rebates... so I essencially got free money, because they refunded me the purchase price... not the price after MIRs...

About a week later I got a check for about $300... and it actually cleared...

Dave Lehnert
08-23-2010, 10:49 PM
Customer service sucks
Is that such a surprise?

I have a Sears Hardware store close to home that I prefer to shop. They have some incredible deals on-line. I shop on-line and pick up at the store. They always have it ready to go. I consider the people who work there friends.
I worked in retail for over 20 years. You can help yourself a lot by getting to know the people who work in the store. You often hear " no one asked me if I needed help" but when was the last time you approached a clerk in the store and said "Hi". Or said to the clerk "thanks for having this in stock, your store looks great!" I do all the time. After a very short time they will go out of the way to help you.

Dan Friedrichs
08-23-2010, 11:07 PM
You often hear " no one asked me if I needed help" but when was the last time you approached a clerk in the store and said "Hi". .

The part of the deal where I hand someone my money should obviate my need to do that. I pay for retail service - it should not be an optional, friendly gesture on the employee's part.

Glenn Vaughn
08-23-2010, 11:27 PM
Customer service sucks
Is that such a surprise?

The sad thing is that the answer to this question is "No". While there are many companies that have good or excelent customer service, there are many that have poor or terrible CS (and I include Tech Support in CS). Some of the worst and among the biggest companies (Microsoft, HP etc.).

Microsoft drives me nuts - I have to deal with them daily at work. We are using them for email service for 430,000+ students and encounter some problems because of the volume. We pay for "Premier" support - which is very good support. MS has decided that the support for the emails will be "free" support and the premier support will no longer respond to email issues. This support is poor at best and is out-sourced to the middle east.

I run a weather sttion (http://www.dawiz.net/Weather2/wx.htm) and hate when I have to deal with the customer support for the hardware - the company that sels the equipment is horrible to deal with. My most recent problem was a couple of sensors failing. I ended up purchasing a complete new station to get it worling again. The problem turned out to be failing rechargable batteries in the wireless sending units. They never mentioned that the batteries can fail; when I finally figured it out and asked how to get replacements it took 4 days and an email to the parent company in Hong Kong to get the response "we don't sell the batteries - try Radio Shack". I have made my last purchase from this company.

The good companies are a joy to work with (Some of these I have dealt with are SawStop, Wixey and MLCS and a couple of UPS vendors). Life is too short to have to deal with the bad ones.

Dave Lehnert
08-24-2010, 12:24 AM
The part of the deal where I hand someone my money should obviate my need to do that. I pay for retail service - it should not be an optional, friendly gesture on the employee's part.


I think you missed my point. Walk in a store with a chip on your shoulder and your going to get treated bad. Being polite (That we all should be anyway) will get you out the door faster with what you need. Should we have to do it, No. But it works and it works well.

Ken Fitzgerald
08-24-2010, 1:19 AM
Dan,

Respectfully, I have been in the customer service business for 34 years. There is more than one level of customer service.

I will always guarrantee that my customers at least get what they paid for. If they are jerks, that is all they will get. No special treatment, just exactly what the contract covers.

On the the other hand, those who treat me with a little respect and like an intelligent human being, I have a certain latitude within which I can work and then I can also go to the wall for the right customer.

I can give you names of customers who will tell you I saved them 10s of thousands of dollars in just one instance. I went to the wall for them. It took me over a year and numerous t-cons, but we ended up replacing a 5 year old unit with one of better design and higher specifications, because the guy I was dealing with treated me friendly and respectfully.

On the other hand, the other guy who demanded more, was impatient and arrogant and using the attitude that he deserved more....well he got exactly what the contract stated.......nothing more......nothing less.

You don't last in the high dollar customer service business for 34 years by throwing customers under the bus. But the customer isn't alway right either.

You will get more from most reasonable customer service persons with a little respect and patience than with a chip on your shoulder demanding what you perceive as you just due.

Jerome Stanek
08-24-2010, 6:35 AM
I think one f the best customer service calls was for an LNA for my earth station years ago. It would not work below 28% F and I called they said that they are out of Cal. and only check to see how hot it will work they never checked to see if it would work when frozen. they told me that it doesn't get that cold there so they never bothered. they paid to have it shipped back and sent me out a much better unit.

Darius Ferlas
08-24-2010, 6:54 AM
I hate to be a party pooper but I don't see any issues with the customer service in the OP. The problem is with the product's design. If there is no side to side leveling option then what should have they written?

I've had my share of stupid CS responses but this one has nothing to do with CS.

John Coloccia
08-24-2010, 7:07 AM
My opinion:

At least 1/2 the people that I deal with are jerks and it doesn't matter what side of the counter they're on. I'd like to send these guys back to kindergarten to start over and learn how to behave, and then find their parents and give them a good spanking for raising miscreants. Alas, all I can do is walk out of their store or politely tell them to find someone else because I won't work with them, and then come to SMC and complain about it.

Matt Meiser
08-24-2010, 8:19 AM
I have a Sears Hardware store close to home that I prefer to shop. They have some incredible deals on-line. I shop on-line and pick up at the store. They always have it ready to go. I consider the people who work there friends.

They must have good people working there. The one closest to us (now closed) was HORRIBLE. Never had what I needed, people who worked there didn't have a clue what they were doing, etc. Their prices were higher than the locally owned hardware store a few miles away. Then they added appliances which is the biggest sleezbag department at Sears, charging over MSRP, then putting it on "sale" down to MSRP or slightly above. To do that, they took out 1/2 the hardware.

Stephen Tashiro
08-24-2010, 5:34 PM
On of the consistent themes on the MySears discussion site used to be that a present or former Sears employee would complain about having to ask all customers about applying for credit or meet a quota of getting people to apply for credit. A person siding with management would bring up the "Fair Credit Act" and claim this required that all customers must be asked if they want to apply for a Sears credit card. (The current policy on MySears is to delete all such threads.)

If we follow the theme that a salesman should know the product that is sold, suppose that people who asked you to apply for credit cards actually could explain all the fine print in credit agreements. Then, I think the stores would have something!