12/19/2008

The Stove Was The Next To Go

In my last appliance update, our refrigerator went on the blink and we had it replaced after a bizarre install. I mentioned that the stove would probably be the next appliance to go on the blink.  Turns out I was right. The stove was the next appliance to die. Using my flawed logic that since Sheely's Appliance and Furniture did a good job with the fridge, they would also do the same with a stove. I was wrong!

The stove had died and would no longer be the hiding place for my wife's birthday and Christmas gifts. Patty always asked me where I hid her presents and I told her in a place she would never think to look. (SMACK! That was Patty giving me a love tap) We went to Sheely's the next day.

We walked straight to the oven section and browsed around a bit. A very pleasant saleswoman asked if we needed any assistance. We answered yes and asked her several questions. Being satisfied with the oven and the price, we bought it and made arrangements for delivery.

Sheely's was on time for the delivery and the set up began all right. The delivery men unhooked the old stove and took it out to the truck and wheeled in the new one. I noticed there was a big scratch and a dent on the top left side of the stove. Since it wouldn't be seen once installed, I let the installation continue after pointing it out.

In a few minutes the stove was in place. The new gas line connected and everything was ready to go. The delivery man told me he was going to run some tests to make sure everything was working properly. He turned on the right side burners and they clicked on and fired up. He then turned on the left side burners on. In a second, the burner blew up sending the top part of the burner into the air. Flames came out that reached the ceiling of my kitchen. The flames almost caught the delivery man on fire.

He quickly turned the burner off. He then said that it was normal for the stove to do that after installation. I asked if perhaps the dent had something to do with it, maybe damaging the burner. Coincidence that the right side worked but the left side blew up where the dent was.

He said no and began packing up getting ready to leave. I stopped him and told him I didn't want the stove. It was clearly defective, and a fire hazard. He said I had to take it up with the sales department. He said they would have a service technician out in a couple of days to adjust the burners.

WTF, its broke and a fire hazard, and they want me to keep it in my kitchen for a few more days, possibly with gas buildup or leaks and wait for a technician to tell me the obvious that it is broken. Perhaps they were going to wait until my kitchen launched into space.

After several minutes of heated exchange, he disconnected the stove and brought my old one back in and reconnected it back up.

I called customer service and told them to shove it up their ass and to cancel my credit card payment. Sheeley's really dropped the ball here. The customer service agent sounded like a mindless automaton repeating her well rehearsed line. "I'm sorry sir that you were not satisfied with your purchase at Sheely's. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

That same day I went to Best Buy. They had the exact same stove and as a bonus, it was $100 less than Sheely's. They even had free delivery and set up. They came out the next day, removed the old one, brought in the new one, set it up, (This one had no scratches or dents) connected the gas line, lined it up, and tested it. All the burners worked perfectly. The delivery men were very friendly, very professional, and installed the stove in no time.

I do not think I will be shopping Sheeley's anytime soon.




LURKING ON THE GRASSY KNOLL

2 comments:

  1. I hate it when customer service reps call us 'Sir' and 'Ma'am'...

    (that's NOT my name!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well ya came out on top then, so it's a happy ending regardless. :)

    Happy New year wherever you may be Pat.

    ReplyDelete

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