Recently I've been astounded at the remarkably bad "customer service" I've received on multiple, high dollar purchases. I just need to get it off my chest a bit, and maybe let others commiserate. I'm not talking about "The box with some $20 item from Amazon was damaged" kind of stuff. There's already a long thread for that. These are expensive purchases.
Example #1
Last spring (March 2021) I had the impulse, for the first and probably only time in my life, to trade in a perfectly good car for a new one. I had a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and while I loved it overall, it was an early model year since a total revision, and it just had stupid little glitches. The 2021 model was the last year of the model and I don't like the completely new 2022 version at all. So I decided to trade it in. Over the last seven years this would be the third new vehicle I'd be purchasing from the local Jeep dealer, so they had a reliable customer.
There was a $2,850 rebate, which with tax savings brings it to an actual savings of almost $3,000. At the time, they also offered interest-free financing. When I was asked if I wanted to take advantage of the interest-free financing, I figured, why not? I took up virtually none of the sleasman's time, and went home with my new GC.
I'm not a fan of shopping. I just want to get the job done and go home. So, the next morning when I looked at it in detail, I realized that the interest-free financing negated the rebate. I called the salesman. He just shrugged me off and said, "Don't worry, the interest-free financing is worth WAY MORE than the rebate." Well, I can do math, I have stellar credit and the interest rate at that time would have been 2%. It was easy for me to calculate that the financing saved me about $750 but added $3,000 to the price of the car. When I called him on that fact, the sleasman did nothing but SCREAM at me over the phone.
I later got to the sales manager, who I knew personally from a previous purchase, who said, "Don't worry, the interest-free financing is worth WAY MORE than the rebate." No joke, verbatim what the sleasman said. Ultimately I accepted that there was no way to fix this, since they had zero interest. Better for my sanity to chalk it up as lessons learned and vow that they had forever lost a loyal customer. They clearly don't give a shit about that.
Example #2
In October of last year, my mother who is 90, went to Lowe's to contract replacing the flooring in their kitchen and dining room. About two months later, the flooring was finally delivered and the independent contractor they hire to install it arrived on a Sunday, unannounced, to install it. He did half, and discovered the other half of the roll of flooring was damaged, and just left it there, rolled up in the middle of the kitchen, and went home. He did not contact Lowe's.
The very, very, VERY, long story short is, nothing else has ever been done. The job is half installed, and I finally dragged the damaged flooring out of the kitchen and into the garage. You can't get in touch with anyone at the installer and Lowe's claims the job has been completed. End of story. It's now been almost ten months, and that's how it remains. Without going into details, there have been dozens of attempts to get it done, but it's like beating your head against a brick wall.
I know what the suggestion is. Dispute the credit card charge. I did that. The problem is, if the product hasn't been returned to the seller, the charge will NOT be reversed. End of story. Of course, there is no way to return the product, because half of it is glued to the floor, there is no place to return it TO, and it is absolutely impossible to get it completed. The flooring is also now discontinued, so there's now way to.
Example #3
Almost two months ago my refrigerator died. It's probably 40 years old, so definitely time for a new one. Bought one. It was delivered. It doesn't work. An authorized tech has been out and diagnosed that the compressor is defective. He ordered a new one. Great. Except the manufacturer (Frigidaire) doesn't actually have any compressors for it. As far as Frigidaire is concerned, that's the end of the story. "Sorry. We'll get back to when (if) we ever have the part." Actually, the exact quote is "We certainly understand your concerns and apologize for any inconvenience. We will follow-up with you as soon as we have an update on the part."
Of course, I already learned from the last example that if I dispute the charge, it'll be declined, since I have no way to return the refrigerator. Plus, as I learned, with major appliances, the seller isn't responsible for service after the sale. The manufacturer is. The warranty even expressly says "Do not contact the seller if there is a problem."
Again, after five weeks of fighting and nearly two months without a refrigerator, I decided my sanity is most important, and purchased a second refrigerator, just so can prepare my own food. It'll be delivered tomorrow. Here's hoping it works.
My parents are in their 90s and I've taken over managing their care and finances. They will be moving into assisted living, which I spent months investigating to make the best choice. I was told a maximum of three months for an opening, and now, three months later, I'm told it could be another three months. "Sorry". After the temptation to do something rash, I realized I had already chosen the best option, and just need to wait rather than make a long-term decision based on short-term circumstances.
Anyway, it simply seems as though the attitude with a lot of businesses is, "We got your money, now shut the hell up and go away."
Opinions?
Example #1
Last spring (March 2021) I had the impulse, for the first and probably only time in my life, to trade in a perfectly good car for a new one. I had a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and while I loved it overall, it was an early model year since a total revision, and it just had stupid little glitches. The 2021 model was the last year of the model and I don't like the completely new 2022 version at all. So I decided to trade it in. Over the last seven years this would be the third new vehicle I'd be purchasing from the local Jeep dealer, so they had a reliable customer.
There was a $2,850 rebate, which with tax savings brings it to an actual savings of almost $3,000. At the time, they also offered interest-free financing. When I was asked if I wanted to take advantage of the interest-free financing, I figured, why not? I took up virtually none of the sleasman's time, and went home with my new GC.
I'm not a fan of shopping. I just want to get the job done and go home. So, the next morning when I looked at it in detail, I realized that the interest-free financing negated the rebate. I called the salesman. He just shrugged me off and said, "Don't worry, the interest-free financing is worth WAY MORE than the rebate." Well, I can do math, I have stellar credit and the interest rate at that time would have been 2%. It was easy for me to calculate that the financing saved me about $750 but added $3,000 to the price of the car. When I called him on that fact, the sleasman did nothing but SCREAM at me over the phone.
I later got to the sales manager, who I knew personally from a previous purchase, who said, "Don't worry, the interest-free financing is worth WAY MORE than the rebate." No joke, verbatim what the sleasman said. Ultimately I accepted that there was no way to fix this, since they had zero interest. Better for my sanity to chalk it up as lessons learned and vow that they had forever lost a loyal customer. They clearly don't give a shit about that.
Example #2
In October of last year, my mother who is 90, went to Lowe's to contract replacing the flooring in their kitchen and dining room. About two months later, the flooring was finally delivered and the independent contractor they hire to install it arrived on a Sunday, unannounced, to install it. He did half, and discovered the other half of the roll of flooring was damaged, and just left it there, rolled up in the middle of the kitchen, and went home. He did not contact Lowe's.
The very, very, VERY, long story short is, nothing else has ever been done. The job is half installed, and I finally dragged the damaged flooring out of the kitchen and into the garage. You can't get in touch with anyone at the installer and Lowe's claims the job has been completed. End of story. It's now been almost ten months, and that's how it remains. Without going into details, there have been dozens of attempts to get it done, but it's like beating your head against a brick wall.
I know what the suggestion is. Dispute the credit card charge. I did that. The problem is, if the product hasn't been returned to the seller, the charge will NOT be reversed. End of story. Of course, there is no way to return the product, because half of it is glued to the floor, there is no place to return it TO, and it is absolutely impossible to get it completed. The flooring is also now discontinued, so there's now way to.
Example #3
Almost two months ago my refrigerator died. It's probably 40 years old, so definitely time for a new one. Bought one. It was delivered. It doesn't work. An authorized tech has been out and diagnosed that the compressor is defective. He ordered a new one. Great. Except the manufacturer (Frigidaire) doesn't actually have any compressors for it. As far as Frigidaire is concerned, that's the end of the story. "Sorry. We'll get back to when (if) we ever have the part." Actually, the exact quote is "We certainly understand your concerns and apologize for any inconvenience. We will follow-up with you as soon as we have an update on the part."
Of course, I already learned from the last example that if I dispute the charge, it'll be declined, since I have no way to return the refrigerator. Plus, as I learned, with major appliances, the seller isn't responsible for service after the sale. The manufacturer is. The warranty even expressly says "Do not contact the seller if there is a problem."
Again, after five weeks of fighting and nearly two months without a refrigerator, I decided my sanity is most important, and purchased a second refrigerator, just so can prepare my own food. It'll be delivered tomorrow. Here's hoping it works.
My parents are in their 90s and I've taken over managing their care and finances. They will be moving into assisted living, which I spent months investigating to make the best choice. I was told a maximum of three months for an opening, and now, three months later, I'm told it could be another three months. "Sorry". After the temptation to do something rash, I realized I had already chosen the best option, and just need to wait rather than make a long-term decision based on short-term circumstances.
Anyway, it simply seems as though the attitude with a lot of businesses is, "We got your money, now shut the hell up and go away."
Opinions?