Washed up

Happy Monday, friends!  Is it cold where you are? It is here in Lexington, at least for now.  We had approximately 10 inches of snow last Thursday, all melted before it warmed up with rain overnight Saturday night.  But you don't come here for a weather report!

I have a rather interesting tale of corporate paralysis to share.  Not gonna name names, but this will astound you for a variety of reasons.

I believe I mentioned here that last May, we were compelled to buy a new washing machine.  The former one, purchased seven years earlier, was going to need a control board, which would have been expensive enough, but the technician advised that this particular part was unavailable at the time.  Planned obsolescence, it seems, so off we went to our preferred electronics and appliance seller to explore a replacement.  Compounding our issues was my wife's apprehension about being without a washer when our daughter and her family were on the verge of their first visit in two years.

We found one we liked, a different brand but one with which we've had a good record of success, and fortunately the item was available to be delivered just a few hours before our family members were due to arrive.  The washer was delivered and installed and all was well.

Until sometime in September, when this relatively new washer began making knocking and grinding sounds. The spin cycle was downright painful to hear, but the thing was technically still working.  So I began the process of working with the manufacturer for warranty service, no small feat in this day and age.

After several unsatisfactory online chat sessions, I called and spoke with someone who a) was offshore and there was a distinct language barrier and b) who was working from a script without deviation.  The bottom line was that she kept telling me that I should try this and that and more or less implied that neither my wife nor I knew how to properly operate the washer.  I finally made her understand that we are mature adults and have been using laundry equipment for a long time, including this particular item.  I further impressed upon her that I would be glad to demonstrate the sound it was making and she finally relented, offered to schedule a service call by their factory technician and we would go from there.

What I found interesting about this fellow is that he lives near our home, worked for several years for a competing brand (he says they're all very much alike, which I suppose isn't a real surprise).  He did some sort of repair that did not require replacing parts and suggested we use the washer to see how it would respond, and gave me his cell number so that I could communicate directly with him.

Well, that didn't fix the issue, and I sent him a video so that he could have an idea of how the machine was behaving, said he would put in a ticket and order some parts that would be shipped directly to us.  Tried that approach and no joy there, either, so we scheduled another service call with him to put in a clutch.  He was unable to remove the old one due to rust building up on the parts affected.  He made a call and said that his supervisor recommended that they declare the unit unrepairable and request replacement.

The way he explained this process was that we would receive a check and be able to buy a replacement, applying this check to whatever we chose.  That sounded pretty good.  We went back to our appliance seller and they explained that this wasn't how it worked, that a return authorization would be issued from manufacturer to retailer and that it would all be done with no money changing hands.  Fine.

We waited over a month to receive word that the return authorization had been approved and another couple of weeks to actually get the go ahead.  That finally occurred just after Thanksgiving, and we went to set up the return and delivery of a replacement and were told that the replacement machine would be available no earlier than January 4, 2022.

So we clanked along until then, received notification of the delivery window.  I was here to receive the delivery and such.  Two guys in an Enterprise rental truck showed up, immediately claimed they could not install the new washer due to what they termed "significant" corrosion on our shut off valves.  They called their supervisor and were prepared to get back into their rented truck and return to Cleveland with our new washer!  I finally said that I would handle disconnecting the old washer and connecting the new one and they were agreeable to that.  So that's what we did.  The old one was taken away, they came to the door with the new one and asked where I wanted it, put it down and left.  Nothing to sign, no assurance of who to call in case of problems, anything.

Needless to say, I was stunned but eventually connected our water lines correctly and the new washer is functioning as desired.  And I suppose the need to use a third party for this pickup-and-delivery process was necessitated by the current labor shortage.  But wow, are they scraping the bottom of the barrel in finding these people!  At least they got the new machine through the door without damaging it!

We'll continue to deal with this retailer, as this was pretty well beyond their control, and I'm sure the fine print somewhere says that they may use a contractor for this process.  

All's well that ends well, and our frustrations are finally washing away...