Hi!
So much for rejuvenating... Just to catch you up: Audra graduated from college, house is on the market, worked the whole holiday weekend short staffed... if it weren't for my amazing kids, I would surely have gone off the deep end!
But I digress...
A few days before Audra's graduation, my exactly two-year-old washer suddenly stopped running. It "wanted" to run, but it couldn't fill. After all the usual attempts, the unplugging and plugging back in, trying different cycles, dragging it out of it's closet and cleaning out hoses, filters, etc., I gave in and called a repairman, kinda thinking it was the pump.
Since I was mostly on a 10-7 p.m. work schedule, I had to wait several days to get someone out. I washed 3 loads (not drying) at a local laundromat and it cost $12.00! How can anyone afford not to own a washer and dryer??? But the laundry was piling up and I had no choice.
So, the repairman comes ($65 service call), makes some comments about how this model is a piece of "work" (list price was $999!) and runs diagnostics. Turns out it is the mother board, the worst case scenario in my book. (The direct drive motor and wash basket have a 10 year warranty, but nobody warrants their mother board more than a year.) To replace it is $279, plus another $65 trip to install it. I have no idea why it broke because it worked just a few minutes before and there weren't any power outages or anything.
Lest we forget, I have sold un-tolled thousands/hundreds of thousands of dollars of WP-owned product thinking it's reasonably reliable in a market where really all makes/models have problems of some sort. And maybe they still are, but I am not a happy camper!
I call WP's Customer's Care Line ( I called it the Customer "Scare" Line now...) and politely let them know the situation. I didn't get the extended warranty because I figured a washer that nice would last and though I got a good deal, it was still a stretch for me to buy. There is no way a mother board should go out this soon. Now anytime I buy something involving water and electric I am getting one.
Anyway, they told me to call the store complaint line and go through those channels. Well, I would never do that because that gets the store dinged for a complaint that they had no part in causing. We don't make products, we only sell them. I explained that the very least they could do was send me the part and was basically told "sorry for your luck."
Anyone that knows me knows that I would be cringing at this point, but I was still polite. I explained that I am disappointed in their service and now I don't feel particularly comfortable selling their products if they don't back them any better than this. The guy said "OK, Let me see what I can do" and took all of the washer's info, serial number (he said so he could register it--my Aunt Fannie!) yada yada, then my contact info. He of course led me to believe he was trying to help, but...
Then he proceeds to tell me that they don't appreciate being threatened? Which I didn't technically do and that I wasn't getting the part and they were going to "escalate" the situation, whatever that means. I was upset (exactly what WP intended), but my managers just brushed it off and said there isn't anything WPcan do to me or the store and to forget it. Of course, that's true, but I don't have to promote their stuff and I don't. I especially didn't appreciate their trickery. If someone asks for these products, then I sell them. If they want opinions, without saying anything derogatory, I show them other brands. They shot themselves in the foot!
I temporarily felt like Queen of the World, but am still annoyed about the situation. I will never take for granted the sound of a working washer....
Hope you all are enjoying your summer!
Gale
So much for rejuvenating... Just to catch you up: Audra graduated from college, house is on the market, worked the whole holiday weekend short staffed... if it weren't for my amazing kids, I would surely have gone off the deep end!
But I digress...
A few days before Audra's graduation, my exactly two-year-old washer suddenly stopped running. It "wanted" to run, but it couldn't fill. After all the usual attempts, the unplugging and plugging back in, trying different cycles, dragging it out of it's closet and cleaning out hoses, filters, etc., I gave in and called a repairman, kinda thinking it was the pump.
Since I was mostly on a 10-7 p.m. work schedule, I had to wait several days to get someone out. I washed 3 loads (not drying) at a local laundromat and it cost $12.00! How can anyone afford not to own a washer and dryer??? But the laundry was piling up and I had no choice.
So, the repairman comes ($65 service call), makes some comments about how this model is a piece of "work" (list price was $999!) and runs diagnostics. Turns out it is the mother board, the worst case scenario in my book. (The direct drive motor and wash basket have a 10 year warranty, but nobody warrants their mother board more than a year.) To replace it is $279, plus another $65 trip to install it. I have no idea why it broke because it worked just a few minutes before and there weren't any power outages or anything.
Lest we forget, I have sold un-tolled thousands/hundreds of thousands of dollars of WP-owned product thinking it's reasonably reliable in a market where really all makes/models have problems of some sort. And maybe they still are, but I am not a happy camper!
I call WP's Customer's Care Line ( I called it the Customer "Scare" Line now...) and politely let them know the situation. I didn't get the extended warranty because I figured a washer that nice would last and though I got a good deal, it was still a stretch for me to buy. There is no way a mother board should go out this soon. Now anytime I buy something involving water and electric I am getting one.
Anyway, they told me to call the store complaint line and go through those channels. Well, I would never do that because that gets the store dinged for a complaint that they had no part in causing. We don't make products, we only sell them. I explained that the very least they could do was send me the part and was basically told "sorry for your luck."
Anyone that knows me knows that I would be cringing at this point, but I was still polite. I explained that I am disappointed in their service and now I don't feel particularly comfortable selling their products if they don't back them any better than this. The guy said "OK, Let me see what I can do" and took all of the washer's info, serial number (he said so he could register it--my Aunt Fannie!) yada yada, then my contact info. He of course led me to believe he was trying to help, but...
Then he proceeds to tell me that they don't appreciate being threatened? Which I didn't technically do and that I wasn't getting the part and they were going to "escalate" the situation, whatever that means. I was upset (exactly what WP intended), but my managers just brushed it off and said there isn't anything WPcan do to me or the store and to forget it. Of course, that's true, but I don't have to promote their stuff and I don't. I especially didn't appreciate their trickery. If someone asks for these products, then I sell them. If they want opinions, without saying anything derogatory, I show them other brands. They shot themselves in the foot!
So, I ordered the part and eventually it arrives. I decided for fun to Google "how to replace a mother board" and it looked pretty straightforward. So, completely out of my comfort zone, (and realizing I should've taken a photo of the wiring first LOL!) I replaced that sucker in maybe 20 minutes and IT WORKED!
I temporarily felt like Queen of the World, but am still annoyed about the situation. I will never take for granted the sound of a working washer....
Hope you all are enjoying your summer!
Gale
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