ComplaintsforHome Appliance Store

• Initial Complaint

  12/02/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was given a $200-$250 quote for a freezer repair and a “less than $100” quote for a dryer. Total quote of $300-$350 for both. The total cost for the freezer and dryer repairs were $588. When I brought it up to the company they realized their mistake and took full blame for the miscommunication. I was offered a $75 refund by ** the owner. Until they realized that they did not make any profit from the freezer repair. Once they realized they were upside down on this job, the narrative completely changed. I was offered a $10 refund, talked down to, basically called a liar, given the run around, and told how “blessed” I was by all the discounts I had already received (which no one told me about). They misdiagnosed the freezer and ordered the wrong part then had to get the correct more expensive part. The accountant ****** said they didn’t even charge me for the shipping and restocking fee, like I should be thankful they didn’t pass that onto me, another one of their mistakes. ****** told me time and time again how they want to give me money back - being the $10 they would have to cut from the techs labor. That was just for the freezer. The dryer invoice has $139.98 worth of parts alone billed out. Parts alone is way over the “less than $100” quote they gave me. The next day I received an envelope in the mail with a check for $25 and more condescending garbage. A hand written note saying “We know we can not make you understand but have given you our very best rates are services.” I understand that this company admitted that they messed up MULTIPLE times, tried to cover it up with their “discounts”, communicated absolutely nothing to me, then had the audacity to send me this garbage of an apology. If this is your very best, I would sure hate to see what you put out on a regular day. Dryer repair invoice # *****. Freezer repair invoice # *****. Quoted $300-$350. Paid $588. Refunded $25. I believe an addition refund of $233 is appropriate.

  Business response

  01/25/2023

  
  We at Home Appliance have been servicing customers for over 25 years with the same owners and at the same location. We've been in business for so long because we pride ourselves in being fair and treating customers the way we would want to be treated.  ******** ****** is no exception , we treated her so well that we actually lost money trying to get her appliances up and running and I'm happy to say they are both repaired.  We worked with ******** on 2 different appliances: a dryer  on 10-11-22 and a freezer on 11-14-22  The normal service call for all Grand Junction residents  is $79.00 , which ******** never was  charged for;. Dryer total invoice was $186.36  the dryer needed a drum seal and seal adhesive . We charged $139.98  in parts, 7.38 in tax and $39. in labor. We did  not charge a service call  at all as a nice gesture as we were also working on her freezer. Even though we worked on them separately at different times We would never quote the $100.00  total  dryer repair that ******** is suggesting as our normal service call is $79.  That amount  would never make sense. Next we worked on ********* Freezer that had a bad defrost system. Her parts were back ordered and  we had to wait on the factory to get them in. It needed  a new heater and a new termination thermostat . We Charged ******** only a $59.00 service call again as a nice gesture to help a customer out with a $20 savings. Her parts on the freezer repair were $259.98 tax 13.18 and labor $39.   total bill $371.76  We were happy to help her out on discounts on her parts and service call as we would ourselves appreciate the courtesy. then ********  called a month later to state that she was overcharged for her dryer ?  And then complained about the freezer ? We as a company were all perplexed. The owner suggested  she could possibly get one of her service calls back but after reviewing her 2 different invoices realized we had never charged her a $79.00 service call ever. not once but not twice, you can't give back something you never took. Then we looked at ********** parts trying to see if we could possibly discount anything  further to help her out and found that we discounted already  on both the freezer parts as well as the dryer we explained to ******** who would not listen.  We asked her to look at both invoices showing how well she had been treated but she refused to recognize  the discounts. We as a Company wanted to do good customer service so the technician that did the job said to refund part of his labor to help her out. As we know times are hard for everyone  So we issued a check #***** dated 11-30-22  for $25.00 to help ******** out further . She was not happy. Bottom line unfortunately we have tried everything to make this customer happy and sadly we cannot. We cannot issue her any further refund amounts as all parts were installed and both of her appliances are repaired and are working . Thank you for knowing  and understanding there are always 2 sides of every story and we are thankful for the opportunity to tell ours
  Thank You 
  
  ****** *******
  Home Appliance
  ************

  Customer response

  01/25/2023

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  I want to start off by letting you know that I have all of the phone conversations recorded and would be more than happy to share them with whoever this may concern. I will say all of my encounters with Home Appliance were pleasant up until ****** got involved. 
  
  
  This all comes down to a misdiagnosis and no communication on the companies part. They tried to cover up their mistakes with “nice gesture” discounts that no one ever told me about. 
  
  
  On 10/17 ****** came out to diagnose my freezer to need a thermostat and defrost timer for $200-$250 total. I said great will you also look at my dryer. He then diagnosed my dryer as needing 4 bearings that cost $10 each ($40 total) and a felt plus labor it would be less than $100 total and it would be repaired the same day as the freezer. 
  
  
  On 11/3 **** came over to install the parts that ****** diagnosed. **** showed up to repair the dryer and freezer. He worked on the dryer first, after he was done he went onto the freezer. He wasn’t able to repair the freezer but left with new parts in his hand.  
  
  
  On 11/14/2022 **** returned to repair the freezer. When he was done he gave me an invoice that said I owed $371.76 for the freezer repair only. I told him that was quite a bit more than I was quoted. I paid the invoice. After **** left I got the invoice for the dryer out and it was for $186.36, also quite a bit more than I was quoted.
  
  
  I called home appliance that same day on 11/14 and left a voicemail. On 11/15 ** called me back and left me a voicemail. 
  
  
  Upon further investigation of the freezer invoice I found discrepancies with parts. The quote I received was for a $80 defrost timer and $50 termination thermostat. The invoice states **** replaced a heater for $159.99 (part cost only) and termination thermostat for $99.99 (part cost only). I called Home Appliance on 11/22 to inquire about this and the owner ** answered the phone and told me that a defrost timer and a heater were not the same. I told him that no one communicated anything about that to me and I was quoted a much lower price. He sincerely apologized and we agreed it was a misdiagnosis. 
  
  
  Later on I also found discrepancies with the parts on the dryer invoice. The quote I received was for $40 for 4 bearing glides (that’s 4 bearings at $10 each) plus a felt for a couple bucks. The invoice states **** replaced a felt for $99.99 (part cost only) and glue for $39.99 (part cost only). Glue had never been mentioned to me and where are the bearings on the invoice? 
  
  
  On 11/30/2022 I called Home Appliance and the accountant ****** answered. At the beginning of our phone call ****** was polite and  recognized that there was a misdiagnosis and a communication error with the freezer repair. I recorded our phone conversations and put the time stamps (labeled as minutes:seconds) before the quote for reference. 
  
  
  ****** said and I quote at 5:11 “I think your right I think it’s a communication error. So they did order that part in and that would have been a good estimate if that would have fixed it, but it didn’t”….. 5:36 “that is something they should have went over with you at the time”…. 5:42 ”******* should have told you the part that was ordered in is incorrect and they had to order another one”….. 5:49 ”they should have let you know the part pricing of the new part, that’s the problem there”…. 5:56 ”I do see ******** estimate and it would actually come in had that original part fixed it”. ****** acknowledged that his original quote of $200-$250 for the freezer repair would have been right if not for the misdiagnosis that no one communicated to me about what so ever. 
  
  
  Openly admitting ******** estimate would have been correct if he didn’t misdiagnose the freezer. They had zero communication about any of it. They tried to, what I can only imagine as, hide their mistake by “discounting” the parts and service call - without informing me of these “discounts”. Since they didn’t make a profit, they are not willing to make it right and refund me the cost difference. 
  
  
  As we were discussing the parts discrepancies on the dryer repair invoice she said and I quote: at 8:10 “The parts that needed to fix that dryer were waaayyy more than what it was. So we not only discounted it, we gave it to you less than cost”. Meaning the prices were way more than what he quoted me ($40 for bearings and a couple bucks for a felt). They realized he made a mistake and instead of contacting me and letting me know they “discounted” the parts so hopefully I wouldn’t notice. 
  
  
  At 12:28 “It looks like they did the apology up front because they knew it was coming in over cost.” The “apology” meaning the discount. At 13:00 “He was trying to bless you upfront and it looks like it didn’t really work cause your still frustrated but now I have no money to help you get over your frustration”. 
  
  
  These people quoted me $200-$250 to repair my freezer and $100 to repair my dryer. I ended up paying $588 for both, which is over $200 more, due to their mistakes and lack of communication. This is an unacceptable way to run a business. 
  
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** ****** 

   

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

  Business response

  01/30/2023

  this response is so sad and so reflective of what we have been dealing with. unfortunately we cannot make this customer happy due to the fact that ********** account of "quotes" due not match up with ours at all. we know appliance part pricing and have been in this business for long enough to not quote the wrong prices ******** is claiming. Her pricing and parts that she is stating  do not even  match  our cost of parts from the factory.  Again we respectfully  have tried to assist this customer with multiple discounts as stated before and as she is stating she is rejecting the already given offers. we wish her the best and as a company feel that we have tried and  exhausted  all avenues of working with ********. We again cannot give ******** what she is asking for the full refund of both repairs as stated before all parts have been installed and both appliances are working properly. we feel we have bent over backwards on our end and she is not being reasonable. we have already discounted all parts and have discounted our service calls and refunded  portions of labor. We have tried everything possible on our end and as a company to help and still need to try and stay in business. We simply cannot do any more for ******** it is so sad, we feel we have tried so hard for this customer, and have already taken a loss on the job.

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