Have you ever been to Lowe's and purchased an appliance? Did you notice how everyone is super nice and they give pre-appointment confirmation calls and after-appointment follow-up calls? Well, enjoy it while you can because the service you get after that initial installation is horrific. I'm talking about the service advantage plan sold by Lowe's to cover repair of purchases such as appliances. Please don't waste your money. It isn't cheap anyway. We paid $150+ on a $2000 purchase of a washer and dryer. We thought "Hey, this is a big purchase and an extra 3 years of coverage is well worth it." How wrong we were! Now, I'm not even talking about a major repair -- motor, electrical parts, anything like that. I'm talking about a simple broken seal. The seal that keeps the water in the drum. Somehow, over time, that seal had started splitting and had a pretty large tear in it before we even noticed the water leaking out onto our tile and into our garage. Honestly, when I throw in a load of laundry, I don't do an inspection of the seal -- which is butted up to the front door of the washer and really not something that would jump out at you unless you were looking specifically for a problem. Granted, the tear was quite large when we finally noticed the leak, but we certainly were not at fault. So, I figured "This should be an easy one. They just need to come and replace the seal and we're good to go." I highly doubt that the part is very expensive, but either way, it is covered under warranty. How do I know? I called Lowe's customer service and they told me so. When I was transferred to service advantage, it was not quite so cut and dry. Major runaround! Let me go back a little bit to the actual service call. When I first called Lowe's I got the robocall voice recognition answering. I had to speak clearly to the robot in order for it to register, but I finally got my call logged and my service date set up. No live person for the entire process, mind you. The call was about a week away, so I managed to do laundry at my parents' home (nothing like going back to my college days when I'm in my 40's) and at a laudromat once. I was totally okay with this because there was a light at the end of the tunnel, right? Wrong! First of all, don't expect that pre-appointment confirmation. I was given a 5 hour window of time. When it was 5 minutes before that window began, I called just to make sure they were coming. After all, there had been no attempt to contact me, the actual consumer. So, I called the service company and was told that I was one of the first ones on the list, so it shouldn't be long. Three hours later, in the very window of time when I had asked them to try not to show up (had to pick up my child), the service person arrived. Fortunately, my father was able to come to my home and wait just in case. I'm sure they were very disappointed to find someone there. The service man walked into my laundry room, took a less than 5 minute look at the part, said "I'll have to check with Lowe's about this," and left. Seriously? I had to have a 5 hour window of time for him to come for 5 minutes and do nothing? That is absolutely ridiculously poor customer service in anyone's book. When I arrived home and got the news (about 20 minutes after I had left), I immediately called the service company. I was told that they couldn't reach the driver at all to ask why this had happened. The drivers have computers and they can't use them while driving for safety reasons. I guess they hadn't heard of cell phones and actually receiving messages when stopped for their next service call. Maybe their day ends at 3:30? After all, they really don't do much. I was livid. I explained that this was a legitimate repair and that it was frustrating. I added that I was certain that there were fraudulent cases everyday, but now that they have a legitimate one, they treat a customer badly. The attendant smirkily commented "Fraudulent repairs? I don't know about that now." I added that this was a relatively inexpensive repair and that there should be no reason to question it. Why would any sane person want to waste time getting a new seal on their washer? It's a flipping piece of rubber, for goodness sake. Just live up to your word and repair it!!! Getting nowhere with these jokers, I then called Lowe's service advantage. I explained in a very cool tone that I was ticked off. Again, I was put off. I was told that I would hear from a manager within 3 business days. Are you kidding me? A manager hadn't called by Tuesday (complaint was made on previous Friday). I decided to call again. The attendant I finally reached told me that it is not covered. It is considered accidental damage. There was no accident other than washing laundry. Perhaps a button or some other part of our clothing initiated the tear. According to the attendant, it wouldn't have happened on its own. I'm sorry though because I did not sign a release that I would not wash items with buttons, jeans, etc. in this washer. I was also told that it's not considered mechanical; however, my washer cannot properly function without this. Supposedly there was mold. My house is very clean - usually spotless. If mold happened in the seal, it was due to the tear. It all goes back to the same initial problem and Lowe's wanting to find a loop hole to taking care of the repair. Again DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!! Lowe's will find a way out of doing the repair, it appears.
What difference does it make where you bought the appliance? Do you really think the JennAir appliance you buy at Lowes is different than what you buy elsewhere?
If it's the same model # there is no difference between Lowes, Home Depot or your local appliance store. The repairman was probably from a local appliance store and just trying to get you to buy the products from his store. You need to stop blaming the retailer. They didn't make the product.
The sales reps from the appliance manufacturers will tell you their products are made to last 10-12 years.
The refrigerator you had that lasted 20 years was made at a time when products were made to last. Consumers don't want to pay the price for quality any more so don't expect your appliances to last forever.
Ugh. They don't make things like they used to.
People want the high quality items for a low price. Sorry...can't have it both ways. Both Chinese made pieces of ***, I'm sure.
But that being said, how the *** is it Lowe's fault if something breaks after ten years?
I'd say you got your money's worth. Go buy new appliances, bro.
Why is it Lowes fault??????? They did not make the refrigerator and stove.
My $300 baby monitor *** out on me after its warranty, but I didn't blame BabiesRus. My Roper dryer *** out on me after 10 years, well after the warranty, I didn't blame Lowes. And my Whirlpool dishwasher is crapping out on me now after 1 1/2 years, after the year warranty, I'm not blaming Lowes. If you bought these same appliances at Home Depot, HH Gregg, Sears, etc, would you blame those store???
Shouldn't you be complaining on JennAir and the manufacturer of your refrigerator??? Shame on you.