Nuke 'em all, I say!
You'd think that getting a microwave repaired would be a simple task: Drop it off at some kind of a service depot, and pick it up a few days later, repaired.
Nope. Apparently a ninety-dollar General Electric microwave requires that you give up a half day of employment income to book a service technician to personally come to your home to service the unit. If he decides to show up, that is.
I called GE the week before last and arranged to have the technician come by last Thursday afternoon (Oct.5th). They told me they didn't do weekends, and I was a little miffed that I had to give up half a day of work, but figured I could combine it with preparing for my trip to Montreal... or at least that's how I mentally justified the inconvenience anyway.
Anyway, here's how the events transpired:
My window is 1-5 PM and when I call at 1:30 to confirm, a recording does confirm that the technician would be by "between now and 5 PM". Fine. I wait.
I call again at 4:30 and get the same recorded message.
Five O'clock comes and goes. He's a no-show. Now I'm pissed. I call again and the computer automatically (well, via hold) sends me to a service rep. Turns out nobody knows where the tech is, and apparently none of his appointments show up as completed. The rep tells me that he will speak to the dispatcher and the dispatcher will call me back within the next five minutes to make alternate arrangements, possibly to still even get the work done that evening. This sounds hopeful. I hang up and nobody ever calls back.
The next morning, I'm at home waiting for my friend to pick me up to drive up to Canada. I call GE back and speak to another rep, Kim, who offers me this Saturday or next. Well, apparently they do weekends after all! Since I'm going to Montreal this weekend, I ask for next Saturday. Kim sets me up: "Ok, Mr. Skylight, you're all set for the 21st, between 8 & 12 AM", and I hang up.
But wait - that's not next Saturday. That's the Saturday-after-next. Apparently Kim got her calendar mixed up. I call back; a new service rep tells me that they don't have anything until the 21st. Now I'm fuming, I review the mistakes that GE has made with me so far: a no-show, no one calling me back, and promising dates that they can't deliver on. "I was told I could get this Sat. or next Sat.," I say, not accepting no this time, "so just give me next Sat." She tells me that the technicians get 6 appointments per half-day session and the computer won't accept any more. I tell her she needs to make an exception that day. She says she can't because the computer just won't let her. I ask for a supervisor.
I review with the supervisor all the incompetence thus far, and direct her attention to the lack of professionalism GE has demonstrated to me over the last two days. Again I ask for the date that Kim promised to me, Saturday the 14th, and the supervisor gives me the same "the computer won't let me" excuse. "Just make it happen", I insist. We go back and forth discussing this. My logic: if I had to give up an entire afternoon of work, as well put up with getting the runaround from GE over this, the tech can put in some overtime to add an extra appointment that day. Her argument, which hasn't got a leg to stand on, is that she just can't put it in the computer. So, I guess those people at General Electric just aren't very savvy when it comes to electronics, eh?
Meanwhile my friend's arrived and is waiting in the car outside.
I ask for the supervisor's name and title (Diana, Supervisor of Blah Blah Blah Scheduling) and inform her of what she needs to do: "Well, Diana, I have many other more important things to do today besides waste time with you on the phone. So I'm going to let you go, and you're going to figure out just how you can get a guy to stop by and fix my microwave next Saturday, otherwise I'll be calling you back next week and we're going to figure it out together." Then I said goodbye.
Fifteen minutes later in the car on the way to Canada, my cell rings.
"Hello, Mr. Skylight. This is Sylvia from General Electric. I just wanted to call you and let you know that we've scheduled your service call for Saturday, Oct. 14th, 8-12 AM." I thanked her and hung up.
Now, let's see what happens tomorrow...
Nope. Apparently a ninety-dollar General Electric microwave requires that you give up a half day of employment income to book a service technician to personally come to your home to service the unit. If he decides to show up, that is.
I called GE the week before last and arranged to have the technician come by last Thursday afternoon (Oct.5th). They told me they didn't do weekends, and I was a little miffed that I had to give up half a day of work, but figured I could combine it with preparing for my trip to Montreal... or at least that's how I mentally justified the inconvenience anyway.
Anyway, here's how the events transpired:
My window is 1-5 PM and when I call at 1:30 to confirm, a recording does confirm that the technician would be by "between now and 5 PM". Fine. I wait.
I call again at 4:30 and get the same recorded message.
Five O'clock comes and goes. He's a no-show. Now I'm pissed. I call again and the computer automatically (well, via hold) sends me to a service rep. Turns out nobody knows where the tech is, and apparently none of his appointments show up as completed. The rep tells me that he will speak to the dispatcher and the dispatcher will call me back within the next five minutes to make alternate arrangements, possibly to still even get the work done that evening. This sounds hopeful. I hang up and nobody ever calls back.
The next morning, I'm at home waiting for my friend to pick me up to drive up to Canada. I call GE back and speak to another rep, Kim, who offers me this Saturday or next. Well, apparently they do weekends after all! Since I'm going to Montreal this weekend, I ask for next Saturday. Kim sets me up: "Ok, Mr. Skylight, you're all set for the 21st, between 8 & 12 AM", and I hang up.
But wait - that's not next Saturday. That's the Saturday-after-next. Apparently Kim got her calendar mixed up. I call back; a new service rep tells me that they don't have anything until the 21st. Now I'm fuming, I review the mistakes that GE has made with me so far: a no-show, no one calling me back, and promising dates that they can't deliver on. "I was told I could get this Sat. or next Sat.," I say, not accepting no this time, "so just give me next Sat." She tells me that the technicians get 6 appointments per half-day session and the computer won't accept any more. I tell her she needs to make an exception that day. She says she can't because the computer just won't let her. I ask for a supervisor.
I review with the supervisor all the incompetence thus far, and direct her attention to the lack of professionalism GE has demonstrated to me over the last two days. Again I ask for the date that Kim promised to me, Saturday the 14th, and the supervisor gives me the same "the computer won't let me" excuse. "Just make it happen", I insist. We go back and forth discussing this. My logic: if I had to give up an entire afternoon of work, as well put up with getting the runaround from GE over this, the tech can put in some overtime to add an extra appointment that day. Her argument, which hasn't got a leg to stand on, is that she just can't put it in the computer. So, I guess those people at General Electric just aren't very savvy when it comes to electronics, eh?
Meanwhile my friend's arrived and is waiting in the car outside.
I ask for the supervisor's name and title (Diana, Supervisor of Blah Blah Blah Scheduling) and inform her of what she needs to do: "Well, Diana, I have many other more important things to do today besides waste time with you on the phone. So I'm going to let you go, and you're going to figure out just how you can get a guy to stop by and fix my microwave next Saturday, otherwise I'll be calling you back next week and we're going to figure it out together." Then I said goodbye.
Fifteen minutes later in the car on the way to Canada, my cell rings.
"Hello, Mr. Skylight. This is Sylvia from General Electric. I just wanted to call you and let you know that we've scheduled your service call for Saturday, Oct. 14th, 8-12 AM." I thanked her and hung up.
Now, let's see what happens tomorrow...
Labels: conflicts, daily grind
posted by Skylight at 9:59 AM
5 Comments:
Skylight, are you aware that you can get a microwave for about $35 these days? So cheap that if it breaks down, buying another one doesn't seem so costly, and you save the time, energy and frustration you've expended on your current model. Still, I have to laugh at the "the computer won't let me" excuse!
Um, yeah, you can get a microwave for that price. Unfortunately, you can't get a good microwave for that price. I researched the model I bought through product reviews online, and got it on sale for 90 bucks. Granted, it's still not worth the fuss, but these things aren't supposed to happen. Luckily it's under warranty.
And you think this was time and energy spent??? Don't get me started on my Sony television story of a few years ago. It still brings me nightmares. I don't buy Sony anymore because of it.
I have to add that I did overplay the frustration I felt in my story. Frankly, there's a part of me that gets a kick out of telling off big corporations, especially when they know full well they're treating their customers poorly. I actually was kind of looking forward to making a couple more phone calls to Diana this week before they actually gave me what I asked for.
Tell them that you're going to fling it under the wheel of a car and drive over it. That way, it will be equally useful to how is now, but you'll also have the satisfaction of having done something about it.
Worked for me with T-Mobile.
Well, my Kenmore microwave that I bought 4 years ago for less than $50 is still going strong. But I know what you mean about telling off corporate America. I don't buy Sharp products anymore because I had a similar nightmare with a stereo. Junk, I tell ya!
Reminds me of sooooooo many experiences with incompetent corporations...it's amazing some of them are still in business. Unfort, they can be that way, b/c they don't really care if they don't get your $90 for the next microwave you pruchase--there are plenty of suckers...I mean people...out there in line for a GE. At least spreading your story via blog might prevent someone from doing business with them...
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