Dyson vacuum cleaners have so much cachet that they’re a hot item with shoplifters. Reader Peter isn’t so thrilled with his Dyson, though. He was somehow under the impression that spending $400 on a device with a famously good warranty meant that getting his vacuum fixed or replaced would be a swift and simple process. It was not, but to be fair: the problems weren’t entirely Dyson’s fault.

He writes:

I’m still stuck in a slow motion trainwreck with Dyson.

I thought that when I bought a vacuum from them for $400, I’d be getting quality service with the warrranty they offered… until I sent it back for repairs.

I gave a detailed list of problems the vacuum had developed, and I got it back two weeks later — with half of the problems still unfixed, and leaky seals on the canister to boot.

I dealt with an excellent rep who was able to get the unit replaced for me, after he tried to get me to drive an hour to the nearest repair shop. That would take two weeks as well.

I called two weeks later, and the package was supposedly delivered, but it was nowhere to be found — because whoever shipped it from their warehouse got my address wrong, and didn’t specify that a signature was needed. It took another week for FedEx to tell me they didn’t want to track the package down, and for Dyson to tell me I needed to file a police report before they would send another replacement… now that is done, and I have to wait another two weeks, just to get a refurbished unit.

Their reps were helpful, but I’ve been waiting two months for a working vacuum thanks to hidebound policies, incompetent repairs, and negligent shipping.

Dyson has lost a lifetime customer — my next vacuum will definitely be a Hoover.

In this case, some of the blame falls on FedEx, but maybe James Dyson’s e-mail address still works if you find yourself in an intractable issue with the company.

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