Sometimes, you buy a defective appliance and your only problem is that that the appliance doesn’t work. It’s sad, but you replace the item, either using a warranty or by purchasing a new one. Sometimes the company will stand in your way, and you have to fight them for a replacement. And then sometimes your defective appliance warps your hardwood floor, leaks through to your basement ceiling, and causes more than $4,000 worth of damage. That’s what happened to Nachos Grande and his wife (not his real name) when they bought a defective Whirlpool dishwasher from Sears.

His wife wrote a 1,800-word complaint letter to Sears, which you can read on his blog, but here’s his more succinct summary of what happened:

My wife and I bought a dishwasher from Sears (Sears installed).

The dishwasher leaked upon running.

Approximately $4,300 dollars damage to our wooden floors (plus leaking into the ceiling of the room below the kitchen in the basement).

We filed claim with Sears.

Sears pawns us off to their insurance people, who pawn us off to Whirlpool (the dishwasher brand), who in turn pawn us back off on Sears.

Repeat the above step[s] for about 4 months.

Nachos left out the part where Sears delivered a floor model dishwasher to replace the brand-new one they had paid for, either because they’re just that disorganized, or maybe hoping they wouldn’t notice.

Mrs. Grande sums up her epic complaint letter by saying:

Sears, it is positively shameful to make the innocent consumer (victim) with $4,300 worth of damage, resulting from a product your company sold, perform your proverbial bitch work in trying to reach resolution. Especially since said innocent consumer foolishly purchased your Master’s Protection Extended Warranty for $190.79, thinking that you would stand behind your product – the absurdity! 

So I urge you, informed consumer, next time you’re in the market for a new appliance, consider an independent dealer. We certainly will be. 

Customer Service Woes: Sears [Nachos Grande]

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