Customer Service: The Good Guys

I complain a lot when I get lousy service, but I also like to think of myself as someone who appreciates it when it's good—and lets people know. So:

Item: As alluded to earlier, a few weeks ago my oven went kaput. There was some activity, shall we say, on the heating element. It was more than a spark but less than a flame, and that was the end of that. I called Yale and set up an appointment for a few days later. The next day my fridge began making a REALLY BIG NOISE. We had to SHOUT to be heard over it. When the Yale guy came to look at the oven, he said he would need to order a new heating element. He also noticed that the door hinges were getting saggy again, and he said he would order new hinges (which you may recall I've done twice already) and not charge me for them—at a few hundred bucks a pop! I LOUDLY THANKED HIM and looked meaningfully toward the fridge, and he ended up spending about an hour diagnosing and repairing it even though that wasn't even on the original appointment request. And, get this, he didn't charge me for that either! He put a rush on the heating element and hinges, came to install them a few days later, cleaned up, and left me a very happy camper. Did I mention that I didn't even buy any of my appliances at Yale? But you can bet I will next time. They are the best. 

Item: Friends of Andy's parents sent Pete a Kindle for his Bar Mitzvah! Which was a great idea, because we normally have to sit on him to put away the gadgets and read a book—perhaps this will be the solution! But, after a few weeks, the screen just froze up. I tried the various tricks mentioned online (e.g., charge it fully and then hold down the power button for a full minute) to no avail. I dreaded calling Amazon because it was a gift and I didn't even know what recourse I would have. I finally called last Tuesday. On Thursday a brand-new Kindle arrived, complete with all the books Pete had downloaded already on it. How awesome is that?

Item: Our old house had two perfect hammock trees, and we spent many a relaxing weekend afternoon on our L.L. Bean hammock. But that was many years ago, and we've missed it. I finally bit the bullet and bought a new hammock and one of those stands that you hang it from. We set it up in a partially shady area and have been loving it. Especially on a slightly chilly evening, Julie and I like to bring out pillows and a blanket and our books and snuggle up together reading until it's too dark or the mosquitoes have eaten us alive. But this weekend we noticed that one of the ropes had torn and unbraided itself, and the whole thing was threatening to unravel. I called L.L. Bean, and I swear the woman I spoke to there was so concerned that I thought she was going to hop into her station wagon and drive down here with a replacement. (She's actually having it shipped.) Yay!

In this day and age, you'd think that no company could afford to provide crappy service, but some still do. Not Yale, Amazon, and L.L. Bean, though! Thanks, guys!

Comments

[Marta]

Awesome. :)

[jo]

Please tell me your ovens aren't Viking are they?

[Karen]

Yes, Viking, why?! The Yale guy said it would last 7-10 years, and we're already coming up on 11.

[Sandy]

We love Yale Electric, and not only because of the warm chocolate chip cookies that seemed to come out of the oven just as we arrived during our many trips there for a home renovation a few years ago. A very patient and knowledgeable woman in the lighting department spent hours helping us choose fixtures and fans.

[jo]

We have Viking. I could tell you as many stories about our wall ovens as you could about your washing machines.

I am currently awaiting my 3rd?, 4th? fix regarding the ovens self-clean feature. Every time I break down and brave running the self-clean in the ovens they either lock shut at the end of the cycle or they open, but the oven 'thinks' it is still in self clean and will not allow you to turn it on.

We have replaced the brackets several times on the doors in both kitchens.

We have had to replace the mother board in one because it caught fire and burned one night during a party. That smelled lovely.

We have had to replace several relays that have either stuck open or shut causing the oven to not retain or not reach proper temperature.

I could go on, and on and on. Ours are at 7 years of age.
This latest service, he will be coming Monday next, is to repair the latest problem with the self clean causing the ovens to believe they are still in self clean mode at over $600.00 in parts ALONE. Two months ago was the mother board at over $500.00. If I could I would rip them out and deposit them on the doorstep of Viking painted with a scarlet red F.

[Karen]

Oh, ugh, sounds like you got a lemon. :( Aside from the door hinges (we have the giant oven, and the door is HEAVY), our Viking range has been great. Come to think of it, the first time I used the self-cleaner, it blew a fuse (3 days before Thanksgiving when I was expecting 26 people!), but they fixed it and it's been fine since. Although I don't think I've used the self-cleaner 10 times in 10 years.... Good luck!

[Sharon Hofmann]

LL Bean is the best. Their customer service training should be used as a model in every company. Right before school began this past September I discovered that one of our backpacks had a faulty zipper. The woman at LL Bean shipped a replacement overnight on Labor Day weekend so we would have it for the first day of school.

[Steve Sheinkopf]

First thank you for the mention on your blog and Yelp. It is very much appreciated

Every appliance manufacturer has sporadic issues. This comment is for Jo. Who has been fixing them? Is it Viking or another independent?

Sincerely,

Steve Sheinkopf
CEO
Yale Appliance And Lighting