We recently bought two things for the kitchen:
- 1. A Samsung side-by-side refrigerator from BrandsMart
2. A made-in-China no name coffee urn from Wayfair, a Walmart vendor
The refrigerator cost substantially more than the coffee urn - total price of the latter, including shipping, was just a tad more than $20.
The fridge has an icemaker that is supposed to dispense ice via the freezer-side door.
It failed to dispense ice.
I contacted BrandsMart via its web site and laid out the problem and solicited a call from tech support to set up a visit.
No response.
I contacted BrandsMart Customer Service via telephone. The Customer Service Representative (CSR) told me she could not enter my complaint into the computer since it was "being updated" - in the middle of the business day.
I asked her to take down my information and to enter it into the computer when the "updating" was completed. She assured me she would do this.
Since then, no response.
I tried again via the BrandsMart web page.
No response.
For the record, we have a three-year warranty on the box. Of course if BrandsMart won't honor a warranty within 30 days of purchase . . .
ON THE OTHER HAND when the coffee urn broke on first use, I called the number listed on the "DON'T RETURN TO STORE" card that came with the coffee urn, the one that clearly states on the reverse
For repair or replacement contact Customer Service
I was told to contact the retailer.
Is the retailer Walmart? It advertised the product on its web page and in smaller print said it was sold by Wayfair, or was the retailer Wayfair?
I had an email address for Wayfair so I started there.
I wrote an email setting forth my complaint and what I wanted from Wayfair.
Within short order I received an email from Julia J. (for) Wayfair on Walmart Marketplace telling me that she would take care of the matter and issue a refund for the purchase price and shipping. Walmart advised us this morning that our account had been credited for the full amount.
Will I buy from Wayfair in the future? If it has something I want at a decent price and the product is not made in China, the answer is "very likely." Based largely on Julia J. of Wayfair on Walmart Marketplace handling of my complaint.
Will I buy again from BrandsMart?
Maybe. Reluctantly. But only products that are warranted by the manufacturer.. As far as I am concerned, a BrandsMart guarantee is of no value.
Incidentally, I read the manufacturer's troubleshooting guide and fixed the problem myself. That does NOT forgive BrandsMart customer treatment.
GLOBAL WARMING
There are those who contend that the earth warms up and cools down in cycles. I'm inclined to agree with that contention. Likewise El Nino and La Nina come in cycles.
As I look at the temperatures for November 12, 2014, I see that many places are unseasonably cold.
Butte and Livingston, Montana, have, as this is keyed, a temperature of 15 BELOW zero. Gillette, Wyoming, where I once lived, has a balmy minus 4, while Casper, in the center of the state, is a chilly minus 17, colder by 2 degrees than Butte and Livingston across Wyoming's northern border. Ely, Nevada, another place I once hung my hat, has an almost summerlike temperature of 16 ABOVE.
The Jaycees of Ely, when I lived there, used to string holiday lights in early November, well before Thanksgiving, because it simply was too cold to install decorations after Turkey Day. For the Jaycees' sake, I hope they got the decorations in place before Halloween.
If this is "global warming," I'd hate to think about "global cooling."
Incidentally, and I DO enjoy "rubbing it in," the low temperature outside my door today was 65 while the anticipated high for November 12, 2014 is 83; not a bad day at the beach in Hollywood - Florida, that is.
Al Gore may be right, but it's hard to agree with him when I know my friends and acquaintances in the north (that means any state north of Florida's borders with Alabama and Georgia) are shivering or huddling close to the Franklin stove.
