I bought a Frigidaire stainless steel fridge back in December. It retailed for $ 799.99 (on sale for $599.00)-not bad right? With my BestBuy gift cards and the 10% off appliances special they were running I paid $ 328.38. A good deal even after you factor in that I still had to pay an additional $ 95.00 for an icemaker kit because this particular unit did not come with a factory installed icemaker.
“No problem”, I thought-I’m still hundreds of dollars ahead because the least expensive stainless steel refrigerator with an icemaker included was $ 999.00 and believe me-Ty did not have that kind of money in the budget.
So, I had the fridge and I just had to wait a few days for the icemaker to be delivered and installed. In the interim I bought ice from the grocery store and before you know it the delivery day was fast approaching-just as sure as the ice was melting in my glass.
On the appointed day I had the freezer emptied and was excited to get the icemaker. You never know how much you take something like ice for granted until you have to remember to buy it or worse forget to fill up those plastic trays that always spill as you’re putting them back in the freezer.
Anyway, the icemaker kit arrived on the scheduled day and the delivery men started to install it but soon realized that it was the wrong icemaker kit-what they brought was for another model refrigerator and wasn’t compatible with mine so back it went. I was disappointed and pissed off to say the least but I was assured the right icemaker kit would be installed shortly.
A few days later the BestBuy delivery dept called to say that the icemaker kit was backordered from the manufacturer and it would take an additional 3 weeks. After buying countless bags of ice for weeks on end the second icemaker kit finally arrived but this time one of the parts was too short so I had no option other than to refuse it and have (yet) another ordered.
Only this time I got back on the phone and called customer service to get some satisfaction. If I was going to be without ice-then BestBuy was going to be without “something”. I specifically called the same agent that I’d dealt with in January. His name was Rick* and I found him to be very nice and sympathetic. Once again he listened to my sad tale and expressed the correct amount of sympathy that every good customer service agent is suppose to have-he gave “good phone”.
He also refunded the cost of the icemaker so the next one that showed up was free-good for Ty!
Unfortunately, the icemaker kit was backordered two more times so when it was finally delivered it’d been four months in the waiting. The refrigerator that I bought in December and was suppose to have an icemaker kit installed soon after the New Year was still chilling ice trays in April.
Was I pissed? (yes) Was it the end of the world? (no) The wait was made a little more bearable when II received a check in the mail for the refunded $ 95.00; in addition to receiving a $ 150.00 gift card in the mail (for the inconvenience?) as well. I also had the $50.00 gift card from the original refrigerator purchase at my disposal, too.
But, I digress…the delivery men came in to install the icemaker and….you guessed it, the same part was too short (Oye! It was just like “Groundhog’s Day”).
I was calmer than I was the first time and the second. I waved good-bye to the deliverymen and called Rick, the friendly customer service agent that had helped me way back in January when this all started.
I first had to convince Rick to accept the return of the fridge (BestBuy has a 30 day return policy) but having been there from the beginning with me he was well aware of the situation and seemed to share my frustration. He went to bat for me and got his supervisor to approve the return of the four-month-old refrigerator. It was made easier when Rick realized that I wanted to exchange it for another fridge.
After looking online I decided on another Frigidaire stainless steel model, only this time with factory icemaker already installed. It retailed for $ 999.00 and was on sale for $879.99-not bad but waaay over my budget.
I asked Rick what he could do about giving me a discount for my troubles and he said the best he could do (or anybody else in his dept) was to take an additional $ 75.00 off the sale price, bringing the cost of the new fridge down to $ 804.99 plus tax.
I thanked him and asked what he could do about not charging me tax (since it was being purchased over the phone, out of state possibly, blah, blah) and it worked!
So, the new stainless steel Frigidaire refrigerator with icemaker and trays that slide in/out and other bells and whistles, ended up costing me (after cashing in my gift cards) an additional $50.26.
I’d already paid $ 328.38 so the total cost to me was $ 378.64 for a refrigerator valued at $ 999.00 (on sale for $879.99) a savings of $ 620.36 (off retail list price) or $ 501.35 (based on the sale price).
The biggest savings was that Rick based his exchange on the original sale price of fridge ($ 599.00) and not the price I paid so that, the gift cards, the $75.00 and no tax left me with the modest balance of $ 50.26 that I put on my debit card.
Bottom line-One can indulge a little inconvenience or a screw up if you’re given a discount or credit worthy of your time and trouble.
TyTIP: Always have a pad and pen ready before you call any customer service agent about any agent so you’re ready to record any/all pertinent information that can help you along the way.
TyTIP: Always ask to whom you are speaking, write down their name (even if it’s just to thank them personally at the end of the call) ID number and/or any case number or reference number for the call in case you have to call back if you don’t achieve satisfaction-
TyTIP: Having this information can only help you if you have to call repeatedly and have to talk to several different people about the same issue. They are less likely to blow you off or pass the buck of you have names, dates and reference numbers-it keeps them accountable and less likely to say, ”I’m sorry sir/m’am, I can’t help you unless you can tell me who you talked to, or the case number.”
TyTIP: Whenever possible always talk to the same agent over the phone, it’ll save you time telling the same story over and over again, hopefully you’ll have built up a rapport that can help you negotiate a solution that you’ll be happiest with-if you don’t feel you’ve built up any good will by all means start over with another agent-just be sure to get all of their information as well and add them to your notes.
TyTIP: Always call and ask “politely” if there anything they “can do” to adjust the price to make up for any inconvenience you’ve suffered).
TyTIP: When ordering over the phone ask if they can waive the tax.
* The real name of the customer service agent has been changed.
Ty Tips:Luxury living for less 