A Nightmare Customer Service Experience at a U.S. Retailer Gone Bad - My Girlfriend's Experience Became My Experience

About a month ago my girlfriend bought a house for the first time.

It was a very exciting time for her but also very stressful. To add to the stress, she needed a bed, mattress, dresser, shower rod, shower curtain, LED bulbs for lighting, a washer, dryer, refrigerator and a whole lots of other things.

She really had a lot to do and buy.

I talked her into going into one of my favorite places to buy her appliances during the Thanksgiving holiday. I told her she would be able to get a great deal on financing and the products, because, you know, this is the time you will find HUGE DEALS!

I expressed to her that most employees at this retailer are generally very helpful. She trusted me and we drove out there.

After an hour or so at being at the store she decides on a washer, dryer and refrigerator. She buys the hookups and the extended warranty for all three items. Her experience was a decent experience.

The sales person was sort of knowledgeable and got her order together. It's what happened two weeks after that in-store experience that became the nightmare for her, and yes me.

The problem started with a delivery issue and because of this issue, she had to call the store, delivery, customer service and some other people that could not help her.

She had so many problems trying to resolve the issue, that I told her that we should just send an email to the CEO, District Manager and some VP's explaining to them that you need some help. I told her that we can find some the contacts on Linkedin. So we did just that.

Below is an email and a timeline to the CEO, District Manager and some other VP's of the multi-billion dollar company. Within the email you will find several disconnects with the retailer.

You will find in-store associates blaming the delivery employees and others blaming the warehouse.

Dear CEO, District Manager, and VP's,

I have been trying to resolve a customer service issue over the last 48 hours to no avail. If there is someone specific within your company that I need to speak to about this urgent matter, kindly provide his or her direct contact information.

Timeline of events:

1) On 11/26/16, I visited your Retail location in Dallas, TX, and purchased a washer, dryer, and refrigerator for $2075.06 (Order #XXXXXX) from Appliance Sales Consultant, "Debbie". All of the items were in stock at the time of purchase. I scheduled the delivery for Sunday, 12/18/16. I have received multiple texts and emails confirming this delivery date. 

2) Yesterday (12/17/16) at noon, approximately 24 hours prior to the scheduled delivery, I received a text stating that my delivery was now scheduled for 12/22/16. There was no explanation, just an automated text.

3) I immediately contacted Debbie at the store. She was busy with a customer and stated she would call me back. I proceeded to contact customer service, and the rep informed me that refrigerator was on "backorder" and would be delivered on 12/22, while the washer and dryer would be delivered on 12/18. I find it hard to believe that an item I purchased over three weeks ago was suddenly on backorder within 24 hours of delivery, and moreover, I did not consent to a 12/22 delivery date. The rep placed me on an interminable hold, and while holding, Debbie returned my call from the store.

4) Debbie reiterated that the item was on "backorder" and that there was "nothing she could do" but attempt to find another suitable item or reschedule the delivery date, which is something I could do myself with a click of a button on-line and was beside the point. She put me on hold, and "Chris" answered and proceeded to tell me that this issue "was not their fault" and "we have nothing to do with delivery." 

5) I placed two additional calls yesterday to the customer service number attempting to reach someone who could escalate the issue, as I had no choice but to now reschedule for Christmas Eve, which is incredibly inconvenient and inappropriate given that I scheduled this delivery over three weeks ago. Each time, I was placed on an interminable hold, only to be told that nothing could be done and/or no one could be reached. Once, I was transferred to "the warehouse," where I spent another 10 minutes on hold in the queue, and was asked to press "1" to leave a message. I pressed 1 and was treated to a "this mailbox is full" automated message and promptly disconnected. On the last call to customer service, the rep offered to contact the store on my behalf to have them escalate the matter to a "case manager" who would then contact me within 2 hours. He stated that this escalation could only be initiated by the store, so I'm unclear as to why this wasn't done when I contacted Debbie initially. 

6) A "case manager" did not return my call within the promised 2 hours, so I called customer service again and spent 47 minute on hold waiting to be connected to the case manager assigned to my case. When I finally spoke with Seth, he indicated that the issue was with the store as they did not properly account for transferring inventory for this purchase. He stated that the refrigerator was NOT on backorder. He offered to have the refrigerator delivered on Thursday, 12/22, from 6p-8p, as I am unavailable until after 5pm on all weekdays. The washer and dryer delivery was still scheduled for today, 12/18.

7) My washer and dryer were not delivered today. I got no text, no phone call, and no email. I called the number Seth provided for me, was placed on hold in a queue, and spoke with Many who stated that Seth was off today and that he could not see any of the notes on my account since Seth was working it. However, Many indicated that all three items have now been scheduled for delivery on 12/22, from 6p-8p, which was not what Seth and I discussed. Many suggested I call the store but otherwise, he could not help me at all. 

When I made this purchase, I received a folder whose cover reads, "WE'LL HANDLE EVERYTHING: Making delivery and specialty installation an effortless experience." My experience has been anything but effortless, and no one has handled anything. Moreover, within this folder is Debbie's card with her name and number highlighted.

If she didn't intend to assist me with any problems, what was the point of giving me this information? Why did she not escalate this issue to a case manager when I first contacted her? This was my first time purchasing from this retailer, and I am appalled by the unprofessionalism and lack of accountability I have encountered from multiple employees. 

At this point, I am beyond frustrated. I am angry. Not only has your Company failed to deliver my purchase in a timely manner, NO ONE has taken ownership of the issue and made it right. I am still in limbo wondering when, or if, my purchase will be delivered.

How can I be assured it will be delivered on 12/22 after what I have been through this weekend? Furthermore, this failure to deliver has delayed my moving into a new condo at considerable expense to me at one of the busiest times of the year. 

I would appreciate a prompt response from someone who can explain this abject failure and rectify this issue promptly. If your company cannot deliver these items that are supposedly now going to be delivered on 12/22 from 6p-8p, please notify me immediately, so that I can cancel this order and take my business elsewhere. 

Let's just say, after this email went out, she started to get several calls and texts from different people. They all wanted to be the single point of contact.

She finally did receive the items she paid for and they offered her compensation for her time. Although she still has not received that as of yet.

A company that has been around and doing business for 35+ should have a good understanding of how to solve some of theses issues.

The customer should not have to figure out how to resolve an issue with delivery, backorders or any other such problem the store has run into. There should be one single point of contact to help guide the customer to a resolution.

The solution, to me, seems relatively simple. Help your own employees understand their own organization. Customers should have one single point of contact from beginning of the sale to the end of the sale. In this instance, the retailer has lost a customer, maybe two. Most likely, she will tell 20 other people about her bad experience.

In a world where there are so many places to buy, retailers need to focus heavy on the customer experience and making sure that an experience like my girlfriend had, does not happen!