Buying new appliances has been a nightmare

Question

I'm writing to bring your attention to the unfortunate  experience I had with multiple portions of your organization. I recently moved into my new condo after getting married, and my wife and I decided to upgrade our appliances to stainless steel.  It started as a rather exciting experience, comparing models, price shopping, learning what features we want / need, but it quickly turned into a nightmare. We decided to go with some whirlpool appliances, but unfortunately Best Buy didn't carry the dishwasher we wanted ( we found it at Home Depot ).  It was no big deal really, we still wanted to get our refrigerator and range from Best Buy because we had only had positive experiences in the past and the associate in the store assured us that installation and delivery were included. So, the day finally comes, we are going to pull the trigger on the appliances, but we notice that the range we wanted comes in two different colors ( black and silver )[ Whirlpool WFE540H0ES ].  We both decided the silver was a nicer / cleaner look.  After some investigation we realize that when you change the color it actually takes you to a different (more expensive) model range [ Whirlpool WFE715H0ES ].  I will admit they are very similar and the only real difference is the color of the top panel and the more expensive one has a warming drawer.  We didn't want a warming drawer, so we called to clarify that the range wasn't available in silver ( at the original listed price ) without a warming drawer.  This phone call didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.  I will be the first to admit that listing the two models together isn't very far fetched given their similarities, but I don't appreciate being talked down to because I need clarification about something listed on the website. After we decided that we still wanted the range and refrigerator, I added them to my cart online, opted for extended protection on the fridge, and bought a new cable for the electric range.  Go to checkout and boom, stuck at checkout.  Try multiple times with multiple browsers, both signed in and not signed in.  For someone who deals with so much technology this seemed so odd to me.  I honestly was convinced that it was somehow my fault and that my computer was messed up, but my wife decided to call and order over the phone where we were told that is was a problem on your end, "the system was down" every phone call that my wife has had thus far the system has been down or working slowly. We scheduled the delivery for Monday July 6th, and we were told we would get a call the day before with some more info about the delivery.  We received a call but it didn't really have any more information about the delivery.  We called and asked for the "time window", 9:30 - 11:30am.  Monday rolls around and they miss the window and don't arrive until 11:40 ( no big deal, we're excited to get our new appliances, 10 minutes isn't bad ).  They start moving the refrigerator into the kitchen, but at the expense of my walls, newly painted I might add ( pictures attached ).  After finally getting it into the kitchen, the delivery men refuse to hook up the refrigerator or move the old refrigerator ( asked specifically about this, moving the old appliance to the garage was included ).  The waterline behind the refrigerator does not have its own shutoff valve, so my wife turned off the master water line, but still they won't unhook the old refrigerator.  After finally giving up and deciding that they aren't going to install the refrigerator, my wife gets pressured into signing the document without reading it.  Shortly after I arrive home from work, we both notice some large noticeable scratches on one of the doors.  I woke up early before work the next morning and installed the refrigerator myself, and we moved the old one out of my kitchen but not all the way to the garage ( I don't have a dolly ). After this poor experience my wife got on the phone and tried to get the door with scratches replaced.  This phone called seemed to go perfectly.  We were offered a $250 gift card or a replacement door for the refrigerator.  All we wanted was a shiny new fridge, so we asked for the door to be replaced.  She even helped us set up an appointment to get the old fridge moved to the garage.  Unfortunately, near the end of the call, she explained that the "system" was running slow and that she couldn't get us a replacement door.  She assured us that she made notes of what were to happen and emailed all the appropriate parties.  A day passes and we don't hear anything, so my wife calls again.  The first person answers the phone and decides to hang up on her. After waiting on hold twice, she gets through and asks about what steps need to be taken to get a new fridge door.  After acknowledging that we were to get a new refrigerator we were just deflected to whirlpool.  Given a phone # to call and get a new door directly from whirlpool, but we could have done that from the start.  Best Buy offered us a new door, I was expecting a new door, not a phone number to call to find the fridge door myself. This whole experience ( which still isn't over ) has been horribly stressful and frustrating.I've always loved Best Buy, I've always recommended it, and I really don't want to run into this experience ever again.  Picture can be found here - http://1drv.ms/1KQ87bM

Answer 1

Hello aaboyd-
My wife and I shopped for a new washer and dryer about a year ago, and I share with you that same excitement of looking through models and anticipating the delivery of the appliances.  I’m truly sorry to hear that what started out with such promise ended up becoming a disappointing delivery experience with us.
Our basic delivery would normally include hook up to an existing waterline, assuming that a shut off valve was present at the waterline, so the delivery team would not have completed that work.  I’m glad to hear that you were able to do so after the fact, but our delivery team should have moved your fridge to the garage as part of your recycle/haulaway service.  Did they give any reason as to why they wouldn’t do this?
I’m sorry to hear that some damage was done to your paint and walls; I understand that our phone agents gave you the number to contact for Gallagher/Bassett; however, they will most likely instruct you to contact the delivery company directly to submit a claim, as they have insurance to cover these damages.  I would recommend having an estimate for the damage already available as this should save you some time.
From what I can see, it looks like we had a team back out to your home on 7/9, later in the afternoon.  Has everything been resolved at this point with moving the old fridge and replacing your new fridge or fridge door?  Please let me know if you still need assistance, in the meantime, I have fully documented this experience for our delivery team leadership so that they have the opportunity to review this with the third party delivery company.
Thanks for posting!