Happy Aloha Friday
For those of you that have followed our blog over the past 12 years, you have seen many articles on real estate, homes, condos, land, market trends and reports. As promised we are doing several blogs on buying the land, picking out the house, building, and all the struggles in between. Today's spotlight will be ordering your Kitchen Appliances, we chose to go online with Costco . Several things to take into consideration that never crossed our minds, from timing on, when to order, warranty issues, and if you have delays in building.
As great as Costco is at the stores, their online appliance orders are a complete disaster. Kimi and I both give it a 2 thumbs down experience, lets share with you why .....
Reason 1: They never actually have the product (does that matter to me? I didn't think it would - read on) . (a) you place your order with Costco. (b) Costco then places your order with the manufacturer (c) the manufacturer fulfills the order when available (d) The manufacturer then arranges shipping to you through a 3rd party, and now you are at the mercy of the 3rd party delivery agent . In our case this meant it has been routed through 3 different 3rd party delivery agents (all pointing the finger at each other) .
Reason 2: Costco online team, (Costco, Costco Concierge, and Costco Appliance Resolution Team ) are all unable to do anything for you, once your order is fulfilled at the factory (Samsung for us) , they are done, you are on your own! Recurring theme throughout this ordeal, has been apology, after apology, with zero results, they consistently directed us to the 3rd party with no assistance. Finally a couple of months in and 30 days of runaround from delivery agent, I insisted Costco stay on the line and help resolve this, that was 46 days ago. We are no closer today, than were 214 days ago, and to the best of my knowledge, our stove has been delivered to Hawaii twice now, and returned because of the 3rd party - I believe it sits in California now - wish I could collect the frequent flyer miles.
Reason 3: Warranty and Return Options, the clock starts ticking the moment they drop the appliances in your driveway (white glove delivery-non existent) . In our case we are building (new construction) . We ran into a couple of weather delays that put us back about 30 days, so by the time we actually unpacked the appliances, installed them, had propane and power turned on, we were about 75 days into our 90-day return. The stove itself had hidden damage that was not visible until they were removed from packaging. A week later we realized the stove was not working properly, so we called the manufacture. We had to chase them down for a week, only to find out they do not service the product in our area – only option was to cut the plug, scrape the serial number plate off, mail it to them. At that point they will issue us a check for $2,200, and we will be expected to haul it off. To us, this was unacceptable, so we called Costco only to be turned away, because it was day 92, (2 days over on a product in use for 2 weeks - even though we opened a case with the manufacture prior to day 90) so we had no other options. Fortunately they had one order, (from the damage), but again its been months with no luck, no help, no end in sight.
Our advise,
Do you due diligence, find out if the product can be serviced in your area, don't count on the fact that you get great service in the store, thinking it will carry over to the online department - two different animals there. It wasn't just one bad experience, it was 89 emails, and probably 20 hours on the phone to get to this point. If we had it to do all over again, we definitely would be dealing with a local vendor, one that has the product in store, and personally delivers it.
Stay posted to this blog, we hope to update you in 2020 sometime, when in fact the stove arrives, in one piece and fully operational.
Personal feelings: Was the dented stove an issue... no, (an annoyance-yes, but not an issue) , was the "griddle" not working an issue - no, it would probably take a repair guy 10 minutes. the 84-90-92 day thing an issue - pretty much. Look, I was previously a service manager at Honda, Mercedes, Jaguar and Ferrari and we would get $200,000 cars come in with damage and problems - it happens, you deal with it, but here is the difference, its HOW you deal with it that makes you a hero, or a zero, I am betting you can figure out where Costco sits with us right now.
Small sampling of our 89 emails from Costco.
Below is our 7 month ordeal
Above is the important message
Below is for those that have a strong heart - lol
You are probably best to stop reading here.
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Quick note, I have lived in Hawaii for 35 years now, I fully understand that shipping takes a while, it’s the price we pay to live in paradise, so when the expected delivery date was 3-4 weeks, I knew perfectly well that meant 4-6 weeks! Not a big deal, we were building our “forever” home and we were about 3 months away from completion, so time was not of the essence. In fact, this isn't about a missed appointment or 2, or the damaged items, not even the broken stove - this is about the 7 months combined fiasco that is still unresolved.
May 15: Ordered
May 18: Shipped (impressive)
May 19: Product goes on sale for $500+ less
May 19: 2 day battle over getting the correct amount credited back, but finally they have issued 2 seperate credits that total the correct amount.
May 30: Email; We have great news – your items have arrived, due to your location it will take a few days for delivery – (WOW – super impressed)
May 31: I call carrier to make arrangements, 20 minutes later I am told that they don’t deliver to my address – you can imagine how that conversation went – I live 8 minutes from the Costco store. Im told I am out of the delivery area? I call Costco and explain the dilemma, they state we will get back to me in 24-48 hours.
June 3: still haven’t heard back, but not in a rush, it was a weekend…..
June 6: I call back and get the runaround, I finally ask for a supervisor, 30-40 minutes later I have a person on the phone that promises to “Own” the problem and will get back to me in 24-48 hours.
June 10: (again there math skills - 96 hours later) I receive a call, they are working on it, but no resolution at this time.
June 20: I was finally contacted about a projected delivery date of June 27, remember it arrived back in May – but again, I am building, so not in a hurry. The problem isn't that we are coming up on 3 months soon, the problem is, I was afraid it would be sent back or something, I really just wanted to know what was going on - that's it.
June 26: Phone call to confirm delivery tomorrow, confirmed!
June 27: sit at property from 8:00am to 6:00pm – no show,
June 28: They reschedule for delivery of July 8 between 8-10 am
July 8: Again, they are unable to make the appointment.
July 16: Delivered – no white glove delivery though, they just put them all in the garage, said they don’t open boxes or haul away packaging,
July 17: Costco says we're sorry, and issues me a $250 credit for my troubles. Thank you, I wasn't really trying to get something out of it, but I am not going to turn it down either.
September: (not sure of date, we had several weather related delays in building) we open boxes and find stove top damaged/dented with rust on the dent and no external damage to box, so it's obvious that it happened before packaging. Bummer, but I call Costco and was told no problem; we will send another one. This is fine, I can still use it till the new one comes in.
September 11: receive notice from Costco that the order was placed
September 16: order shipped
September 25: Costco notified me that the product has arrived with carrier and that I would have to reach out to the carrier on my own.
September 26: call carrier, no response
September 27: Carrier will track down and call me back within a few hours
October 1: Still no response, so I call Costco , they will get back to me in 24-48 hours
October 5: I call again (Saturday, but I know they are open on Saturdays because I now have about 100 hours into this ordeal, have spoken to the appliance team, the resolution team, practically everyone at Costco)
October 7: Still getting nowhere with Costco and delivery company, neither party wants say when it can be delivered.
October 10: Costco advises me that they have reached out to the delivery company, and to please email them ( Costco), when I have the appointment scheduled.
October 10: Also note, we have been in the house about 10 days now and just started using the appliances . I notice that the center burner on the stove does not work, its the griddle, but not a big deal, I have 4 good burners. I know there is a replacement stove on the way, but at this pace it may be next year before I see it (boy did I ever call that one right). I call Samsung to report the issue, Samsung states they will get back to me shortly (like in an hour or so, all they had to do was set the appointment)
October 17: With all the excitement of moving, I hadnt realized it had been a week and no word back from Samsung, not really an issue but figure I better follow up. so I call them, what happens next, totally sent me for a loop, straight out of left field.…….., its hard to fathom what came out of their mouth….. " they advised me to cut the plug off, and peel off the serial number, send them proof of this, and they will mail me a check for $2,200.00" ……. WHOOOOOOAAAAA, hold on a minute, this thing is 2 weeks old...... she goes on to explain that Samsung has no service options for me on the big island, and I will have to dispose of the unit myself and purchase another stove! Im like, what about the fridge, the dishwasher, the microwave, the washer/dryer..... No sir, we have no repair options for you, other than to cut the plugs off, and send in proof of this, and we will cut you a check???
October 18: I call Costco and ask them; how can you sell me $5,500 appliance package with no option of ever getting any service work done – ever! I have had it 2 weeks (3 now) and you cant help me, I asked Costco to make this right, you sell me a product that cant be serviced. Costco proceeds to tell me, sorry but you had 90 days to return this product, it has been 92 days and sorry Mr Owens, you are on your own (seriously, this is the words from there mouth)
92 days, and you are on your own – obviously this didn’t go ever well with me, I went up the chain of command, I produced documentation that I did not have a “certificate of occupancy” until October – they didn’t care
I produced my phone records, emailed it to them, showing I called Samsung before the 90 days, and Samsung never called me back, sorry Mr Owens. Costco didn’t care, said I should have called them first, not second. They stood their ground on 92 days, “ 92 days” ! They also reminded me that I do have a new stove on the way, so that will resolve the problem anyway.
I state: This is no longer the issue here, I never, ever, ever would have bought a product, living on an island, that could not be serviced. Well, Costco was not concerned with my problems, advised me that if I was worried about the serviceability of a product, I should have done my homework prior to purchasing. Now I am blown away, by 2 conversations in the same day !
October 18: Final decision from Costco
Good Afternoon Mr. Owens,
I’ve received a response from Costco.com. They stated that the units are past the 90 day return period so they are unable to do an exchange. Samsung stated the only way they could do anything is if the units are actually having issues like the range did. I’m sorry Mr. Owens. I tried every level of escalation possible and they’ve all given me the same response. I have no other options to explore at this time. Thank you for your time and attention, xxxxxxx
October 19: Nothing I can do, the fight is over, they refuse to budge, so we are back to tracking down my range, we know it is in Hawaii, I was notified back in September, so I reached out to both the delivery company, and Costco again for an update.
October 29: Crickets from Costco for the past 10 days, so I call every person I can think of and confirm it has been at the delivery company since October 1 (shipped 9/12 arrived 10/1) , so I forward this information to Costco , again, they tell me I have to chase down the delivery company myself, they do not have control over the 3rd party, I was trying to get it through to them, that I had even less control, you have to step in and help! I ask the Costco resolution team to please, please, sit on the line with me and lets "call"and get this resolved – today ! (they did not want to do it for me, but I insisted)
78 minutes later, with Costco on the phone, and 2 seperate delivery companies. each pointing fingers at the other in one big circle, serious, it was comedy central, the Costco resolution person felt sorry, said they would figure it out and get back to me in 24-48 hours.
October 31: its been 48 hours, and crickets from Costco
November 1: Crickets
November 2 Crickets
November 3: Crickets
November 4: Ditto
November 5: An email, checking to see if I had been contacted by the carrier yet…. Ok, this is turning into an abusive relationship my friend. Me: (email response) are you seriously asking me this, have you even read through the chain of emails, where is the person that is supposed follow up with me last week, has yet one more Costco employee that said they would “own” the problem, dropped the ball – I was seriously losing it now!
November 6: crickets
November 7: crickets
November 8: ahhh, I see an email from them.... Good morning Lance, I am so very sorry for the frustration this order has caused you.I will be taking ownership of this order going forward on Costco's end going forward.
November 11: Costco tells me my order has been shipped back to Samsung, so sorry but we will order you another one!!!
November 21: Costco: Due to the overwhelming response for this item, there has been a delay in fulfilling your order. We expect your order to ship the week of November 25th. You will receive an email with tracking information once your order has shipped.
November 26: Your order has shipped
December 11, 2019 : I promise you, I couldn’t make this up if I tried
Good morning Lance, Unfortunately, we have reached another setback. Our Outer Territories department who provides notification in regards to next steps and on the water let us know that there was a mix up in the paperwork yesterday and order was refused. I am so very sorry (sorry number 22) for this delay. They are working with Samsung and the Mira Loma depot to have it re-delivered. I will provide more information to you as soon as it becomes available.
Here I sit, 7 months after ordering my "Dream Kitchen" , dented, broken, unserviceable product.
(89 emails, 7 months of phone records, to the best of my knowledge every date is correct)
FInal UPDATE: 12/20/2019 Costco and I have come to a mutual agreement where both sides are happy. Big Mahalos to the supervisor that reached out after reading this and resolved the issue in 24 hours.
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