How (Not) To Get a Sale

[aaron]

I have a problem with my range and, after replacing a $20 part that "could have been" the cause I found myself looking at replacing a $300 part. The oven's getting a bit old, when I had it apart I saw a lot of the long-term effects of heat on the wiring and electrical components, and the former owner (it came with the house) was not kind to its cosmetics, so I figured, "Time to price out a replacement." (The parts diagrams for the range... let's just say that the most clear illustrations of the part I replaced were completely useless in terms of locating the actual part, which was nowhere near where they suggested and was in fact buried in a totally different part of the range, but that's another story.)

So I sent off an email to a local dealer via their "Request a price" form on their website. (The manufacturer clearly doesn't allow authorized dealers to publish prices, as none do.) And then I hit Google and hit a couple of national dealers. One national dealer contacted me within minutes. The other got back to me within 24 hours. The local dealer.... yeah. Still waiting.

This particular local dealer used to be a pretty awesome store, with lots of on-side experts in appliances, electronics, and cameras. Now they have a much larger, much more beautiful showroom and... most of the sales staff doesn't know anything about the products they carry, they have all-but-eliminated cameras (back in the days when people still used film they catered to serious amateurs and professionals), and last time I was in the store for some reason I didn't have a single salesperson ask if I was looking for something. I guess they eliminated commissions?

I know it's a tough business, but you still have to try. The local people would have also scored an installation fee (with Duane's story about his local dealer overcharging for installation kept in mind) and a haul-away fee, and if they don't like dealing with Internet shoppers they (may as well close down) shouldn't put price request forms on their website. Frankly, as they have no information about my home, the potential installation cost for this unit should have had somebody at the store drooling - it's a replacement of a prior model, but if it were a new unit it would be very complicated to install.

[drcollie]

A timely story, Aaron! I just finished putting a new motor in my 2-year-old Thermador Downdraft Vent. The motor self-destructed due to poor design (evident when I pull off the shielding). German-made, supposed to be good, but its crap. They have a hampster wheel fan at the end of a small motor and that motor is attached to the support from the back with (4) screws. That's it! No front support for the motor, its just hanging on those four screws turning that hampster wheel - I'm actually surprised it lasted two years. So anyways, I call Thermadore USA for some help. All I get is 'no's'.

* NO, I can't tell you what parts you might need.
* NO, its not under warranty.
* NO, if you don't have a parts diagram I can't tell you where to find one.
* NO, we do not tech advice here.
* NO, you cannot return unused parts without a 30% restock charge.

So I said to her ""No" seems to be your favorite word". She said "This is company policy", to which I replied "Well, your company policies stink - and I won't be buying any more Thermadore products".

I was able to get the motor and it was $ 205 (worth about $ 50, tops) and there was no way I was calling my selling dealer to install it or even for tech tips. I'm sure they would have wanted $ 400 to install it, and it took me two hours to do it, working slowly.