Thursday, January 13, 2011

"You're way too nice," Dave said....

...as I hung up the phone.

He was listening as I was dealing with Sears on the continuing saga of "Where in the world were my new washer and dryer that were ordered December 1 of  last year?"  He felt that I wasn't being forceful enough with the people on the other end of the line. He thought that I would get better results by being a little more demanding....and, not getting taken advantage of.

After three separate attempted and canceled delivery dates, I was finally being told that the washer was now discontinued and I would have to go back to Sears and pick out another set.

I am just not the type to get angry over the phone when it comes to dealing with this kind of stuff.  First of all, the person that I am speaking to may just be an innocent messenger....so, why should I waste my energy getting frustrated with them? I also am a great believer that "what goes around, comes around"...so, being kind is something that I try (not always so easy!) to practice as much as I can.

So, even though I have been stuck here with my 20+ yr. old washer that leaks and the 17+ yr. old dryer that takes running the clothes through 2-3 full cycles before anything dries (!)....and, I was terribly frustrated....I decided to take the high road in dealing with all of the people involved.

Well, what has happened since that phone call a few days ago has been nothing short of incredible.  After getting in touch with the appliance manager at the Sears where the set was purchased, I was told to come in and meet with him and pick out a replacement set.  He couldn't have been more apologetic or sympathetic to my situation. (He also said that he wanted to credit me $100. on what I had already paid because of my inconvenience and patience. He did that right away.)

As I arrived there I was greeted, not only by the manager, but by the sales associate that was going to be helping me with my selections. We began the process of looking at what was available that was comparable to what I had purchased....and they were willing to upgrade if necessary.

It just so happens that a Maytag/Whirlpool expert was in the store that day and he joined the three of us as we looked over the models.  Now, it seems that Whirlpool has come out with a new model that has taken care of some of the issues that the older models had.  I was pretty impressed with this new model...BUT, it was quite a bit more expensive than what I had purchased.

The manager saw my interest and asked me if I would be happy with this newer model. "Of course", I thought to myself excitedly....but, tried to act cool and calm.

Next thing I knew, the manager and I were sitting in his office while he began to juggle figures around to make this happen. 

"Let's make this work. I will give you free delivery, take 30% off of this price and add in another $50 credit and have it delivered to you this Thursday...etc. etc. etc." the manager said.

I was astounded in that the total price for this completely upgraded washer and dryer was actually several hundred dollars less than what I had paid for the first set!

"I don't know what to say," I expressed to the manager.

"Well, it is the least that we can do," the manager said, "Everyone that you have had to deal with has told me how patient and kind you have been." 

Of course, I immediately called Dave to tell him my story...and, gloated a bit about how you can catch more flies with sugar than you can with vinegar..... :  )

Then, today my daily inspiration email came with the following message:


"Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck."- Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama

1 comment:

Beverly said...

That's wonderful. After all your aggravation of waiting, you were rewarded. You really should write a letter to the editor or something like that.

When I was in Virginia in december, I asked my kids if they would like to go to the Outback for dinner. I ordered a small sirloin, that when I was served it, I could hardly cut it, much less chew it. When the server asked me how everything was, I told her about the steak.

The manager came to the table, they replaced my whole meal, which I ended taking home as carryout. My son was thrilled! I love the Outback, and one bad expeience wouldn't keep me away, but they certainly did everything they could to make sure we were satisfied with our meal.

Maybe the touch economic times are causing those wanting to make sales take a second look and make a real effort to make sure the customer is well satisfied.