Progress Reports

I have added
Updates
to the book's website.

I will still share updates on my blog. Just wanted to let you know that I will periodically add a new note to the website, letting everyone know the projected release date as it approaches. Not everyone reads both sites.

In addition to the excitement about being almost ready to publish my book, I got some very unexpected and happy news this morning.

As some of you may remember, one day last year (I think it was Octobeter!), I shared on my blog about my refrigerator woes. In case you weren't reading then, my built-in KitchenAid refrigerator/freezer just stopped working. To make a long story short, the end result was the sad news that the unit could not be repaired and our builder had purchased a refurbished unit without a warranty. Of course, he did not disclose that to us as the new homeowners!

We had two choices. We could unplug it and do without a refrigerator and freezer in our kitchen or we could replace it at our own expense.

We have a smaller refrigerator in the laundry room. We did not want to spend thousands of dollars right then on a new built-in appliance. (Can you say BAD ECONOMY HURTING THE CAR BUSINESS???) So we just adapted. When we want something cold now, we just automatically go to the laundry room. What seemed like such a major inconvenience in the beginning has become a new routine. Most days, I don't give it a second thought that I don't have a working fridge in my kitchen. But occasionally, it's funny when a guest is trying to help me clean up and goes to put leftovers in that facade of a refrigerator. Other than having to go upstairs to the bonus room if I want ice, it really hasn't been a big adjustment in our lives. I feel blessed to have such a nice back-up unit right around the corner in the laundry room.

A few months ago, a friend of ours came to visit for the weekend and we were laughing about the death of our refrigerator and the mourning of our warranty status. I had been advised that I should not just accept this as the final outcome because I was given a homeowner's manual with a warranty printed in it. And, as John kept pointing out, there should not be such a thing as an eight thousand dollar appliance that, when something goes wrong, cannot be repaired. He said, "Imagine how quickly I would be out of business if, after a few years, a brand new car I had sold someone broke down and I said, 'Oh, I'm so sorry. It cannot be repaired. You will just have to replace it with a new one.'"

We were sharing our dilemma with our friend, Chuck. And he said that his son-in-law worked for Whirlpool. He offered to mention our situation to him and see if anything could be done. To make it easier for him, I wrote a letter including all the details of every service call. He forwarded it to his son-in-law. Chuck later told me that his son-in-law felt like something should be done. So I waited patiently to hear something, not wanting to bug my friend, Chuck, about it. After all, he was very gracious to offer his help (and that of his son-in-law's) and I didn't want him to regret it. I wrote that letter in April and haven't heard anything from Whirlpool. I wasn't really expecting to at this point.

However, this morning I got a very pleasant surprise. I received a call from Whirlpool Corporation apologizing for the long delay in their response and informing me that I am going to receive a brand new KitchenAid built in side by side refrigerator-freezer to replace the defective unit that has been unplugged since October. In the next ten days, I should hear from a local appliance company about the delivery of my new unit and removal of the old one. I am in stunned disbelief! And I'm so thankful! I will also sing the praises from now on of the Whirlpool Corporation and their concern for satisfied customers.

How wonderfully strange it's going to be to have ice available again right here in my kitchen! That's not something I have ever given thanks for in the past, but something I no longer take for granted!

Comments

John Wagner said…
And just when I was beginning to think customer service was completely dead. Hooray! Perhaps you should also let them know you wrote about it on your blog. Seems like your homebuilder should have taken responsibility for this a long time ago. Kudos to Whirlpool for doing the right thing.
Shari said…
I sent a link to my blog post to the friend whose son-in-law got this taken care of. I'm hoping he will forward it on. The lady on the phone (Melissa) was so sweet and apologized several times for the delay in responding. Every time she did, I just assured her how happy I was to be hearing from her now. As I told my husband, I am not one to dwell on the spilled milk after it's all cleaned up. : ) The builder, as you might imagine, just "disappeared" a while back. We cannot even locate him. Of course, he lost a lot of money because of the economy. So I don't even know if he is still in business. Whenever I have a choice, I will always buy Whirlpool products from here on because of this experience. They have a lifetime customer now (plus everyone I can influence).