Last October, I was having my kitchen floor redone and thought it would be an added plus to have a new dishwasher. I purchased a top-of-the-line Kitchenaid dishwasher from ABT Electronics, whose servicemen delivered and installed it. It began mysteriously turning on indicator lights on the display, even when no one had touched it. ABT offered to repair it - but that was not satisfactory to me, so they were very cooperative and delivered and installed a second one. Having a small family, I do not use a dishwasher every day - but each day add items until I feel I have accumulated enough to run a load.
About a month after the dishwasher was installed, I opened it to add some dishes and silverware and noticed that the bottom of the dishwasher was filled with about a half inch of water. Not being thoroughly familiar with the unit and only having used it once before, I thought that this might have been caused by my prematurely stopping it the last time I used it to remove some plastic items before the drying cycle. I proceeded to drain the dishwasher and, once again, began to accumulate dishes and silverware before running it. About a week or so later, I noticed a large puddle of water on my new Pergo kitchen floor and, instinctively hurried to clean it up. But, as I was working to mop up the water, I noticed that it had gone under the flooring and was seeping up between the cracks in the floor. I then opened the dishwasher (which had not been run for at least a week) and found that this time it had accumulated so much water in the bottom that it had overflowed out of the bottom of the door and onto (and under) the floor. Of course, the new flooring warped and I now have a floor that looks worse than the one it was replacing.
I contacted ABT immediately (and, mistakenly, was very confident that this matter would be handled in their usual efficient manner). They sent out an inspector to assess the situation who denied that the water which had accumulated in the bottom of the dishwasher could be the result of their faulty installation (although he could not offer a logical explanation for it). As soon as he left, I immediately called Kitchenaid to ask their opinion and they scheduled their serviceman to inspect the installation. His report indicated that there was not the proper loop in the installation (which, supposedly, prevents water from the sink from finding its way through the hoses into the dishwasher).
So, I contacted ABT again and told them about the report from the Kitchenaid serviceman and they scheduled another service call. Again, in spite of the written service report by the Kitchenaid serviceman, they denied that they were responsible for the water damage to my floor because of a faulty installation. I had previously had a dishwasher in that same location for 43 years with not so much as a drop of water ever leaking from it. It did have a check valve, though, to prevent water from the sink traveling through the hose into the dishwasher, which has since been replaced, I understand, by this "loop" of hose.
Not getting any satisfaction, this time I wrote a letter to ABT Electronics and to Kitchenaid, asking them if they would consider jointly reimbursing me for the expense of having my floor repaired. Kitchenaid promptly replied, stating that the fault was not theirs, as the dishwasher was not defective. ABT Electronics did not reply at all.
Not getting any satisfaction from their employees, my next step was to go to the ABT store on Waukegan Road and speak to Mr. Billy Abt, who assured me that he would personally look into the matter. After that, I had several more servicemen from ABT - again all denying that this damage could have resulted from a faulty installation. And, Mr. Abt refused to pay for the damaged floor, saying that he was in business to make money and that this kind of an expenditure would be too exorbitant
I am a 74-year old widow with limited funds, but had decided to spruce up my kitchen with a new floor and this dishwasher (and I even put a new Kitchenaid range and combination ventilating fan/microwave on order with ABT to be delivered as soon as the rest of the work in the kitchen was finished). Please tell me, who do you think could afford the cost of the repair of the damaged floor better, a widow who had dipped into her small retirement savings or a flourishing electronics store who is building a huge new facility?
After much discussion, Mr. Abt finally told me that he would reimburse me for one-half of the cost of the repair of the floor. But, to me, this is not satisfactory. First of all, I don't have available funds at this time to pay for this work and secondly, WHY SHOULD I HAVE TO?
Even though practically every appliance that I own and/or have purchased over the years for my son and my daughters has come from ABT, I don't think I want to purchase the stove and microwave hood from them in the future, due to the treatment I have received.
My prior admiration for a wonderful company who did everything for their customers has now turned into a bitter, unhappy experience and a desire to let the world know how abt is now treating their customers.
Lois
Park Ridge, Illinois
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