The reason I am writing is to express my shock and chagrin over how the Whirlpool acquisition of the Jenair and Maytag brands have dragged down the customer experience of these once proud premium brands to the lowest denominator.
For years I was a loyal purchaser of Maytag and Jenair's luxury appliances. The company lived up to its reputation for outstanding customer service and appliance reliability. I did not realize when I purchased my $7,000 refrigerator that since the Whilpool acquisition this distinction no longer exists. I wish to warn other loyal customers what to expect now from Whilpool aka Jenair.
Described below is my recent experience with my $7,00 built in Jenair, side by side refrigerator.in the middle of July before I went to bed for the night, I discovered an electrical problem that caused the inside of the refrigerator to become so overheated that plastic parts inside the unit had melted and the inside walls of the refrigerator were scorching, too hot to touch. The refrigerator could not be turned off, even by the emergency off switch located inside the top wall panel. Fortunately, I was able to disable it by flipping the circuit breaker. More fortunate, I discovered the problem before it burned my house down in the middle of the night.
The next morning I called the local certified Jenair repairman. They could not come look at the problem for almost a week. When they did come out I was told they could have the parts within a week and call the first of next week to come back out to fix the refrigerator. The service tech. Had never seen anything like it the inside of my refrigerator. After a week without hearing from the service company I called them and was informed that the needed parts were back ordered for at lease six more weeks and that one part was no longer available. They would get back to me when they found the needed parts.
Having already been over two weeks without a refrigerator-freezer I called Jenair customer service to get assistance in locating the parts and some more information abou what should be done so the refrigerator could not overheat to this degree in the future.
Having used Jenair customer service years before with a problem I was shocked and dismayed at the inability of Whirlpool, aka Jenair customer service to respond to my questions. After waiting on hod very long time the customer service representative who answered could not help with any suggestions as to the length of time it may take to get the unavailable parts (if ever) or the extreme heat issue.
I asked politely if I could talk to a customer service supervisor and was placed on hold for an additional long wait. No supervisor was available, however I was told my "issue" was now assigned to Adam, a supervisor, who would call me back on my cell within 24 hours. After three days with no call from Adam. I again called customer service. After the obligatory long wait time I politely told my story and asked if Adam was available. After an extremely long time on hold I finally had to hang up to go to work. I called back and requested that Adman give me a call on my cell when he was available. I was assured that he would call me that day. After four more days and several attempts on my part to reach Adam or any supervisor I still had no response. Finally this morning (three weeks without a refrigerator) I was transferred to a supervisor named Vicki. For obvious reasons customer service is not allowed to provide last names. I do not believe in taking out frustrations out on the poor customer services representatives. So I remain polite even when frustrated.
Vicki was well trained at "I'm sorry responses" however, there was noting she could do about the unavailable parts as my $7,000 refrigerator was over four years hold and Jenair changes parts every year on refrigerator models. Since my house did not burn down, and I did not hold the scorching walls long enough to require medical attention for burns her only, suggestion was that maybe I should purchase a new one if this one could not be fixed. She was "so sorry" but there is no chain of communication available for Whirlpool aka Jenair customer service except for me to letter to the CEO of Whirlpool, at Whirlpool headquarters.
I thanked her politely, left with visions of the CEO's mailroom at Whilpool headquarters sending me a "I am so sorry" form letter and filing my letter in the round hole.
I will publish my story wherever possible in hopes that it may alert other poor consumers that still associate believe in the reputation of the Maytag and Jenair for outstanding customer service, quality built products, and excellent repair service. Now that they are Whilpool save time and frustration from ungodly hold wait times. There is no one at customer service with any authority to assist you. Apparently, the only employee at Whilpool who has time and authority for customer service requests is the CEO. You can write to Mr. Settig CEO, at Wirlpool headquarters in Michigan.
Unfortunately, I do not have $7000 for another refrigerator. Money is very tight and I need to sell my beautiful home to make ends meet. I hope somehow the the refrigerator can be made to work again one of these months. Meanwhile I have purchased a small used low end refrigerator and set it up my dinning room.
If Maytag/Jenair was involved instead of Whirlpool I believe I could have spoken to someone with the authority to help me. As writing to the CEO is my only recourse: please Mr. CEO, can you provide me with some assistance in getting the parts to repair my four year old $7,000 refrigerator so I can sell my home. Further, is there any way, under the circumstances, you could discounted some of the estimated $1000 repair cost if the parts are located. Is there anything that can be done to fix the unit so that the refrigerator could no longer overheat to that extent again, possibly burning my house down or burning the hands of my family and friends.
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