Buying a house, I was fully aware that I would no longer be able to turn to my landlord when things went wrong. What I wasn’t aware of was how quickly that would play out. In an attempt to save some money, Angela and I decided to buy a used washer and dryer. We didn’t really care that the set had a few dents and dings in it as long as it washed our clothes. We had them installed last Friday. The guys that put them in put a few marks in our paint, and looking back I should have known that was a sign of things to come.
After we moved in on Saturday, Angela started a load of laundry to clean some of the blankets that we had used. Not only did the washer put marks on our comforter, it also leaked nasty yellow water. Luckily our washer is in a plastic tub with a drain, so it didn’t get on our floor. Frustrated, but knowing we needed our comforter to sleep that night, Angela hand washed the marks out. It then took 4 dryer cycles on high heat to get the comforter 90% dry. We finally decided to let it air dry as we used it for the last 10%.
After multiple attempts to talk to the store about wanting to return the washer and dryer, we finally were able to get up with them on Monday and scheduled a time for them to be picked up on Tuesday. When they came, they told Angela that we were going to have to pay a restocking fee. She called me, and this was about the breaking point for me.
I called the store manager and asked him why I was being charged a restocking fee when he delivered a broken product. We went back and forth for a few minutes. I was on my way home and told him that I would gladly show his guys the issue, but I had no interest in them fixing it. I let him know I expected a full refund and was not going to pay a restocking fee. I had already stopped by his store and showed him pictures of how they marked up the walls moving the units in, and I let him know that I didn’t trust them to take care of the issues.
At this point, he let me know that his drivers claimed they didn’t mark the walls. This set me over the edge. The washer and dryer were literally (and I actually mean literally) the first things that were moved into our house. We bought a brand new house so there were no prior marks left by the previous owners. There was no way those marks were there before his guys installing our washer and dryer. So I laid into him. I wasn’t going to let my wife and I be called liars. I was angry, and I clearly communicated that to him. I communicated it very loudly and hopefully none of our new neighbors heard. I’m sure my face was red and my blood pressure was through the roof.
After I got off the phone with him, I felt like a complete jerk. I worked with the guys removing the washer and dryer. I made sure they didn’t leave any new marks on our walls. When they left my house, I decided to give the manager a call back. I let him know I showed his guys how it malfunctioned and they had taken the appliances back. I also apologized for the way I acted.
So in summary, be careful where you buy your used appliances from. Also, I have to remember to keep my anger in check. I know love is a better approach but it’s just so hard to show sometimes.
until next time…