32 Comments:
i in fact used to work for sears/a&e factory service.....my advice to this lady, call a&e at 1-800-905-9505 and ask to speak with the C.I.T team. this is in fact the department i used to work in, and its a supervisor team. they wont give you the run around like the local repair center will. anymore questions regarding help, or any questions about a&e procedures in general, let me know.
Yeah-I too unfortunately used to work for A&E "Factory" Service in Phoenix,AZ. I left for several reasons, one of which was my frustration of getting sent out on calls following newly minted techs that were fixing burgers last week. As far as the previous message about C.I.T., well that is just Sears. To get a good response about any problem with an appliance follow these simple steps. 1. NEVER BUY FROM SEARS. If you do you are buying an appliance purchased from the manufacturer with no warranty. Sears warrants the item. You have no recourse other than Sears for service. You then have a tech more worried about his cost per repair than fixing your unit right. He will rebuild your part with used parts in his van rather than replace it with new. This is especially true if he doesn't have it since he is also graded on his trips per repair. If you buy from a retailer other than Sears, you have the option of demanding a servicer other than A&E. You may be told you will have to wait longer for service, it will be worth the wait. Besides, A&E is required to maintain 3 day service to continue getting Whirlpool calls. As a result, they regularly overbook their techs and rescedule calls and have rushed techs. Wait for an independent. You will almost surely receive better service as they are mostly genuinely interested in cultivating good cutomer relationships. They will help the customer get the problem resolved.
A & E Factory service SUCKS. Bottom line, DO NOT USE THEM THEY ARE THE WORST. Technician came out on 3/3 to fix a leak, the next day the fridge did not work at all. I called, could not get appt. til 3/11 and then they never showed up or called. I called again to schedule, because they won't take the time to call and reschedule or call to let you know they aren't coming. The technician finally shows up today 3/13 and tells me that the previous tech forgot to re-plug the fan and that is why our fridge was not working. 10 days later and a crap load of spoiled food, the thing is finally fixed. Thank you A and E for winning the award for worst customer service, worst repair and a complete disgrace to American repair companies nationwide.
NW
California
Hey everyone, i am an A&E Tech. The truth is that i run into alot of what everyone has mentioned, lazy techs, poor cust. relations, etc... But not every tech sucks. Those who have never worked for sears and has worked with the old true Whirlpool Factory Service techs or as been trained by one like myself, has better work ethics and will focus on cust. satisfaction. Always ask for the best. Im young only 20yrs old, but i satisfy my custumers and stride to be the best. others like me me are in A&E. Find us and you will be satisfied. As for the lazy retarded techs, they do not last long.
to the A&E TEch. I hope your are right. The first Tech to look at my Kitchen-Aid dishwasher came exactly at 8AM, and was very professional and knowledgeable. Today, after waiting for 3 weeks for parts, I was to have someone here between 8-12. I received many calls from the repair center saying he was on his way. Now it's 5:22 and I am sill waiting. I can only hope he's a good tech like you seem to be, and he will still come today.
Very frustrated lady
I am also a victim of A&E. I will not go into my story as this has been going on for two months and our fridge is still not fixed. I do not understand how companies of such can survive working with people of this sort. I understand and believe that there are knowledgable, honest Tech's out there but with my experience there has been 3 different techs who have come out here and have given us 3 diff. answers. On top of that the reps at the call center gave us different answers as well. There can be mistakes made by anyone in any profession but when you feel cheated and they are doing it continuously, that's when people should start voicing their opinion. We have since complained to the CEO of A&E and KitchenAid. We have records and names of everyone who has been working on this assignment. At the end of the day, it does not matter if the fridge was taken care. Its about customer service and being honest. Now we all know A&E will never be used by us or recommeded to any of our friends or family.
I am beyond frustrated and am filing a small claim against A&E Signature Appliance, aka A&E Factory Service. They gave me a huge runaround when I tried to obtain their address for the process server -- one "Juanita" in customer service (800)905-9505 actually insisted three times that A&E was spelled ANE (like "AND" but with an "E" instead of a "D", she said). And she gave me 800-413-1657 as their legal department. Turns out, this line is staffed by "Citicards Assets Sales Department", you can only leave a message. "Juanita" would not tell me which state A&E was incorporated in -- HA! It's ARIZONA!
We have an excellent legal support structure in California - free legal advice and great customer protection against companies like these... So -- A&E, I look forward to seeing your representative in court in a couple of weeks! My claim is less than $7500, but it really was no trouble at all to file it -- I encourage ALL of you who have gone without service for an unreasonable amount of time and who have suffered from TECHNICAL and ADMINISTRATIVE ERRORS to take matters into your own hands -- LEGALLY -- enough small claims can put this outfit out of business so that Sears/Whirlpool/Maytag/KitchenAid have to find an alternate company to perform the warranty work on their CHEAP products made in CHINA!
Dude, great rant! Keep us posted in the how your lawsuit goes.
Reading this post has been like group therapy for me. Last year I too was victimized by A&E. Our refrigerator went out and we were directed to A&E. The repair guys had to come 4 different times over a 2 month period, and we had to wait for parts to be shipped on two different occasions. A couple of the times the repair guy was here he misdiagnosed the problem entirely. On one of the four visits, two guys came, and one of them (while the fridge was all taken apart), made a mistake and caused damage to the fridge. So the next time they came they spent 4 hours fixing the screwup. Four visits. TWO MONTHS WITHOUT A FRIDGE!!! This was during the winter, so we kept all our food in boxes on the back porch and the garage to keep it all cold. Wow, that was fun! And the main repairman that came 3 of the 4 times was curt (borderline rude) and acted very put out that he had to come 4 times, as if it were my fault that my fridge had problems.
Maybe we could band together and do a class action lawsuit against this company. The goal would be to put them out of business so that a new service company can rise and fill the void. And maybe they'll learn to not repeat the mistakes of A&E.
Sorry for the length of this rant, but this has to be read to be believed...
In late March 2006, I called A&E Factory Service about my 4-year-old Roper/Whirlpool refrigerator/freezer, which was no longer cooling properly (it was about 50-60 degrees in the refrigerator, and 20-30 in the freezer). The first available appt. was approx. 1 week later. The technician who came on that day said that the problem was caused by a faulty default timer, and replaced it at a charge of $210.36, as this part was no longer under warranty. I continued to have problems with it cooling properly, so I called them again and they said that the next available appt. was April 11. On April 11, another technician came and said that it was not the default timer causing the problem, but the thermostat, and replaced that part at no charge.
In early June, I once again began to have cooling problems, and this time there was frost build-up in my frost-free freezer, and the refrigerator was running constantly, never going through the defrost cycle. The next available appt. was over a week later, on June 17. On June 17 a senior technician came and said that it was the defrost timer as the first technician had said, but that the first technician had incorrectly installed the new timer. He said he fixed the timer and I should have no further problems. He also said that he was "too busy" to give me the computer receipt and printout, and that if I had any further problems to contact him on his cell phone. The refrigerator did cool better for a few days, but it still wouldn't go through the defrost cycle, and the frost continued to build up, and the motor continued running, and eventually the temperature inside the refrigerator began to go up again to almost 50 degrees. I tried contacting the sr. technician on his cell phone, but he would never answer and I had to leave several messages before he returned my calls. He said he would try to come by the next day after his shift was over, but he did not call me as he said he would, and when I called him and left him another message, he did call back on my cell (I programmed his number), but when I answered, he either hung up or we got somehow disconnected. I called him again, this time paging him, and he never called back.
So I made another appt. with A&E Factory Service, and the next available appt. wasn't for 8 more days, scheduled between 8 AM and 12 PM. I stayed home from work waiting for the repairman, but when he didn't call or arrive by 12 PM, I called customer service and was told that he was "running late" and he had two more customers to take care of before he could get to me. I asked the operator to have the technician call me with an ETA of when he would be coming, because I had to be at work in the afternoon, and I had to drive 40 miles to get there. 45 minutes passed, and I did not get a call, so I called back, and once again I was promised that I would get a call about the ETA. Another 45 minutes passed without word, and when I called a third time, around 2 PM, a routing manager told me that the technician would be there later in the afternoon. I explained that I had to be at work, and could not wait another week plus for the next available appt., which the previous customer service rep said would be July 7. This time the routing manager said he could get me an appt. between 8 AM and 5 PM today, July 1.
A customer service rep from Sears Home Repair (affiliated with A&E Factory Service) called to confirm my appt. on June 30. When I spoke to her, I asked if the technician would call before coming, and she said "maybe", which led me to believe that he would be coming with or without a prior phone call. At about 3:10 PM I checked my cell phone and realized that I had a missed call, but there was no message. I called the number back, and it turned out to be from the technician, who said that he would be right over. When he arrived nearly an hour later, he took a look at the refrigerator and said that it was indeed a problem with the default timer. He turned a switch with the screwdriver, which made the refrigerator fan stop running for the first time in over 3 weeks. Then he said that because I did not answer the phone when he first called, I was no longer in the computer system and he could not perform the repair, and he left.
Furious by this point, I called Sears Home Repair again and explained what this guy had just done, and the rep said that the guy was lying or was wrong, that I was still in the computer system, and that he would have him come back to my home. I realized at this point that when the technician had turned the switch on the defrost timer, the fan was no longer working, and the temperature in the refrigerator was beginning to rise into the 60s, and my food was in grave danger of spoiling. If he had not been able to come back, I would have lost all of my food to spoilage!
The technician called me to confirm he would be coming back, and when I asked him if he had the correct part, he said yes, no problem. Finally around 7 PM he came back. After taking out the defrost timer and going to his truck, he came back and said that he had a defrost timer, but it wasn't the right size! He still installed it, and showed me that it was indeed allowing the refrigerator fan to run again, but that he would have to order the correct part, and he could not give me an ETA on when I could expect the right part to be ready. I'm not at all convinced that when the "right part" does come in, that the problem will be fixed. I've already had the defrost timer replaced once, and it didn't fix the problem.
I have filed a complaint with the California Department of Consumer Affairs.
That is one helluva story, thanks for posting it. Please keep us updated on how this turns out for you. Don't let The Man keep a bruthah down!
Here's the rest of my story. A few days later I got a call from Sears Home Repair saying that I had an appointment scheduled for July 10; I had never scheduled an appointment with them, so I assumed the last repairman scheduled it to put in the correct-size defrost timer. I said that July 10 won't do, I have to work during the week, and I can accept only Saturday appointments. The next available Saturday appointment was July 22 between 8 AM and 12 PM. I said OK, given that the refrigerator was running properly again, and then I asked the customer service rep to put a note in the computer that this was a service call to put in the correct size defrost timer and to make sure that all my previous information was recorded, and he said he would make sure that note was there.
On July 22 it was deja vu, no arrival and no phone call by 12:30 PM. I called to check on the status, and was told it would be a couple more hours. I asked the customer service rep again to make sure that the person coming knew what was needed, and he said not to worry, the repairman was aware of my problem. Guess what - when the guy finally showed, and I asked him if he knew that I needed a certain size defrost timer, he said no, there was no way for him to have received that information! So the customer service reps were lying to me the entire time about taking notes and making sure the repairmen had them. This guy took a quick look at the refrigerator, said that as long as it's working OK now (and it has been), that I shouldn't worry about getting another defrost timer, and left after about 5 minutes.
I'm cautiously optimistic that the oversized defrost timer will continue to operate properly, but if I have any more problems, I'm giving up and buying another refrigerator (making sure I don't have to deal with A&E/Sears Home Repair!), because I am so sick and tired of dealing with these people!
I was a customer of A&E Factory services. I had my icemaker go out and I called A&E and they said they had no sooner service and the techs were booked out for a week and a half. I then called Whirlpool, with my 3 complaint calls into Whirlpool they called A&E and got someone bumped off their so I could get moved in. My ice maker was fixed in time for margaritas the next night. I learned if I complained enough to the manufacturer they can get someone else bumped off the route and I can get what I want!
Wow. This is like group therapy.
I bought my front-loading washer new in April. It sat at Lowe's for a month while we were finishing the house.
One day, I noticed that said washer had stopped going through the spin cycle. It would just sit there and buzz. I called the number on the machine... and got you know who.
The techs in my area have been prompt, courteous and quick to respond. However, they give the appearance that the staff at A&E don't support them the way they should.
My washer is a new model and their computers didn't have any information on this model. Fair enough. They called A&E well over 6 weeks ago for help doing a diagnostic on this machine so they could order the correct parts.
Parts come, techs come... parts go in, washer still won't work correctly. Techs come back, run more tests with the guys on the line. More parts. More tests. More wasted time.
The machine is now to the point that it will not do anything at all except look angry and buzz. It blinks a lot and sits.
Most of this, I feel, is the result of bad customer service at A&E. My techs have no information on this washer and it is new new, so exposure to this model has been minimal... when they call A&E for help, it seems like A&E would provide something of use to the technicians. Instead, A&E support has finished nailing my washer's coffin.
But, oh, it gets better. One of the two regulars who have been out here became incredibly frustrated with A&E and called Whirpool direct for some information. Whirpool was every bit as bad! They told the tech that there had been a recall (I never got a notice) and there was a problem with the door.
That was two weeks ago. Last week they came and put the new door on along with some sensor things for good luck.
What do you know, it's still not working. One of the two techs told me that there is nothing left that hasn't been replaced except for the wiring harness. He ordered it and I'm eagerly awaiting its arrival.
If I had known that this much trouble would come out of a $600 washing machine, man would I have done things differently. If you guys end up with success in the courts, please post. I am seriously considering a small claims case against both A&E and Whirpool -- A&E for general neglect and Whirpool for pissing in my cheerios. ;)
I don't feel any better after reading this, but at least I'm not alone. Here are my experiences. So far it's been a month and they still haven't fixed my refrigerator.
Amazing,
Here I am, upset about this stupid company "A & E factory bad service", since I am another victim. I am not going to write my experience since I am tired of doing so...I have reported them to BBB, but they are still in business...specially with GE. Can we sue them? I am willing to spend my time getting these morons out of business since there is no professionalism. Someone needs to do something. Not only they left me hanging two Saturdays in a row not even calling me back...but the one Saturday they show up they send this fat ass technician with an attitude and he starts banging my refrigerator's door.
It is incredible that GE still would want to do business with them being a "6 sigma" company...
Service is supposed to improve, not decrease!
Andy
By the way, if anyone wants their number...here it is:
1-888-508-6641
Andy
Oh man, thanks for all these postings! I wish I found these sooner.
Tomorrow (March 12) a repair person from A & E is coming over to repair our Maytag Dishwasher. It's still under warranty, having been purchased in June 2006 from Home Depot. We have a good idea what's wrong with it, something to do with the door switch inside the door itself, that is not working, causing the dishwasher not to turn on. When my husband called Maytag and described the problem, they said it sounded like an inner switch problem, and claimed this is a common problem with Maytag dishwashers. (guess that's why they stopped showing the old Maytag TV commercials where the repairman never has to go on a call, because Maytag never breaks down, haha!)
I have warned my husband about the dozens of bad A&E experiences I have found not only on this website but from many others (including "Rip-off Report" online) but he insists that since it's under warranty, he's doing to go with this company that Maytag is sending. I don't like it, but we will see what happens tomorrow.
Oh, A&E called us tonight too, with a recorded message that the repairman will be here between the hours of 8am - 5pm ! Good thing we both have off tomorrow!
If we get the runaround tomorrow, or experience a similar situation that everyone else who posted here has experienced so far, I will gladly call a local repairman and PAY for the repair.
I just found out that a freind of mine has had to deal with A&E too, and HATES them.
I have a feeling I will be posting a complaint here too, after tomorrow. Maybe not.
We shall see.
My washing machine broke & I called a Sears Repair Center who gave me A&E's # to fix the problem. My reparmain arrived on time and eventually determined that my lid switch was broken. He said that it would be roughly $160 to repair and he couldn't come back to fix it for another week or so. I asked him how much the part was and he told me it cost $20! I couldn't believe they were going to charge me $140 to change a switch!! I denied their service, ordered the part on my own (less than $30 with shipping & taxes) and changed my own switch in less than 3 minutes. I'm not sure if this is typical pricing for a switch change, but I can't help but feeling like they took advantage of a seemingly young naieve woman...
Wow, I wonder if the only folks that go the the trouble to post service reviews here are only the ones that have had problems. I came on the board this afternoon to post a positive comment on A&E and found this highly negative thread.
I called Sears' computer voice yesterday, Thurs, afternoon and was scheduled a visit for this morning. I had no idea it would be an A&E repairman until he showed up.
I had fiddled with troubleshooting the problem in advance so had a pretty good idea what it was and wasn't. He worked on the washer for about an hour and a half, mostly trying to get it to work in some cycles (so my wife could wash some clothes) while waiting for the parts which wouldn't arrive until Tues.
While brainstorming the problem he must have gotten the impression that I could order and replace the suspected bad parts myself (which I could) and he volunteered that that's what I should do. He said if I bought the parts through them they would likely cost 50% (markup) more than I could get them for onlne (repairclinic.com) and that he would have to charge the "book rate" for labor which was much more than a simple hourly rate. Doing this myself will save me about $300!
And on top of it he said he would not charge me the $65 for his initial visit! I said that it was the least I could do for his time and costs in diagnosing the problem. He wouldn't allow it!
Frankly, I really feel guilty that he came out and spent 1 1/2 hours and wouldn't let me pay him anything.
You can be sure next time I have any appliance repair issues, they'll be my first call. I'm even going to look into the appliance service contract he mentioned they sell. I've really got to find a way to pay them back.
Maybe they're going out of their way to make up for the bad reputation gained in the past (mentioned fully above). They sure worked for me!
My my my. I almost wish I'd checked here first, before calling A&E for service on my Kitchen Aid refrigerator (the third repair call since it was installed just nine short years ago, and the second in about two years)
Truth is, I've had these guys in before for other appliances (chiefly, the old Kitchen Aid dishwasher); more often than not, a friendly and knowledgeable Whirlpool-trained tech ("Nelson") arrived. When Sears bought A&E, Nelson had a few choice words about that transaction and how it had affected him: two years ago, he had to replace the compressor on my fridge; instead of scheduling a second tech to assist with things like, oh, lifting the compressor seven feet off the floor to place it atop the fridge, A&E let Nelson go it alone.
A few weeks ago, things started to warm up again: no ice, soft ice cream, mushy meat, the works. When I got around to scheduling service two weeks ago, it was clear that the compressor was at fault. Again. Sure enough, the tech came and confirmed it, ordered a new compressor and scheduled another service call.
And here my troubles began. This time, two techs showed up. dropped the wheels, slid out the fridge (a 42" built-in), and got to work on replacing the compressor. And, I will say, it works well -- food seems colder than it did when the compressor was last replaced. Aside from my qualms about a second compressor replacement inside two years, and despite the 12-year warranty on that part (part-only after six years, customer pays the labor), I will say that I'm happy. As far as that goes.
No, the real problem is with my lovely hardwood floor, which has now warped from the fridge all the way over to the sink. The water which started to seep into the garage ceiling below. The smell of wet sheetrock and soaked fiber batts.
It seems that somewhere between disconnecting the icemaker water supply (and its truly dumb-ass connector under the unit, with almost no room to swing a wrench) and reconnecting it, the copper tubing got a little kink and started to drip. Not much, but enough that by the next day the floor had started to warp. I didn't think much of it: I foolishly put it down to the water that had escaped when they disconnected, working its way through the floorboards.
By yesterday afternoon, however, fully a week later, it was clear that something else was going on: there was a puddle escaping from under the fridge, the poly finish was starting to come up in places in large sheets, and a towel tossed in to sop up the mess became soaked in far less time than the size of the puddle would have indicated. Time to lie down and get out a flashlight....
Sure enough, there was a slow drip-drip-drip coming from the copper tubing, perhaps a foot from the connector. A visit to the basement to shut it of at the supply stopped the problem upstairs, but at the same time I could see the sheetrock ceiling immediately below the kitchen was getting wet, cracking, and starting to drip.
Well, sure: it has to go somewhere. It drios, spreads out along the subfloor, and continues until it runs out of room. Then it bubbles up on top and starts to drip below. I'm just glad it only took a week.
A call to A&E this morning got a followup call to "assess the damage" scheduled: six days hence! The operator couldn't get through to the customer service number; she cheerfully (and foolishly) volunteered that, "They get a lot of calls there."
Well, at least I have a working refrigerator.
Oh, and my old friend Nelson? They tell me he quit six months ago and now works for GE.
Unbelievable! This A&E Company is a nightmare!I have a JennAire Range Hood that is new in 2005. In April It stopped working entirely. Not an Electrical problem. I have had an incredible path of no-show for the 12-5PM appt. re-scheduling again no show,This has happened 4 times. Here I am at home again for the 5th attempt.What a fool I am! When I have tried to speak to anyone with authority, I get the same answer,"I am the only person that can schedule this appointment" I am being held hostage by the worst customer service company in the US.
I guess I am very fortunate. I have a Jenn-Air slide-in, down-draft range that died several weeks ago. I checked the Jenn-Air web site and called a local service company that was listed there as well as recommended on the web site of our local TV consumer trouble-shooter.
They (not A&E) came out but couldn't get parts (backordered), and came back with wrong part only after I called to find out what was going on. I called Jenn-Air and they recomended A&E, so I scheduled a service call.
The technician came when they said he would, and worked hard to trouble-shoot my appliance. It took him over 5 hours (well, 4 when you deduct the time he went to have some lunch), and he even had to call the Jenn-Air technician support people (they weren't much help).
I have to admit that the problem was very ununsual (the front panel touch pad), that was difficult to diagnose. I had even swapped various control boards that I got from RepairClinic.com (a good site, by-the-way).
However, the A&E technician kept at it, was able to have parts brought out, and was very thorough. The bottom line is that it is working again... HOORAY !
The labor cost was reasonable although the price for the part was higher than I could get it from RepairClinic.com, but I can not complain. It was fair, and I have no problem with anyone earning a fair living.
I wish I had read these comments before I got redirected to A&E by Kitchenaid.
The spring on our dishwasher that holds the door up when opened was broken. The A&E guy came out and replaced the spring and left. Yesterday evening after he's left, we try running the dishwasher and it won't work.
We call A&E this morning and they tell us that it will cost $65 to come out plus additional charges, if the problem isn't related to the spring. Needless to say, we thought this was absolutely ridiculous and a Scam!!
The guy replaces the spring and our dishwasher stops working???? Anyway, I decided to open up the base of the dishwasher to see if there was anything obvious that I could fix and sure enough, the person had disconnected 2 leads (the only 2 disconnected) to the water pump that sucks hot water into the dishwasher. I reconnected them and, voila, the dishwasher works.
We are reporting A & E to the Better Business Bureau. Not sure it will help. I wish I had read these comments prior to calling them, but I will certainly tell everyone I know that they are scam artists.
How are these people allowed to continue (A&E)? I'll spare you all the details, very similar to whay I've read here, but I have a broken freezer/icemaker on a Kitchen-Aid 84 in. high built-in supposedly high-end unit($4500.00)that is 2 1/2 years old. A&E has been here twice, changed the computer elements-still no freezer- ordered 5 boxes of parts which arrived 2weeks ago,and have made 3 appointments to come out with 2 techs, which the last man that came insisted was needed- but no-one ever came despite numerous calls and assurances "they are definitely coming today, he's waiting for the 2nd tech", even tho it was booked twice for 2 techs, once for 12 to 5, and today for 8 to 12. I was told again today he was on his way--it's now 5:40 PM. I called Kitchen-Aid service contract company during the last 4 weeks- they helped set up appointments, but today I was treated like a pest and that I would have to wait for A&E,since they were here twice already. I can't ask for some other repair company anymore! Here I sit with no freezer and a room full of parts, not knowing who else to call. Joe Frustated in Middletown, NJ
I can't believe there are so many of you out there who's problems with A&E mirror ours. Rather than rant all over again, I have just copied the letter we are sending to GE, BBB and our local new station's watchdog department. Sorry for all of your frustrations, but glad to know we are not alone.
My husband and I purchased a dishwasher in 2004. The dishwasher broke in May of 2007. As it was under warranty, GE informed us that A&E Factory Services would be making the service call and would call us with a date and time. There was an automated message the night before confirming our appointment in late-June. After making arrangements for someone to take off work to be home for the technician, A&E called on the day of our appointment and cancelled because the technician schedule to work on our dishwasher was not in that day. I feel it is fair to assume that there is more than one technician qualified to repair a dishwasher in a company of A&E’s size.
The appointment was rescheduled for July 31, 2007, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., and again arrangements were made for someone to take off work. When the technician looked at the dishwasher he determined that it needed a new spring. He did not have the parts he needed to fix the problem so he fashioned a spring out of scrap parts he had on his truck. After a short while he said the dishwasher was repaired. That night we ran the dishwasher, to find out is was still broken. We called A&E and made another appointment for August 24, 2007, between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. A&E informed us that they were ordering parts to be delivered to the house for the technician.
Arrangement were made again for someone to take off work to accommodate the appointment. The technician arrived, replaced the parts, and again claimed the problem was fixed. That night we tried to run the dishwasher and again it was broken. We called A&E to schedule yet another appointment for our dishwasher for September 1, 2007, between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
On the day of the appointment, we receive a call from the technician, stating that he would not be out, he remembered our problem and he was going to order more parts and just “rebuild your whole [dishwasher] door”. So, another appointment was made.
On Thursday September 13, 2007, we received a conformation voice-mail from A&E, that a technician would be out the following day between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. On Friday September 14, 2005, arrangements were made for the 5th time for someone to take off work to be home for the technician. At 4:50 p.m. we called A&E to find out where the technician was and were informed that our appointment had been cancelled. The technician schedule to work on our dishwasher was not in that day. No one ever called to inform us of yet another set back. I also still find it curious that there is only one technician who can repair our dishwasher (or not repair it as it seems).
I asked to speak to a manager and was connected to a gentleman named “Jason”. He said the best he could do for me was to send someone out September 22 between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. I told him that this was the fifth time we had an appointment; our dishwasher, that is under warranty and should be working, has been broken for months; and that we continue to miss time at work for failed appointments. I stated that if they are coming out on the 22nd I wanted a specific time, not a window. I felt I deserved as much, for months of frustration. He was adamant that he would not do that and that no one in the company would do that for me. I asked for his supervisor. He informed me that he had many supervisors, refused to let me speak to any of them or give name and contact information of any of his supervisors. He said he was not going to argue with me and that was the best he could do. He was rude, abrupt and unhelpful. I simply wanted, after more than three months, a more specific time so that my husband or I would not have to take another whole day off from work to be available for the technician. I informed him that I did not want another date; I would contact GE to get a different contractor to preform services; and that I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau.
My husband immediate called GE and informed them of our struggles with A&E. He spoke with a manager named Jason, who told him that a formal complaint would be lodged. He also spoke to “Chiqui”, who said she would do her best on Monday to find us another contractor. Both employees were courteous, and as helpful as they could be after hours on a Friday evening.
When we returned home from work Monday, September 17, 2007, there was a voice-mail message from A&E, trying to confirm that someone was home for their technician; their was another voice-mail from a technician informing us that he was on the way; and there was a note on the door that A&E had made a service call. However we never scheduled a service call for September 17, 2007, to the contrary we made it very clear that we wanted no further service from A&E. In addition to these two calls, there was a voice-mail from GE informing us of a new date that A&E would be out for service repair.
I immediately called GE and spoke to a gentleman named “Edger”, who was very helpful. I summarized our problems and told him that we asked for a different service provider to repair our dishwasher. By the end of the conversation he gave me the name of a service provider in Ft. Washington, Maryland, i.e. Boulmore, that would be contacting us to set up a time to repair our dishwasher.
I have never dealt with such arrant mismanagement and incompetence. A&E has caused us nothing but lost work hours, frustration, and a still-broken dishwasher. In my frustration I went on-line to report A&E to the Better Business Bureau. I came across several dozen complaints that mirrored ours, almost verbatim. Complaints of repeat cancellations, technicians using rigged parts, and poor customer service from management, read the same way over and over in complaint after complaint. I don’t except that you will read them all but I am sending copies of all the complaints I found that were so similar to ours.
I don’t know what can be done to compensate for our ordeal, but I am asking that the four months (closer to five months, by the time we get it repaired) that we have gone without a dishwasher, be added to the end of our service contract and that our contract be extended to reflect the time we have been without a dishwasher.
Thank you for taking time to hear us out. We hope that you scrutinize your working relationship with A&E closely, so that what happened to us and apparently many other, does not continue to happen. We hope to hear from you soon with any thoughts or comments that you may have about this letter.
Do not use A&E. I live in VA. A&E is not registered to operate in VA, as they are not registered in many States. They have no office in these States and use subcontractors (the guy on the truck). It is a way to protect them from legal actions. They flooded our finished basement.
I'm wondering how many people out there have run into "the jive turkey". I'm being told by A&E that my kenmore refrigerator is leaking freon because of sulfer in the air of my house. Because of this they do not want to stand behind the 5 year warranty on a 2 1/2 year old refrigerator. How common is this excuse?
Aw, A&E ain't so bad. Problem is, folks who don't have problems aren't posting here. I purchased a Miele gas cooktop from Design Expo {waits for laughter to subside}... and it had an ignition problem from the outset. I called Miele and they sent out an A&E tech who got here on time and fixed the unit promptly.
Now, don't even get me started about Miele.....
I feel a need to mention the good experiences as well as the bad.
I found this forum after calling for ervice and finding out it was A&E. Figured I should see what people say about them.
My GE range, slightly over two years old, stopped working. Control panel dead, but light & burners were fine. Fortunately I bought the service plan (GE Service Protection Plus or something like that). Called them, scheduled a next day appt. with A&E. They said between 8-12, and he was called at 9:30 to say he was 15 minutes away, and then showed up at 9:45. Professional, seemed to know what he was doing. Determined that the thermostat was bad, replaced it, and back in business in less than an hour.
No complaints about the service. My only comments (not much of a complaint, really) are about the GE person (somewhere in India or Pakistan probably) who took the call. She didn't seem to have my information on file. No argument whatsoever about being covered, but it seems she should have been able to look up my phone number and get all my particulars from the system, rather than asking me to check the model & serial number, give my address, etc. And she said something like "I understand your frustration with the control panel not working". I don't need her to feel my pain and repeat what I said. (I know, they're trained to do that.) I just need her to take the information and schedule the call. Which she did, quite well, after "feeling my pain."
Welcome,
