advice on HE machines at sears

[mamapinky]

Sorry for the late response, the kenmore (lg) fl'er came monday, I met delivery out front, they unloaded from truck and removed from box, never speaking a word except to glare, than the attempted to remove shipping bolts I kindly ask if they could wait till it was out back, they tban attempted to shimmy it thru the gravel driveway, I said excuse me but can you use the straps to transport it..by now they are visably annoyed, finally its in the laundry room, bolts were removed outside door.they hook it up to my used hoses and I ask where are the new hoses I bought, no hoses they said besides these are better..after hoses are hooked up they ask me to sign a release I refused and ask them to please level the machine, they said its self leveling, I pushed on the corner it wobbled down..they played with the front legs and said there its level, I said now can you run a rinse and spin and check for leaks and balance, they hit some buttons and the machine made some noises that's about it. See the guy said no leaks, I ask how do you know that the inlet valves are shut off..suddenly they had to get something from the truck and would be right back, but outside they had hubs sign the release. I finally get a load of sheets going I'm very excited now...you can't even imagine ...it goes into action and I hear water off and on going in, than it stops than the drum starts rocking gently from right to left baybe 2inches up the right side and 2 inches up left side, I opened it removed some sheet tried again same thing, so I put the soaked sheets back in redistributed them try again, this went on for 12 hours..in the meantime I call for service I'm told someone will come 8/19 not acceptable..I removed sheets and ran empty load nothing..I'm really mad now. I called the sears salesmen in the morning and said come get your lemon, cancel my order and thanks but no thanks I don't want another washer from sears. I can't believe this has happened 3 times.no wonder sears is dying.this has been a terrible experience. I won't step foot in that store again. And they don't even seem to care, but I bet they will when this store closes .

 

[ea56]

Holy mackrel Cheryl, what a nightmare!! When you hadn't posted on the day delivery was expected I had a feeling it didn't go well, but I could have never imagined what you have related. I have never heard of anything like this in my life. I've bought 16 washing machines over the last 45 years, I know thats a lot, but I like change. Only one of them actually broke down. Anyway, I've never had an experience like the one you've been having with Sears. Once you get your $ back try Home Depot or Lowes, I've never had bad service from either store. And the attitude of the install crew was really over the top. With this kind of customer service Sears won't be in business much longer. Better luck next time. Eddie

 

[Practigal]

That is exactly how I felt after they managed to completely destroy a beautiful stove in transit. They did not care. But it did take me four months to get a refund. After three months, when they realized they needed to refund the money to the credit card, someone from the store finally called me and said that they wanted to try to make a deal or to work something out or to provide another stove… I would love to sit down with the Sears executives and understand what goes on. But they apparently don't actually shop at the stores they are in charge of. Years ago Cadillacs were developing a horrendous reputation for being a completely unreliable car, why was that happening? Because all of the executives received free maintenance on a daily basis! They would drop their fancy cars off in the executive parking lot where the cars were washed and overseen by a mechanic, daily. They never actually had to deal with the unreliability that the rest of us were dealing with. This is exactly the same situation at Sears... I also believe that when it comes to appliances there is a lot of deliberate mishandling of the appliances so that the "damaged" appliances can be resold to third-party used appliance places, at a tremendous loss to Sears but to the profit of the used appliance place. There are serious employee issues at that store. If no one in management is paying attention, the situation will not be turned around before their imminent bankruptcy.

 

[vacbear58]

Cheryl

What a dreadful experience you have had. Was this the same installation team that delivered the GE and did not connect the hoses? If so they should have been hanging their heads in shame rather than giving you bad attitude. I am amazed that the machine has malfunctioned so badly first time out. Are you sure they actually removed the transit bolts? It might be worth checking out the instructions to make sure. And does your husband have a spirit level so you can check that it is actually level?

I can certainly sympathise with your situation and wish you a speedy resolution

 

[brucelucenta]

No offense, but it sounds like the machine started to operate properly and you didn't give it a chance to do it's thing. I bought the Kenmore Elite front loader & matching dryer, stacked on top of the washer. The washer does operate very strangely in comparison to my old top load Maytag washer I replaced. It starts out and immediately drains for a minute, then you hear water come in for a second, the drum turns a little, then moves back and forth, supposedly to check the load size and level. Then after several minutes of that, it starts to add water and rotates in one direction for a minute or two then the other direction as it very slowly adds water. I hear the water go on and off many times throughout the process. Watching it as it washes, it doesn't seem to even get the clothes very wet, since the water level is so low. But it does do the job and does it very well. My dirty laundry always comes out clean and fresh smelling. I use the extra rinse feature to make sure there is no soap residue left in clothing. It also extracts the clothes so dry that it takes little time to dry them. All this with a minimum amount of wear on my clothes and virtually NO lint at all. Something I certainly had a problem with before. It just takes a long time for a front load machine to do it's thing and it is completely different from the old school top loaders that fill completely up to wash. If you really like that type of machine, it seems like Speed Queen still makes them. Might be a better fit for you.

 

[mamapinky]

Eddie, ya I couldn't believe this could happen 3 times, 1'st washer was clearly broken, 2'nd was used without a doubt, I still think after the 1'st GE was returned the salesman ordered a reconditioned one to be delivered thinking I wouldn't know but someone in the line grabbed one ment for reconditioning, but didn't make it that far, than the Kenmore, I know its possible the kenmore could have just been a level issue, but sears wanted me to wait till the 19'th to send someone, I didn't have anymore time, my laundry was piling up. This may have been avoided if delivery would have made sure it worked considering this was the 3rd delivery. I haven't bought a lot of new washers in the past, I always liked the old reliable ones friends and family would send my way when they decided it was time for new. Lol.
Practigal, I spoke with credit company they will credit my account monday, they said it takes 7-10 days and they do see sears handeled it..so I will call them back monday.
Alistair, yes it was the same delivery company, they are based out of Pittsburgh. They removed 4 shipping bolts, which I have. We used a bubble measure which was dead on.

Bruce no offense taken, I should have been more clear the timer started at 2:15 it went to :10 minutes before I started opening the door, finially when the machine stopped I waited about 15 minutes and tried the rinse/ spin cycle same thing, sk in the end the sheets came out soaked. Something wrong with a store that has no interest in customer satisfaction, refused to send a tech out till the 19th, had they sent someone this machine could have been merrily washing, it could have bee a leveling problem but as it was I had no time left to wait, what drives me crazy about it is after the first two why sears didn't make sure a knowledgeable team wasn't here to do a proper install.

 

[mjg0619]

Cheryl,

So sorry to hear of your headaches with Sears. They really have become a giant bunch of turds lately, even out here on the other end of Pennsylvania!

Personally, I would say to forget about them altogether and find a good, reputable mom n pop family owned appliance dealer. Preferably one that deals in Speed Queen or would be able to sell you a refurbished 1980s-1990s Maytag.

If a brand new washer is a must, then Speed Queen is the best choice for a top loader. A good friend of mine and I were just discussing last night how Speed Queen is the modern day version of a true Maytag.

If a new front loader is what you want, then I think LG is your best bet. They're widely available from many fine retailers and have a wonderful reputation, even among users here!

 

[cuffs054]

Mama, I'm not champianing MT over any other brand, but the MT HE TL I got as a closeout at Lowes has not disappointed me. This is my first HE machine so maybe down the road I'll change my opinion.

 

[mamapinky]

I'm going to a dealer to look at a new top load (dial) 3.3 speed queen tomorrow. .just looking unless I really like ..I know its no locking lid.but do you knoow if there's a fix so it agitates when the lids open? Is it the magnet trick? Thanks everyone.

 

[ea56]

I think this may be the best way to go for you Cheryl. There is a way to bypass the lid switch by placing a clothspin on the back somewhere, but I'm not sure where. If you do a search on this website you'll find at least a few threads that show how to do this, also check out You Tube. Good luck, you deserve it after what you've been through1
Eddie

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you eddie, this probably best for me since I like traditional top loaders. .and its on sale for 719.00 .as long as I can bypass everything shutting down it will be good for me..I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow..thanks a lott Eddie. Cheryl

 

[esty]

Hi Cheryl, like I said in response #3 on this thread, that knowing the way you like to do laundry, a standard old school washer is really what you want. I have similar laundry habits to you, and I can't see myself with anything else. I have a speed queen and it cleans well and you can get alot in one load. You can bypass the lid switch easily. I don't have a permanent fix on it, I just hold it down manually when I want to. You will be happy with it.
Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[mamapinky]

Hi Beth, yes I'm going to look at the speed queen later today, I think its as close as I'm going to get to a old school washer buying new. I've read a lot on here there's a lot of knowledgeable people that have and love the newer speed queens I may be one of them lol. Thank you Beth and I will let you know what I decide. Cheryl