TL;DR - Good prices but horrid after sales service. Consider buying if you can see it working in the store and pick up the unit yourself, but assume it is "all sales final; as is."
My wife and I attended the Stoney Creek showroom and purchased a refrigerator and freezer a few weeks ago. The sales rep, Scott was pleasant, and helpful. We discussed the location of our appliances (Kitchen and Basement) and he made recommendations on size and model. The prices were competitive, with Scott matching the best online price from major chain competitors. We agreed to a price, including a deliver fee and fees for the removal of our old units.
On delivery day, the two guys attending were polite but immediately advised that they could not deliver the freezer to the basement unless I signed a waiver assuming liability for any damage to the unit or to my house. He asked that I speak with his supervisor with Ovation shipping who raised his voice and stated that my only options were that I could sign the waiver, relieving them of any liability, reschedule delivery where they would bring additional people at an additional cost to me, or refuse delivery. I insisted that I was not refusing delivery; quite the opposite. I would like them to complete delivery, without damaging my house, the appliance or changing me additional fees. I advised I was not pleased but willing to reschedule another date if they felt it was necessary and take another day of my time, but that I would not be paying additional charges. They removed the old refrigerator and installed the new one, immediately plugging it in. I asked them if there shouldn't be a period of time to wait, since I had seen it on it's side on the truck. They advised that this was not needed as there was a trick with these units. I have been subsequently told that this is not the case, and the unit may have been damaged, but this may not become evident until later.
I then placed two calls to CAS customer service. The rep I spoke with was rude, unhelpful, and condescending. During the conversation, she repeatedly cut me off, and failed to acknowledge my concerns. More than once, I asked if she would please allow me to explain my concern without talking over me. She advised her name was, "Kola," but i was told on a subsequent day that no such person works there. She condescended to me indicating that I was being ridiculous in refusing to sign the waiver, and that this was common practice in the industry. Then she said that delivery only included delivering it to the house, but not to any specific room and that taking the freezer to the basement was an extra courtesy. Again, I explained that this had all been discussed with the sales rep and I had been assured otherwise. She confronted me with an ultimatum, that I sign the waiver, or refuse delivery and pay a 25% restocking fee, and no refund on the delivery or removal fees.
I spoke with Charles, the manager of the Stoney Creek showroom who took the time to hear my concerns and explain their situation. He agreed there would be no additional delivery charges for a second attempt.
We were not contacted for redelivery discussion on the following Sunday as agreed, but on Tuesday my wife spoke with a female customer service rep. While she did not obtain her name, it sounds like the same person I had the misfortune of dealing with previously. My wife was frustrated with the experience and doubly so that we needed to take a second day off work to be home for the delivery. She was firm that she wanted the rep to make arrangements with the delivery company to narrow it to a half day to minimize our time off. Extremely upset, my wife contacted me advising that she had been on the phone more than once with this person, that she was rude, talked over her, ignored her questions and provided no helpful information. Worst of all, when my wife insisted that she understood that the delivery company doesn't "normally" provide a 1/2 day window until 1 day before, but under the circumstances, it was reasonable for the rep to at least try to make the arrangement with the courier, the rep simply said that she would not and terminated the call.
At this point, I went online to explore the possibility of involving the Better Business Bureau. I discovered that my experience is not unique. There are numerous complaints of people having similar problems, including receiving defective equipment, and then being told by CAS that since they signed the delivery form indicating the item is not damaged, they will now have to deal directly with the manufacturer.
I contacted the store manager and explained my frustrations. I provided him with a list of dates that I could make myself available at home. Here's the kicker; two guys attended the house, removed the old unit and delivered the new one; no waiver request and no additional team.
I advised the reps that I would not sign the bill of lading until I had the opportunity to confirm that the unit was functional. This became a significant issue and again I was asked to speak with their supervisor. I was polite but firm that I would not be signing any document until I could see it operational. I offered a number of options including them returning later in the day, me faxing a signed bill in later, etc. Ultimately, they asked if they could come back into the house to take a picture of the unit with the bill of Lading on it which I had no problem with.
I thanked the delivery men and provided them with a tip as they had been professional and efficient.
Conclusion:
I would treat this company as a clearance center; assume the unit is being sold "as is," and that you will be dealing directly with the manufacturer with any problems. Furthermore, I would only buy if you can pick it up and inspect it yourself a the store. Otherwise, I would strongly suggest you go to another chain and see if they can provide you with a competitive price.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,500.00