It appears to us that this company is strictly about moving a lot of inventory, and we guess that they have a majority percent of resources devoted to that, and a very minor percent of resources devoted to customer service. The evidence of that mindset seems to surface in the myriad after-sale poor reviews.
If you're a new home purchaser and you are offered appliance incentives from your builder and Coast Appliances is mentioned, or youre just shopping to replace existing appliances, I recommend you first do some due diligence. This is especially applicable to new home purchasers, where the incentives of discounts is a strong lure. Most of us make hasty decisions when the option of saving money is offered.
For us, dealing with Coast was incredibly stressful. You need to be clear about the possibility that like us, in exchange for some discounts, there could be some severe challenges in dealing with Coast Appliances. Trust me that the frequent missed deadlines and empty promises just arent worth any cost reduction. The associated anxiety impacts the joy of being fortunate enough to purchase a home.
Do some online searching on the company, and you'll find the poor reviews are all very similar situations for customers, they seem prolific and span across multiple years.
And yet, on the Coast Appliance website and their 'About Us' page, whats written about commitment to customer satisfaction is contrary to our experience and also doesnt appear to align with the other poor reviews from customers.
So while your experience may differ, the following is a summary of our adventure with Coast Appliances.
- We booked an appointment with our assigned salesperson, sixty (60) days ahead of our move day.
- We ordered seven appliances, and the meeting was friendly and cordial.
- Sales guy confirms with each appliance decision, that he's reserved inventory.
- We pay half of the total, and were done.
- In the following days over email we confirmed our delivery day with the Sales guy.
- Sales guy reaches out approximately fifteen days ahead of the confirmed delivery day, and asks us to pay our balance so they can ensure delivery. We pay.
- No mention of any issues regarding our order at this stage and now we've paid in full.
Delivery day arrives, and we start living the Coast nonsense.
- On delivery day, we waited until late afternoon and still no delivery so we called Support.
- Support tells us there was no truck scheduled, as this isnt the delivery date in the system from Sales guy (odd, as we have email confirmation).
- Support explains too, that no inventory was reserved, and only three of our seven items are available. ETA is two weeks for the other four items, but no guarantee.
- No fridge, no stove, no microwave, no hood and no apology.
- Remember, we ordered, reserved and paid-in-full sixty (60!) days ago.
- We reached out to the Sales guy to get some insight and we heard this: We're just distributors and we rely on the manufacturers. They cause delays, its not us. Lot's of customers are waiting much longer than you!
- Wow.
Over the next few weeks, our outstanding appliances start to dribble in.
- Our range appears, and the delivery guys unbox it, and it appears to have been hit by a forklift truck. They return it, and we wait.
- At approximately two-and-a-half months past our order day, we had received all but one appliance. We wait.
- We hit the one hundred and five days mark, still waiting.
- Then Coast reaches out, and our range hood is now available.
- We elect to pick it up from the distribution centre even though it's a ninety-minute drive for us. We think this will speed us to an end with Coast, rather than dealing with their delivery nonsense.
- We get it home, pull it out and the blue protective film has been removed and haphazardly replaced. We realise the box has been opened and re-taped shut.
- To our horror we realise this isnt a new unit but rather a demo-unit thats been installed, used, repackaged and then delivered to us.
- We take pictures, and immediately contact Coast.
- Coast asks for pictures, starts blaming the manufacturer, suggests that Coast doesn't tamper with any boxes, and that the manufacturer inspects every box that leaves its factory.
- I feel like Coast is perilously close to accusing us of something.
- After two weeks, Coast picks up the unit, and only then after seeing the unit in-person admits it is some kind of distribution-centre demo-unit and shouldnt have been sent. Still no apology.
- After much discussion, and us resisting the Sales guy offer of we can have a new unit delivered to you in two weeks, they finally agree to a refund.
- Were finally out from under them, were ecstatic and were celebrating the end of our entanglement with this dumpster fire.
If you're reading this, think long and hard about being drawn into the Coast Appliances circus-tent. Any incentives and discounts may seem attractive on the front-end, but appear as a tissue-thin-veil that disguises, in my opinion, a corporate wasteland fuelled solely by a desire to move a lot of appliances.
Read the reviews.
Caveat Emptor indeed.
