Price Gouging at A & E Factory
Complaint
Elizabeth Butler
Country: United States
A & E Factory Service,a nationwide provider for Kitchenaid appliances, should not be recommended by its suppliers. I called them to have two panels replaced on my side-by-side KithenAid refrigerator. They quoted me a price of $65 for the service call and told that I will be charged for the workman time extra. The service man came and had the panels replaced in 5 minutes. He billed me for $200! I was shocked to see this price. I think they should be obligated to give a more realistic price quote before the service.
Comments
I have a Maytag Microwave that had a broken handle we looked at for two months. It seemed like an easy fix with the right parts and I finally got around to the task. Maytag advised that they don't sell parts and could only refer a contractor for a service trip. The customer service agent (CSA) said that the contractor could sell me the part and that they didn't know what the contractor charged for a service trip. An appoitmment was scheduled and I was told three times that the contractor would contact me before they came to the house to discuss parts and pricing.
The contactor, A&E Factory Servcice, hadn't called or showed up so I went out for the afternoon while my mom stayed with my kids at home. Apparently, a service tech called the house and said they were coming out. The tech came inside and put one screw in the microwave before asking my mom for $140. She didn't know what to do, so she paid with her credit card.
I contacted A&E who stated that Maytag should have told me of the service charge (by contract) when I scheduled the appointment. Of course, they never did. Maytag told me that they aren't aware of what their contractors charge and that it is their policy not to inform the customer, because they have so many contractors with varying rates. They also said that their contract with A&E specifically states that they are to advise the customer of the service fee when they call to tell the customer their on the way and again before they come into the house. This never happened, either.
Why didn't A&E contact me? Why didn't they ever dicuss the service fee? Why is the service fee so outrageous?
I have spent no less that four hours on the phone with CSA'S and Managers with both companies, however, they blame each other and neither party wishes to address the other. They both played, "Who's on first" with me too. I explained to Maytag that A&E is dependent upon service referals given to them and that they have leverage on the company to do the right thing. A manager with Maytag agreed and finally said she would take on the problem and would be contacting A&E to get me a reimbursement.
I definitly don't trust A&E and I'm not holding my breath with Maytag, either. If Maytag doesn't come through on this, I will never buy another GE/Maytag/Whirlpool product again!!!
The fee: Techs do not see that much in their check, trust me. Each repair is predetermined in the computers by a corporate big wig that never talks to a single customer or tech. If a tech is in your home for 5 minutes and you get charged $200 the tech gets paid for 5 minutes, the rest goes to the company. As far as $65 to start then going up from there, try finding a plumber or electrician that doesn't charge you a "diagnostic" or "call out" in addition to labor. Now for all of you out there who would say that is different because they are specialized I say you are wrong, not everyone can fix an appliance. If they could you wouldn't be calling a service company in the first place. This is incorporated into the total labor with A&E by the way. Part prices are determined mostly by the manufacturer and supplier of those parts. Yes they are a little more when the tech has them on the truck, they add an "on truck premium" which means hey you didn't have to wait a week to get the part...and techs have no control over those prices either.
Scheduling: For every complaint of a 4 hour window or 8 hour window all I can say is try getting a huge company like the cable or phone providers to give you an exact time. The window is so large because no call goes exactly as planned. May be quicker may be longer, but in the end it will change the time a tech is going to arrive. Also you are not the only customer on that particular tech's route. They put together the routes in average of 3-5 days ahead of time. Not to mention the average technician covers 2-3 counties in a day, which makes it rather hard to nail down an exact time. Also keep in mind that a tech does not see every customer on a route. They are given them one at a time. Basically get one done, get the next appointment. Comcast uses the same system.
Rescheduling to order part: The phone center that you contact to set up your appointment has no way of knowing what the tech may or may not have on the truck. Each tech carries a slightly different set of parts that is used and only replenished once a week. They do not know which tech is going to your house and even if they did there would be no way of knowing that the tech only has 2 of the particular part you need and has already used these for previous customers. Back-order and shipping to wrong address as well as not shipping parts is not controlled by the company. 95% of parts come direct from the manufacturer so file a complaint with Whirlpool or Samsung if your part is late. Another to keep in mind is that each tech drives a VAN, to carry every part needed to repair every brand they service you would need a tractor-trailer. Only the most common parts are carried on by the tech and the tech is not the one who decides his/her inventory, that's just one more thing controlled by the corporate office.
Now please do not misunderstand what I'm saying. Your complaints as disgruntled customers are justified. I am simply trying to elaborate on the reasons things like this happen. The technicians are just as unhappy with the way things are handled at times as you are. I also understand that the tech may be the first human being that you have dealt with int he course of your service experience or at least the first one that couldn't hang up on you. But please remember berating or getting belligerent with the tech is not going to make the process any better. We as techs try to treat you with respect, well most of us do at least, so please treat us the same.