Based on the reply from Steve, I have edited this review. I originally posted it with some degree of anger and that is never a wise thing. Steve's response is so reasonable that I cannot argue with it. I will not seek any reduced fee as Valley View Appliances did exactly what they promised and what I asked for. I don't want to compromise their ratings on HomeStars. Thank you Steve for your integrity. Following is my original review.
I sent in a request hoping to hear back from someone who knew something about washing machines. Unfortunately the person who called back knew very little and would not pursue the conversation on the phone. I clearly explained that the washing machine sounded like a jet engine on spin cycle along with some other symptoms. He said it might be as much as $300 if it was a bearing. I went ahead and scheduled the appointment.
The technician, who did not seem aware of the nature of the problem until I told him, didn't even move the machine out. He only rotated the drum a little bit, showed me that the drum was looser than it should be, did some research on his phone and in 5 minutes told me that shaft and bearing would be $1024 to repair. When I told him what I had sent in on the Homestar description and what I told the person at the store, he just said "Oh Yeah" as if to say it was obvious what the problem was. It could easily have been diagnosed over the phone and I could have been spared the service call, as one reviewer was lucky enough to experience.
This was a total waste of $120.72 (down the drain?:-). I take responsibility as I did not phone around, just trusted the reviews on Homestars.
I recommend getting two or three opinions and trying to talk to a knowledgeable person before committing to an expensive service call. Oh well, lesson learned and I off to buy a new washing machine!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $120.00
- Company Response
Dear Taylor,
I'm sorry to hear that the repair did not go as anticipated. With over 30+ years experience in the appliance service industry I can't begin to count the amount of times I have given free advice out over the phone. With the complexity of today's modern appliances it's pretty difficult to properly diagnose a noise over the phone as I'm sure you can imagine. That's why we most times need to book a service appointment to take a proper looked to determine the issue. As an example, have you ever called your medical doctor and told him you had a pain in your side and then explain in detail that you have Utube'd and Goggled the symptoms and only needed his diagnosis over the phone? Sounds pretty absurd right; however that is exactly what you have indicated we did as a foul play on our part.
If we would have guessed that your main tub and bearings were failing and it turned out to be what we normally see as item's jammed between the drums you would have been pretty upset to say the least. I personally think you did the smart thing and called us the professionals, that were able to quickly diagnose and provide an accurate estimate on the spot for the cost of a service call. Sounds fair to me, and from what I can see we did exactly what was promised without any compromise. I'm sorry you felt it was a waste of money as I've been in your shoes many times feeling the same way. The fact is that a professional and honest opinion is worth every penny paid.
We would have been more than happy to discuss some sort of discount prior to this negative review. Hopefully 30+ years of experience accounts for something.
Sincerely,
Steve Krause
Dear Taylor,
Thank you for your mature response, as well as changing the rating. If I can help in anyway please let me know as I would be more than happy to help.
Sincerely,
Steve