My dishwasher broke. After several weeks of washing dishes by hand and using the dishwasher as a nonfunctional kitchen decoration, I finally called Kitchenaid to ask about getting it repaired. They recommended A&E Factory Service. I called them, they made an appointment for today, Monday, August 23. The repairman would be there some time between 1 and 5 pm. Okay, fine.
At 5:01 pm the repairman, Jimmy, called and said he still had another job to do in San Rafael and that he would be here between 6:15 and 6:30. Okay, fine.
At 6:15 pm the repairman called again. "I'm here but I can't find a parking space. You'll need to reschedule. Do you know how busy your street is today?" I asked him to wait a second, was he serious? Was he really leaving because he couldn't find parking? Yes. Unless I could PROVIDE a parking space, he would be leaving and I would need to reschedule. I started sputtering about how that didn't make any sense so he told me to call the company phone number.
I called the company's 800 number and the woman I spoke to (in Texas) told me she had no idea how I expected someone to come fix my dishwasher if I didn't provide a parking space. I explained that I live in a big city and that it had been my understanding that he would park in a loading zone or something. I also told her that when I had called to make my appointment, no one had mentioned the parking requirement to me. "Well, (sigh)," she said "what do you expect to happen how?" I told her that I thought the repairman should park in one of the several pay garages on the street and the company should pay for it. The woman said she would make a note on the account and that someone would call the local branch and then call me.
Five minutes later, the repairman called again and told me that the company had called and told him to leave, so he was leaving. "When would you like to reschedule?" he asked. Full of bitterness and rage, I laughed. "Oh no, I won't be rescheduling," I said. "I'm canceling."
I live in San Francisco. San Francisco is a big city with lots of cars and very little parking. It was my understanding that deliverymen and repairmen and movers and whatnot were used to finding loading zone spaces or using their tricks of the trade to find a place to park....? I mean, I see repair trucks and delivery trucks and moving vans parked on busy streets every day....? Am I the crazy one?
So. To sum up, I am HIGHLY unimpressed with A&E Factory service. Their repairman arrived an hour and fifteen minutes outside the original 4 hour window I was given, and he left without looking at my dishwasher. Because I didn't provide parking. IN SAN FRANCISCO.
Now. Does anyone know a good dishwasher repair service?
