Business ProfileforWestCoast Appliance Gallery

Worst customer service I’ve experienced in years. Called the service department to ask if it was normal for our stove to heat up during the self-cleaning cycle to the point to warp both our cabinets and flooring. She checked and said that my warranty had just run out so any service call would have a charge. The warranty had run out less than 2 months prior. I asked if there was anything that the store could do and I was told sorry but no. I insisted that there has to be something that the store could do with the amount of money I had spent over the years in the store, she said that she will see what can be done. I received an email from the CEO asking for information on the stove that I could not provide but after giving my address to them, I received a call from the CEO that the stove would be covered under warranty and that the service department would be in contact soon to set up a date for a service call. A few days later we hadn’t heard anything, so my wife called the store to tell them that we also needed a new knob for the stove. She sent in a pic to the department to show them what the knob looked like. In the email response my wife was informed that the knob would be ordered and sent out on the scheduled service call. My wife responds asking when the service was scheduled as we haven’t heard anything yet and the store responds with a date. After the service technician left my house, I sent an email to the CEO and service department with concerns of what had just happened with the technician and asked some questions concerning the call. The response from the CEO felt somewhat arrogant and condescending, contained inaccurate information and did not answer any of my questions. So, I responded again disputing what he had wrote and again asked him some more questions. The CEO responded telling me not to contact the store or any of his staff again I ended up posting pics of the emails in my review on the store's website after their smoke and mirror response.

Mr. and Mrs. Ron and Kim Stoodley (Trimble) originally purchased a Samsung Stove from us on March 3rd, 2018, with a 2-year extended warranty added to it. Due to technical issues with the Samsung electric stove, on October 9th, 2020, under the instructions of the extended warranty company, Mr. and Mrs. Stoodley returned to the store and exchanged their stove under the extended warranty. This time, they chose a KitchenAid Dual Fuel stove. According to an email sent by Mr. Trimble himself, Mrs. Stoodley insisted on having a self-clean stove. On Tuesday, December 12th, 2023, after the expiration of the extended warranty policy, I received an email from Mr. Trimble stating that they had experienced an issue of overheating with the stove, causing damage to their cabinets and floors. He claimed that since it happened before the expiry of the extended warranty, we should fix it. Despite no basis to proceed with a claim after the extended warranty had expired, I contacted the extended warranty company and convinced them to authorize a service call to explore the issue. Additionally, Mr. Trimble had requested a new knob for his stove, which we ordered and scheduled the service call for Friday, December 22nd, as per the knob's ETA. On December 15th, the knob arrived. On December 18th, we had a cancellation for the 21st and contacted Mr. Trimble, offering to perform the service call one day earlier on Thursday, the 21st, which he accepted. As per our business routine, in the late afternoon on December 20th, our technician called Mr. Trimble to provide a two-hour timeline for the next day's service call, to which he seemed okay. On the 21st, our technician went to Mr. Trimble’s house in Sooke to a) install the knob on the stove and b) conduct a diagnostic of the reported problem. Upon inspection, our technician found no issues with the unit. He also noticed that Mr. Trimble had placed metal plates on the sides of his stove between the stove and his cabinets to prevent heat transfer. Our tech advised him that this is not the right approach, as metal plates not only fail to prevent heat transfer but actually facilitate it, given that metals are conductors of heat. He also advised the customer that the self-clean cycle reaches temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius for up to 4 hours, generating a significant amount of heat in the room and around it. The customer was informed that using heat-resistant materials for flooring and cabinetry could have prevented such issues. When Mr. Trimble inquired about the type of material, our tech suggested reaching out to the manufacturers for guidance, which he should have reached out to manufacturers of cabinetry and flooring material. Rather he contacted manufacturer of appliances claiming he was on hold for a long time before he could talk to anyone. On the same day, Mr. Trimble sent me a lengthy email stating that he had been dealing with a family issue and was stressed out, complaining about a) the rescheduled appointment, b) the technician's lack of knowledge about the stove's issues upon arrival, and c) the unresolved stove issue. In a respectful response, I sympathized with Mr. Trimble about his family situation and clarified the following: a) His appointment was rescheduled, and he was notified well in advance. Even if the new date didn't work for him, we would have dispatched the technician on the original date of the 22nd. b) Our technician's first visit is a diagnostic one; they go to the customer's house to identify any issues before determining the course of action. c) There was nothing wrong with the unit, and it was working according to the manufacturer's specifications. The damage to cabinets and flooring was due to the type of material used, which was not heat-resistant enough to withstand the self-clean cycle temperature of 500 degrees Celsius for up to 4 hours. Mr. Trimble did not appreciate my response, felt offended, and became aggressive in his emails. Again, I reiterated that I did not intend to engage in heated conversations and offered him one of the following solutions: a) Dispatch another technician of ours at no charge to provide a second opinion. b) Advise the extended warranty company of our findings and request them to dispatch another service company for a second opinion. Despite these options, Mr. Trimble continued his aggressive language and threats. In one email, he stated, "I am retired and have lots of time on my hands. When I retired, I was told that the word relentless should be on my headstone when I die. Not intended as a threat, just as information for you on who you are dealing with." Mr. Trimble had used derogatory and insulting language in his previous emails, which I tolerated. However, it was at this point that I informed Mr. Trimble that we would no longer be dealing with him. I advised him that we would inform the extended warranty company to make a decision and suggested that he deal with the extended warranty directly. Please note that all of this occurred more than three years after the purchase of the unit and after the expiry of the extended warranty policy. Like any other business, we refuse to deal with customers who choose uncivil and improper behavior. Despite going above and beyond by contacting the extended warranty company for an exception and being willing to work with Mr. Trimble to resolve the issue, his unacceptable and uncivil behavior, coupled with insults to our integrity, led us to decline any further business with him. Thank you for reading.