ComplaintsforA-1 Vacuum Center

• Initial Complaint

  11/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  I took my vacuum in for a diagnostic of an abnormal sound on October 17th. I asked to be called with the diagnosis and estimate before proceeding. I was told later that it needed a new fan and would cost $125. After approval, the fan was replaced. The technician called back days later to say that the motor was making a "little noise" and that it would cost $110 to replace. I trusted that if the original diagnosis had not fixed the problem that he would have made that clear. He did not. I refused the additional repair because it is an older vacuum and didn't want to spend $250 on it. However, when I received the vacuum back it was clear that it still was making the abnormal sound that I brought it in with.Had I been told from the beginning that it would cost $250 to fully resolve the issue, I would have refused the entire repair and bought a new vacuum. The problem that I have is that the repairs done on my machine did not make a significant improvement to my machine and therefore should not have been recommended to me if they were not going to resolve the problem. Even at the point of the second call to ask about the motor repair, it should have been made clear that the sound was still an issue and that I would still have the option to remove the fan that they had already replaced. Neither of these things were made clear at the time of the call. I feel as though the technician was either dishonest or incompetent to provide the requested service.I attempted to resolve the issue with the merchant and was confronted by an associate that began blaming me before she had even reviewed the information about my service. After elevating the complaint to the level of the owner, the best option that I was given was that they would remove the replacement parts from my machine (not returning the original parts) for a partial refund, leaving me with an inoperable machine. He at one point offered a credit to his store, however, that did not work for my specific situation.

  Business response

  12/05/2022

  We contacted **** initially after finding a broken fan on her Oreck vacuum. After replacing the broken fan and testing, the motor was still making noise with the new fan. We called **** again and explained her options. We could return the machine to its original condition for no charge beyond the $20 diagnostic deposit she had paid. We could replace the fan, and the Oreck would be perfectly operable but with a noisy motor at $125. Or we could replace the entire motor, for a total of $250. On this call **** chose to replace the fan and leave the motor alone. We completed the rest of the work, cleaning and testing the machine with the new fan. The Oreck passed ************** after work was completed and the motor noise was reiterated on her repair receipt. **** then picked up her machine and paid for the repair

  
  **** called and stated she was unhappy with the machine. We offered to refund the cost of the parts installed and remove them at our cost,or give full store credit towards replacing the machine. **** chose not to exercise either of these options and demanded a full refund. We do not refund labor costs for any repairs that customers authorize.

  Customer response

  12/07/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  Had the interaction happened the way described in the businessresponse, I too would agree that a full refund was not appropriate.Had it happened as described, I most certainly would have chosen not to proceed with any repairs and we would not find ourselves in this situation.
  
  However, the technician that called me did not explain the 3 options as were described above. I was not told of the option to abandon the service and have the machine returned in its original condition, until after I had picked up the machine and called back to discuss my concerns about the service. Even then, I was only told because I asked what my options should have been at the time of the previous call. At that point however, I was told that that option was no longer available to me. During the call from the technician, I trusted that if the previously recommended service hadnt resolved the issue that he would have made that clear. I even told the technician that I had no interest in spending $250 to repair the machine. Even then, the technician gave me no indication that the previously recommended service had not resolved the issue, and so I believed instead that the additional service must not be related to the original issue. I understand that they do not refund labor costs for any repairs that customers authorize, however, it would be fair to assume that repairs can only be properly authorized if they resolve the issue for which they were recommended, which in this case they did not.
  
  Unfortunately, I think the potential for this misunderstanding may have originated with the associate that took down my service request when I arrived.After explaining what I was seeking, he gave a long explanation about how it is often related to the fan and wrote out the service ticket for noise - check fan, and not to run a full diagnostic for the sound. If the technician was only told to check the fan, then he too was not informed enough to properly complete the service.
  
  I do not feel that either of these issues (the incomplete service request description on the service ticket or the failure to explain the available options) are a result of my failures as the customer, nor should I have to bear the financial responsibility.
  
  As a customer, my frustration has been that from the time my complaint was received, my recollection of the interaction was considered inaccurate and not accepted. If it is the choice of the business to proceed believing the recollection of the incident given by the employees and not that of the customer,I do plan to leave reviews online stating such. Future potential customers should know that should a miscommunication or misunderstanding occur, that the customers recollection will not be presumed correct and that the interest of the business will be to keep themselves whole financially, rather than to resolve the issue and retain a customer.

  If the business has interest in making another attempt to resolve the issue, I would be willing to refrain from posting any negative reviews.
  
  Regards,
  
  *****************

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩