Venting Friday - Does Nothing Work Right Anymore?

I think we're going to BLOW here! It seems everything we've bought new in the last 3-4 yrs has had issues, some of which are still on-going, hummm all of them as I think of it. I'm not going to mention product names, nor service people, but is it just us that find one doesn't get the quality nor customer service anymore, unless you SCREAM at the person on the other end phone?

Last night we were settled in, dogs out, a nice fire going and watching our Favs the Ottawa Senators hockey team make a run for 11 straight game wins, when all of a sudden in the 3rd period our LCD HD tv starts to fade out to black along with the sound. Slowly, nothing. Dead. No light for on/off, nothing. The TV was bought new just over 3 yrs ago, June last yr we spent close to $250 to have the power pack replaced. The TV went the same way then, thus we suspect it's the same problem. 90 day warranty ain't any good now! So we're in a dilemma ... do we get it fixed, do without a TV probably till mid next wk and expect the same problem in another 6 mnths, or do we buy new? Buying new is what we checked out the reviews/prices etc on-line while we listened to the rest of the Sens winning game on the computer.

Next, our new, high end convection stove, bought when we moved here. 1st new one Mike & I have ever owned. Each home we've owned separately or together has come with a stove, working well, so have never invested in a new one. 1st it was a 25 lb turkey being done for xmas day that the FELL, grill and all to the bottom of the stove! The whole insides/racks & insulation had to be replaced. Fine, now that works OK, but the grilling rack STICKS ... not fun when one is trying to remove a hot sheet of hors d'oeuvres, with it finalling flying out on that last tug! Burn baby burn! We start to encounter another problem ... nothing seems to cook all the way thru? Temp doesn't seem to hold, or is 'out'. After a few cancelled service calls (all them, not us!) the tech says the oven is out by some 27 deg! The rack problem ... oh, a lot of people have that problem and unfortunately by the time they notice it, their warranty has run out. Luckily we added the extra yrs on. After several more cookings of various foods, still isn't working right. Last fall the service tech comes again (more cancellations - and as you know each time you've scheduled time off to be home), and decides to order a new inner box & electric control system. Another appt is scheduled for Nov, however that day the tech finds out that a door had been ordered instead of the inner box!!! The controls are in, did I still want him to come ... YES! we'd like a working oven for xmas/New Yrs PLS! He removes everything, only to open the box and find it BROKEN! Parts should be in Dec 25! HA! Fast forward to this past Wed, while after WEEKLY calls to the Company, having my calls routed to Corporate Services, as to why it's taking over 2 months to get the parts/service, he comes to replace everything this past Wed. We end up fiddling with the temperatures between bake & convection, and don't we find the temp is not only out by 25 deg, but it also seems that the temp will drop by 20deg before it kicks back on to keep the temp of the oven! He did some more fiddling; I had an appt and had to leave Mike with him when he got home from work. Mike went to change, came down and the service tech was driving away! SO?? did he fix the problem? did we see that it was working OK? nope! Did the tech see a way to 'sneak' out when no one was beside him .... hummmm .... do wonder??? And I ask, how easy is it going to be for us to determine if the 'problem' is fixed? we don't have a high tech heat meter, we just have to go by whether what goes in the oven comes out cooked with the temp & time it should. OH Boy! I can see some later dinners coming up again!

What we don't understand is the cost of rebuilding this stove runs close to $500 each time, just for parts, and they've been out some 4-5 times and put in over $1,200 worth of parts ... why not just give us a new stove??? Is that not cheaper? and OH, the sales person that sold us the stove in the beginning ... he says we're the 1st to call stating there is a problem! Not what the tech tells us who's dealing with all the service calls.

Next venting ... we bought a new furnace with a/c 1.5 yrs ago, through the same company that we bought our stove. Again high end name brand, high efficiency furnace. Installation went smooth and it's worked fine until a month after the annual service last fall. Then temp control panel with all it's techy readouts, says 'System Malfunction' call for service. The furnace is still working, what's UP? Same tech comes back (again a cancelled appt), only to tell us he suspected a problem a month ago but since there were no 'reports' on the control panel, he couldn't report his assumptions. SO, what is the problem? not enough cold air flow back to the furnace when it's on the high speed, thus it shuts off. Now what? well a report will get put in and his boss will have to decide what they are going to do. In the meantime, remove our special electronic filter and keep that panel off, keep the furnace area door open, all to allow for more air flow to the furnace.

Well ... I have called, AGAIN and AGAIN, every week since the beginning of January, each time a different dept, different person, different 'reason' as to why no one has gotten back to us. The last one a week ago ...'oh, repairs closed the case as it was no longer their problem, it should go to installation, I'll see that it's reopened and So-in-so is notified'. This week, no reply, I call again, another mssg will be sent and I should receive a call within 48 hrs. Well it is now 48 hrs, and nothing!

Guess, I'm back on the phone AGAIN today!

Blood pressure is rising, I'll try and keep my cool, but we are so darn tired of new things breaking down, service being the pits, no one careing and it seems you have to FIGHT to get any resolution.

It seems you just get one thing 'fixed' and you're on to another long line of repairs, service calls, and $$$'s. What happened to the good old days? Our TV upstairs is some 25 yrs old and works like a charm!