Complaint Review: Inglis Whirlpool

I went to Best Buy on Bowman Rd. to shop for refrigerators in mid 2006.  I had to wait more than 20 minutes for salesman Rodney Parham to even begin to help me while he attended with much lassitude to a potential customer couple that was indecisive and dawdling around the appliance area.  When finally served, I said I wanted a quality refrigerator and liked a few particular models of respected brands on display.  Mr. Parham said that each of those models would take weeks or months to arrive because demand was very high, a backorder would be required, and display models could not be sold.  He suggested an Inglis refrigerator for a much lower price, saying it was made by Whirlpool and would have Whirlpool quality only without the higher price and was in stock at Best Buys warehouse.  I agreed to buy an Inglis 21 cu. ft. model with the freezer on top.

Immediately after the refrigerator was delivered, I discovered that the meat drawer was extremely difficult to pull out and slide back in.  I looked for packing tape or foam and found none.  I thought maybe the drawer problem would improve over time, but instead it became worse, requiring enough force to move the meat drawer as to shake the refrigerator, causing things to fall out on the floor.

I expected a refrigerator of Whirlpool quality to last for a good number of years without problems.  I found that food wouldnt stay frozen in the freezer compartment at certain times of the year.  If I turned the thermostat to a setting cold enough to keep freezer food frozen, the whole unit became a freezer with food in the refrigerator compartment freezing and ruining from ice damage.  I gave up on using the freezer compartment after only two years.  Thats also about the time that the refrigerator started making loud popping noises.

As I write this in April 2010, the refrigerator compartment has not been functioning properly for about 4 months.  It is displaying a wavelike pattern of going from cold to too warm and back again.  Obviously, because of this most recent loss of refrigerator functionality, Im now losing food to premature spoilage.

Im extremely dissatisfied with everything to do with this refrigerator, from Best Buy and its salesman to Whirlpool.  I expected Whirlpool quality and received a terrible piece of junk.  Best Buy and Whirlpool have lost this customer.  I hope consumer protection action will arise to correct the problems I encountered.  Lemon appliances should not be sold.  It is my opinion that consumers should beware of anything from Whirlpool (Inglis, Maytag, Amana).  Whirlpool has been making home appliances for many decades.  They know how to do better.