Complaint Review: Lowe's of Escondido - Escondido California

I had just returned from a deployment to Afghanistan, to find that my old Kenmoore Dishwasher had died, and after doing my research I found that the best dishwasher for the price was made by Bosch.  I went to my local Lowe’s, who is great about offering their military discount, and I found the exact model of dishwasher, as a ‘reconditioned’ floor model for the reduced price of $611.39.  I asked the older salesperson if everything was included, and he assured me that it was.  I asked about the power cord, and he assured me that you ‘just wire the dishwasher into the household line, just like the old dishwasher’.

I purchased a Bosch SHE65T55UC/02, Serial# FD931000838 on Saturday, 25 January.  It was delivered Sunday, 26 January, when I figured out that it needed a Bosch proprietary power junction box and retention clips.  I attempted to order them from Bosch.com, who never got back with me until several days later.

I returned to Lowe’s, and the older gentleman who sold me the dishwasher refused to make eye contact, and another associate brought me the department manager, Beldon Lyons.  Mr. Lyons assured me that I just had to wire the dishwasher into the house line, and I had to show him the installation manual and the cord.  Mr. Lyons is not intimately familiar with the appliances that he sells, and he refused to compensate me in any way for the purchase of the $15 power cord that I bought.  Mr. Lyons still has not contacted me about the retention clips that I ordered, either.  I hooked up the dishwasher, only to find out that it sprayed water out of a crack in the tub, flooding the inside of the machine and tripping the flood sensor.  I went to Lowe’s, who arranged for repair, I also ordered another dishwasher at full price which was backordered for two weeks, hopefully giving me time to get it repaired, after all, I could just cancel it if I need to.

I arranged for repair service, and A&E Appliances contacted Bosch on January 31^st, letting Bosch know that the dishwasher had a leaking stainless steel tub, could not be repaired and required a replacement.  Bosch assigned File# 1017374 and I waited for their return, I received a letter the following Monday from Shirley Goodley that she could not contact me.  I tried to call the number that she provided, but she is not in the system at Bosch and could not be reached.  Shirley did not provide an email address.  Ironic, I get a letter from Bosch that they can’t contact me, and I then, can’t contact them.  Shirley had my home address, I was able to find my phone number, email address and even LinkedIn information in a matter of minutes – and yet a Customer Service Representative who represents Bosch, cannot.

I contacted Bosch.com, and gave them my File#, dishwasher Part#, Serial#, contact information and a method for Shirley Goodley to contact me.  I still have not heard back from Bosch.com.  I contacted Lori Felts at the Bosch call center, who refused to provide me with Lori Felts’ contact information, and wanted me to FAX my receipt and service history (why was this necessary?) to Bosch.  Ms. Felts was reluctant to allow me to send it another way such as a .pdf, I mean - who uses FAX anymore, really? 

I sent Lori Felts the documents that Shirley Goodley needed, and my contact information, on 10 February.  Lori Felts never followed up, leaving it up to me to see that Ms. Goodley had received the documents.  Shirley Goodley has still, never contacted me to this day.  After a few more days, my new dishwasher, that I paid full price for, arrived.  I contacted Lori Felts, who stated that ‘inclement weather’ had caused the delay in response.  The inclement weather in Irvine, California, where Shirley Goodley works, is lightly cloudy in the morning, with highs in the 70’s and low 80’s and breezy in the afternoon with the Santa Ana winds.   That is ‘inclement?’

Now, I have a dishwasher that I paid full price for, and a $15 power cord that I never needed.  Beldon Lyons from Lowe’s never followed up with me, Bosch did not make every reasonable effort to contact me and make this right.  I will be sure to tell everyone I know not to purchase a Bosch appliance, but if you do, don’t purchase it at Lowe’s of Escondido from Beldon Lyons or his staff.  Shirley Goodley still has not contacted me.  Lowe’s of Escondido still has not refunded my $611.39.