Complaint Review: Vermont Country Home Products - Vergennes Vermont

I worked for the technical support group of Country Home Products for over two years (1999-2000) and the Whisperlite was a particular thorn in the side of the company. It was produced with the intention of filling a neat market niche. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. There were development problems with the circuit boards, shipping concerns and customers that didn't understand how to use the machine. In the tech support group, we would bend over backwards for Whisperlite customers, especially ones with shipping damage. The condition that was described by the customer in the rip off report complaint is all too familiar to us in the tech support group. The attitude of the high command of the company was to get the mower out as fast as possible. Minimize turnaround time. Also, the company employed seasonal kids and payed them seasonal wages in the demo shop... Of course some of these machines got out the door in the condition described. On thing that the customer didn't mention was CHP's customer service. Even though her mother had purchased a demo machine, I'd bet she was treated as if she had purchased a brand spanking new one. Also, if the customer had contacted either tech support or customer service, all she would've had to do is box the mower back up and the company would've brought the mower back at the companys' expense and replaced it, or refunded her money as soon as the mower returned. Once the mower was listed as back to the Vermont shop, the card is refunded. There is no dispute. The company had a 30-day, risk-free trial that they prided themselves on. They still have it, even on machines that cost over $2500! I think that the customer has a legitimate gripe about the condition of her mower, but she should have no complaint with the quality of the customer service she received. This customer needs to get the facts about the company straight before she posts here.

I worked for the technical support group of Country Home Products for over two years (1999-2000) and the Whisperlite was a particular thorn in the side of the company. It was produced with the intention of filling a neat market niche. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. There were development problems with the circuit boards, shipping concerns and customers that didn't understand how to use the machine. In the tech support group, we would bend over backwards for Whisperlite customers, especially ones with shipping damage. The condition that was described by the customer in the rip off report complaint is all too familiar to us in the tech support group. The attitude of the high command of the company was to get the mower out as fast as possible. Minimize turnaround time. Also, the company employed seasonal kids and payed them seasonal wages in the demo shop... Of course some of these machines got out the door in the condition described. On thing that the customer didn't mention was CHP's customer service. Even though her mother had purchased a demo machine, I'd bet she was treated as if she had purchased a brand spanking new one. Also, if the customer had contacted either tech support or customer service, all she would've had to do is box the mower back up and the company would've brought the mower back at the companys' expense and replaced it, or refunded her money as soon as the mower returned. Once the mower was listed as back to the Vermont shop, the card is refunded. There is no dispute. The company had a 30-day, risk-free trial that they prided themselves on. They still have it, even on machines that cost over $2500! I think that the customer has a legitimate complaint, but she needs to get the facts about the company straight before she posts here.