I have been in the customer service profession for over 50 years, but never have I
experienced this unique way of taking care of the customer.
In July of 2021 we bought an LG refrigerator from a popular big box store and
enjoyed the advantages of having a new appliance that kept our food at the
proper temperature. In November of 2023 we experienced a loss of that constant
temperature a newer refrigerator usually has. After going through all the scenarios
in the manual to no avail, I called the customer service number for LG.
I did not expect a human directly in today’s world. After being directed to their
website I put in a ticket for service with all the information required. Then I was
directed to a live text chat (still not sure what that is). They spent the first 20
minutes asking me if I tried all the scenarios in the manual. When I replied in the
affirmative, they terminated our session. I called back and had to go through the
whole dance again with some other human? Bot? This time I was told they
needed to schedule a service call for me. Then our session was terminated again.
At this time, my wife came home from her workout, and I asked her to take over.
After 2 hours she got the message, they would schedule a service call in the next
2- 4 days. After 24 hours with no communication from LG, she called a
recommended local appliance repair company, and they actually answered the
phone. The technician said that LG has a big problem with condensers on that
model of refrigerator, leading to a lawsuit. He said he has that condenser in stock,
could be out that day, and it would cost us $700 to fix it. He did recommend that
we stay the course with LG because our parts and labor would be covered under
the warranty. 3 days later a professional service repairman came to our house on
time, looked in the refrigerator at the panel and determined that they did not
have that particular condenser in stock. He could get it ordered from LG, and
hopefully be back to fix it in 2 more days. By the way, it was our first human
contact with anyone in this customer service chain with LG.
My wife checked in and saw the part was ordered and we had faith we were going
to have resolution soon. 24 hours later we had no more information on when we
would receive the part and could call to schedule service. It showed up 48 hours
after they had ordered it. We called the repair company to schedule a repair call,
they gave us a window of 3 hours the next day. We waited anxiously planning
what we would do having this modern convenience in working order. 30 minutes
after the window closed, we called the repair company, and they said it was
another 3 days before they could get out there.
A total of 11 days without a refrigerator that is only 2 years old, never getting a
live person from the greedy manufacturer that created this giant stainless steel
kitchen decoration, and an unempathetic repair company.
When did the customer stop being the focus of the company? Once the funds
clear? We will not be purchasing another LG product and want to spread our
stress-filled story of inconvenience because of that company’s lack of caring about
the people that fund their bottom line.
It really makes the Chewy’s of the world stand out.