It finally dawned on me that I have children old enough to vacuum the stairs BY THEMSELVES. So to facilitate this I went to Walmart and bought a little mini-shark vacuum. It was wonderful, small, lightweight, easy to use and best of all - the kids loved vacuuming with it - for about 15 minutes. Then it broke. That's right, the belt broke on the vacuum. No problem, I thought I will just replace it. How hard can that be. Apparently very hard - there weren't any instructions on how to replace the belt or buy a new one or anything like that to assist me. So I thought what the heck, I'll call customer service and see what they can do.
Me: Could you tell me what size of belt and need and how to replace it?
Customer Service rep (Obviously outsourced): "I'm sorry that that happened. Would you like me to send you a replacement belt?"
Me: Yes please.
CSR: That will be $14.95 and it should be there in 2 - 3 weeks.
Me: (Seriously!) The vacuum broke after 15 minutes of vacuuming. Can I send it back?
CSR: No I am sorry but I can send the replacement to you for no cost.
Me: That would be nice. Do you think you could expedite the shipping?
CSR: No.
Me: Could you email me or send me the instructions on how to replace the belt?
CSR: No. You must call customer service and we will give you the instructions over the phone. It is a very simple process. Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Me: (How about a shipping time of less than 2 weeks or instructions would be nice.) No thank you.
CSR: Now with the holiday season around have you thought of buying a sharp mop....
Me: No thank you. (Are you seriously trying to sale me something after a product of yours malfunctioned after hardly any use? And you can't send me a replacement part sooner than 3 weeks and I have to call back to get the instructions on how to do the repair.)
Elapsed time 1 week. (I guess shipping can be expedited.) The belt arrived, I called customer service, couldn't understand much of what the rep said, figured out how to replace the belt and now the kids are vacuuming the stairs on their own.
This experience caused me to realize 2 things. 1) I hate calling customer service when it is "outsourced". I can't understand them. They can't understand me. It is really buggy. And 2) Nothing puts me in a bad mood quicker than when something breaks right after I buy it. Does anybody else feel that way?
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1 comment:
That is crazy. i hate all things related to vacuming, and CSR sometimes forgets the importance of the C in that acronym. Glad it worked out for you in the end.
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