Buying Small Appliances (or not)
Today I ventured out to buy a new dishwasher for one of my tenants. They have been extremely patient since the existing unit had basically been ruined by the previous dirtbag tenants.
The stores I went to were the local Best Buy and a regional bargain-basement type place called Appliance Direct. Appliance Direct usually has scratch & dent stuff, floor models, etc.
First I called Appliance Direct to see what they had in inventory. Here’s how the conversation went.
Me: “Hi, I would like to find out what your cheapest price is on a dishwasher.”
Appliance Direct: “Well, it’s going to be about $150.”
Me: “About $150 or $150?”
Appliance Direct: “Well, it could be between $140 and $180″
Me: “Ok, what brand is that?”
Appliance Direct: “Well, it could be Whirlpool, Frigidaire, GE, it all depends on what’s available.”
Me (to myself): “Hello, it’s 2007 in AMERICA! Get a computerized inventory system!”
Me: “Ok, thanks, I guess I’ll have to come into the store.”
So, I go into the store to experience this wonder of a Luddite business. The sales person proceeded to walk around the floor looking for what I asked for only to say that the only one they had was scratched-and-dented and it was $180. I have only two words for Appliance Direct in Melbourne, Florida: C-O-M-P-U-T-E-R-I-Z-E-D I-N-V-E-N-T-O-R-Y !!
Ya, thanks for playing…N-E-X-T!
Then I proceeded to the local Best Buy again in Melbourne, Florida. After wandering around the appliance department for like 20 minutes, I approached the drone greeter at the front of the store to ask if there was anyone else who could help me BUY SOMETHING.
After getting a blank stare from this guy, he sends out a page on the public address system for the whole store for customer assistance in the small appliances department. After 10 more minutes, I had had enough. I went home to order it on the web and to my dismay, there were none of these inexpensive dishwashers…in all the Best Buys for 50 miles around. Nice!
So, the winner of this sale was good old Lowe’s Hardware. Quick, efficient, in-stock and inexpensive. SOLD!
I guess Best Buy was too busy adding up the sales from christmas to sell me anything and Appliance Direct just plain SUCKS!
