JENN-AIR: Bad equipment, even worse customer service

I will be adding to this blog by inserting a write up from a close friend in regard to Jenn-Air products and their customer service at a later date.  I will give a bit about my own point of view on these folks as a preface.

I have a friend who is a wonderful chef and has fed me more meals than I can begin to count.  Her joy in life is cooking.  Two years ago she totally remodeled her kitchen as the focal point of their home.  Island, custom counters, built in furnishings.  The works.  No expense spared.  It was a gathering place for family and friends.

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My friend bought all new Jenn-Air appliances.  From the start there were problems.  The three speed range hood only had two speeds.  The "commercial grade" stove ... well, one burner won't remain lit and the handle is falling off the oven door.  Multiple service calls says it is not a covered problem as it is not electrical or some nonsense like that.  It makes me think of letter of the law and spirit of the law.  Let's say you buy a new car with a 36,000 mile warranty and at 36,805 miles you are stopped at a light and the door falls off the car.  Maybe that is not a warranty issue but it is a defect in materials, design or quality control.  My friend has not been able to get this issue, or any other issue resolved.  The Jenn-Air person my friend just talked to told her to contact her warranty provider or selling dealer, all of which have not addressed any of her issues for over two years.

The dishwasher.  Broken three times in two years.  You want something that works?  You want somebody that stands behind their products?  Go to Sears.  1/5 the cost and 500 times the reliability.

Jenn-Air is a Whirlpool company.  High priced line of substandard stuff that may look like commercial grade but is anything but commercial grade.  Just because you fabricate something out of stainless steel it does not make it a good product.

Bottom line; I asked my friend to write up her experiences with these three appliances.  Three out of three nothing but trouble.  I will post her write up when I receive it from her.

Update -

My friend just talked to Melissa at Jenn-Air.  Melissa told my friend she had been with the company for ten years.  She then told my friend that the tech who told my friend that a part was on national backorder was actually in the warehouse in stock.  Who do you believe?  Who is taking responsibility?  Clearly not Melissa as far as taking responsibility.  She told my friend that she should contact the technician and she should tell the technician that the part is in stock.  Pass the buck Melissa?  You should be a bit ashamed but your employer should be even more ashamed for not sending you back to training.  This is not how you resolve an unhappy customer problem on one appliance let alone three of them.

More updates later.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/jennaire.html

Enough of my own words, here is the story from the owners of these appliances:

On 11/2/2010 I purchased a Jenn-Air 48” Convection oven (PRG4810NP), Jenn-Air Dishwasher (JDB3600AWP) Jenn-Air 48” Pro Hood (JXW9048WP). We did not take delivery of the new appliance until three months later since we were remodeling our house and the site was not ready. We were not aware that the warranty period began from the time of purchase and not the installation date.

The Nightmare begins:

The first service call. Within the first month after installation I tried to use the oven I had problems. The igniter on one of the burners would continue to try and light the already lit burner. The tech came out about the burner and made an adjustment to correct the problem at that time I pointed out the loose oven door handle and was told by the tech that that’s a mechanical issue not covered by warranty.

The fan switch on the Jenn-Air 48” Pro Hood (JXW9048WP) was incorrectly installed at the factory and would not turn on. The fan switch has three positions.

I contacted the service contract provider and a service tech came out looked at the oven and said that was normal. He fixed the switch on the fan which now has one speed in all three positions it now works at one speed.

Then the dishwasher started giving us trouble on April 2011 the left top rack track had to be replaced and the dishwasher would not drain properly. A Tech came out and said the screen was clogged and that it was not covered by warranty but the rack was covered under warranty (Invoice #6452153).

3/15/2012 A&E Factory service had to come out again this time to replace a bad touch pad control panel.

A year and three months later that part has failed again. June 10 2013 a service call is currently active and we are still waiting for the part and technician to fix the dishwasher again! Repair order 5204689.

On 6/26/2013 I spoke to Melissa ID#3495 with Whirlpools customer service in Cleveland Tennessee. She explained that my products are out of the OEM warranty and that the products are out of warranty and they will do nothing about the problems.

As of 6/27/13 we are still waiting for the service technician I cook for nine people almost every night and these product failures are a great inconvenience. The oven door is loose again and dangerous. I love cooking and I thought I was buying professional quality luxury appliances. Jenn-Air is not professional quality!

I should have bought Viking at least they stand behind their products with a Three-year full warranty—complete product.

I will never buy any Jenn-Air or any Whirlpool product especially after all of the service nightmares I have experienced.

Every single Jenn-Air appliance that we own has required service within the first two years of service 100% failure is not any sort of quality I care to buy again.

PS Melissa: Below is the warranty information for the dishwasher apparently you don't know what is covered under the dishwasher warranty

SECOND THROUGH FIFTH YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY ON CERTAIN COMPONENT PARTS

In the second through the fifth year from the date of purchase, when your major appliance is installed, operated and maintained according to instructions attached to or furnished with the product, Jenn-Air will pay for factory specified parts for the following components if defective in materials or workmanship: dish racks, all parts of the wash system, drain motor, electronic controls and heating element.

Replacements parts will also be provided if there is rust including the exterior cabinet and front panels.

JENN-AIR DISHWASHER WARRANTY

ONE YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY

For one year from the date of purchase, when this major appliance is operated and maintained according to instructions attached to or furnished with the product, Jenn-Air brand of May tag Corporation or Maytag Limited (hereafter "Jenn-Air") will pay for factory specified replacement parts and repair labor to correct defects in materials or workmanship. Service must be provided by a Jenn-Air designated service company. This limited warranty applies only when the major appliance is used in the country in which it is purchased.

SECOND THROUGH FIFTH YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY ON CERTAIN COMPONENT PARTS

In the second through the fifth year from the date of purchase, when your major appliance is installed, operated and maintained according to instructions attached to or furnished with the product, Jenn-Air will pay for factory specified parts for the following components if defective in materials or workmanship: dish racks, all parts of the wash system, drain motor, electronic controls and heating element. Replacements parts will also be provided if there is rust including the exterior cabinet and front panels.

LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY ON STAINLESS STEEL TUB AND INNER DOOR LINER

For the lifetime of the product from the date of purchase, when this major appliance is installed, operated and maintained according to instructions attached to or furnished with the product, Jenn-Air will pay for factory specified parts and repair labor for the following
components to correct defects in materials or workmanship that existed when this major appliance was purchased: stainless steel tub
and inner door liner.

ITEMS JENN-AIR WILL NOT PAY FOR

1. Service calls to correct the installation of your major appliance, to instruct you how to use your major appliance, to replace or repair house fuses or to correct house wiring or plumbing.
2. Service calls to repair or replace appliance light bulbs, air filters or water filters. Those consumable parts are excluded from warranty coverage.
3. Repairs when your major appliance is used for other than normal, single-family household use.
4. Damage resulting from accident, alteration, misuse, abuse, fire, flood, acts of God, improper installation, installation not in accordance with electrical or plumbing codes, or use of products not approved by Jenn-Air.

5. Replacement parts or repair labor costs for units operated outside the United States or Canada.
6. Pickup and delivery. This major appliance is designed to be repaired in the home.
7. Repairs to part or systems resulting from unauthorized modifications made to the appliance.
8. Expenses for travel and transportation for product service in remote locations.
9. The removal and reinstallation of your appliance if it is installed in an inaccessible location or is not installed in accordance with published installation instructions.
10. Replacement parts or repair labor costs when the major appliance is used in a country other than the country in which it was purchased.

6/28/13 Update

@jennairUSA has blocked me on twitter.  No problem though, simple matter to continue to distribute this post.  What I do find interesting though and worth noting is that Jenn-Air is now #1.  #1 as in the first.  The first to block me on twitter rather than try to work with the customer through what ever method they may suggest to resolve the problem.  Instead they just cut and run.  EVERY other service or business I have contacted on twitter kept doing their best to provide customer service and kept in communication.  I think this last action on their part says it all.

My friends are now working their warranty with their third party warranty provider even though things like the oven handle falling off the stove is clearly a manufacturing defect.  Congratulations Jenn-air, you have earned the title of worst customer service on the Internet and on social media.  If you want to change things feel free to contact me and re-open a dialogue.

As of August 2013, the offending dishwasher was replaced.  The oven issues?  I will check on that and post the update here when I get the info.

Final update:

The Jenn-Air oven handle was fixed by the owner.  The range hood still does not work properly.  Jenn-Air did nothing to support the customer on either of those items.

The dishwasher was replaced by a Bosch dishwasher.  The silverware rack on the top shelf is a very cool design departure from standard designs.  It really gets silverware clean.  It also has a salt dispenser to soften water so there are no water spots.  Pretty impressive unit.  As a side note, in my own case my two hand are my dishwasher but that Bosch unit at my friend's is pretty darn impressive.