Service Station

I like shopping at Barnes & Noble on-line.

1. They sell books
2. The prices are less than at their retail stores.
3. They keep me updated with frequent emails about my order and I get fast, free shipping.
4. If I don't like something, I can return it at one of their stores or through the mail for a full refund.
5. Their customer service people actually answer my emails.

Compare that to the "service' I got this week from Hoover/Maytag. I recently bought a new vacuum cleaner which I really liked. It's self-propelled, powerful, and easy to empty - three things my former vacuum sucked at (pun intended). The first time I used it, a wheel fell off - it appears that it may be missing a special nut to hold it in place. I can still use the vacuum, but it ticks me off that I paid money for a vacuum with a loose wheel.

I called the service center this week. Of course, I got the press one if you want to do this, press two if you want to do that, and you press one then you get a whole new menu. If you want to talk to a real person, you have to do it on your dime - they don't have a toll free number connected to live people.

I punched all the numbers to find the nearest service center and got the address for a place in the next state, about 100 miles away. The address was given so quickly I didn't have a chance to write it down and I would have had to go through the whole number punching routine again to get it. I decided to try their website because I knew there was a closer service center, and I wanted help from a person. I shouldn't have to go to so much bother to fix their error.

I had no trouble logging onto the Hoover/Maytag website, but it took a while to find the right place to send a question. I finanlly got a message sent about the nut and asked if they could just send me one. While I was writing, I told them they needed to fix their phone message.

I got an email back in two days telling me to take my vacuum to the nearest service center. They did find one that was less than 10 miles from here, but still not the closest one. And they didn't answer my question or apologize for shoddy workmanship.

What brand of vacuum do you think I'm going to buy the next time? It won't be a Hoover. I don't like to be annoyed, especially by 'customer service'.