1 Star
I have been a…read moreloyal Olum's customer for 20 years. Between my spouse and me, we have spent well over $20,000 there on appliances and furniture. I have always purchased the extended warranties and have never even taken advantage of the discounts offered toward future purchases. Until now, I had never had a problem with Olum's, and the sales staff have always been wonderful.
Unfortunately, my experience with a brand-new GE refrigerator has completely changed my opinion.
Shortly after the refrigerator was delivered, I noticed that it was not cooling properly. On the second day, I called Olum's because the temperature was around 50 degrees. I was told that it could take 24-48 hours for the refrigerator to reach the proper temperature, so I waited.
By day four, the refrigerator was still only reaching about 45 degrees on its coldest setting. At that point, Olum's contacted GE, and GE scheduled a technician for a week later. The technician came out, diagnosed what he believed was an airflow problem, and made adjustments. Unfortunately, the refrigerator still did not get cold.
Another week went by without a working refrigerator. When I contacted Olum's again, I was told that I needed to deal directly with GE. When I called GE, I was told that because the original issue had not been properly reported to them, they had to open a new service ticket. The next available appointment was three weeks away.
At that point, GE allowed me to find my own technician and said they would reimburse me.
Meanwhile, I lost the entire contents of my refrigerator twice. The financial loss from groceries alone was in the thousands of dollars. But the inconvenience was just as significant. Without a working refrigerator, you can't properly cook, grocery shop, store leftovers, or live your normal day-to-day life. You don't realize how essential and convenient something is until you don't have it.
What has disappointed me most, however, is not that a brand-new appliance turned out to be defective. Things happen. What has disappointed me is that Olum's took no responsibility for helping make the situation right.
After 20 years of loyalty and more than $20,000 spent with this local business, I expected some effort to acknowledge what my family had gone through. Instead, I was essentially told to deal with GE.
And unfortunately, the story doesn't end there. Today, after everything I have been through over the past two months, I went back to Olum's and purchased another appliance--a new washer. Despite knowing the circumstances and knowing my history as a longtime customer, I was offered zero discount or accommodation toward the new purchase.
If I were running a local business and had a customer who had supported me for 20 years, spent tens of thousands of dollars, continued buying from me even after a major problem, and had gone through two months without a working refrigerator, I would have made an effort to do something to make that customer feel valued.
Unfortunately, I didn't feel valued.
I have always believed in supporting local businesses, and for 20 years I believed my loyalty to Olum's meant something. This experience has made me question that.
Buying local means very little if the business isn't willing to stand behind its customers when something goes wrong.
The sales staff have always been great, but customer service is ultimately measured by what happens when there is a problem. In this case, Olum's fell far short of what I expected from a company I had supported for two decades.
