I recently moved to the area from a larger city and my first task was to purchase a new washer and dryer. My fiance went to the Detroit Lakes Menards to select a set and found a pretty good deal on front load machines. So we decided to purhase them and she would just spend the night as the machines were to be delivered the next day. The next afternoon once the unprofessional driver delivered the machines and set them up he realized the washer was broken as water just sprayed in the machine. He apologized and said he would run and pick up another one. After an hour or so he returned and unloaded the new washer. After tearing apart all the packaging and setting it up, it was quickly realized this washer was faulty also (the door would not unlock). So the driver then said he would deliver one next week.
My fiance, very upset because of having to drive hours up to DL for nothing, called the Menards to see if she could at least get the delivery fee waived. After being treated like garbage and passed around to different people she finally spoke with the manager on duty. He laughed (literally) at her when she explained to him the story and said "well the delivery driver is contracted, so I have to pay either way for him to deliver the machines. Now I have to pay for him to deliver 3 machines. It's not my fault, its the manufacturers fault." After getting no where with the MOD we waited until a few days later and contacted the General Manager of the store. He reiterated the same garbage the MOD did and condescendingly reminded us that its not his fault but he would maybe consider a refund of delivery.
Ok, so first off - I understand that the machines were packaged up and it was the manufacturers fault they were not functional... BUT we purchased them from MENARDS. If we had contacted Whirlpool or gone to a Whirlpool outlet I would expect Whirlpool to make things right, but no, we chose to go to Menards. If you are selling a product, and we agree to purchase the product from you, we have conducted business with YOU. I have been a General Manager at a big brand hotel for years and if a guest has a problem with their room, lets say with their TV, I cannot jut tell them well its LG's fault they sold it to me. The guest paid ME for a product, not any other vendor - so it is my responsibility to follow through and make sure the product I sell is at very least satisfactory to the customer.
Being a Wisconsinite, I thought there was no way that the corporate headquarters of Menards would let us be treated so awfully (Menards is based out of Eau Claire, Wisconsin). So I looked up online to try and get a phone number of someone to call and get advice. Nothing. No numbers, no email addresses, just a mailing address. There is however a disclaimer that directs customer service inquiries back to the individual store. WOW. I am still in disbelief that a large retail store like this has no other customer service line except to talk to people at the stores.
So after weeks of this happening, I decided I would just let it slide and not shop there anymore. But just two days ago my landlord purchased us a new dishwasher - from the local Menards. Guess what? It didn't work and they were upset as well telling us Menards would not take the dishwasher back. So they had to call an appliance repairman. So I decided to take action and write on Yelp, if anything, to warn potential customers of this establishment and its non-customer friendly policies.
Now I am a very brand loyal person, and once a brand treats me well I will continue using it. You can tell from my 2 Nissan autos (soon to be 3), numerous Sony electronics, and my frequent trips to Hilton hotels, Macys, JCP, TGIFridays, etc. I hope that someone from Menards corporate reads this and will contact me regarding my customer experience with their establishment. I will amend to this if that does happen. I know how it is to experience an upset customer (remember I said I work in hospitality), and could some day return to the chain if the situation is addressed. Until then, I will no longer set foot in a Menards and will share with everyone my experience. read more