Jc Appliance Ltd.

You have to read to preamble to get the context...after that it gets ridiculous. Called whirlpool Monday AM to seek warranty service. Scheduled for Tuesday between 12-4 PM.
Woman from JC App called me later in the morning stating they were scheduled by Whirlpool to provide service call Tuesday 12-4 PM but they had a technician in the area (City of Toronto) Monday afternoon can they come by Monday afternoon. My response, I don't expect anyone will be there but give me a call when the technician is finished his last job and I will confirm at that time if anyone is home. I get call in afternoon saying technician is about 20 minutes away will anyone be there? I answer no. I call the next morning (Tuesday) to confirm 12-4 pm service call. Another woman answers she responds no one is a scheduled for that area and I ask again that she confirm. She says I had that call scheduled for yesterday and the technician went to the house but no one was home. I said that is a mistake and explained that there was a request from JC App to move appointment to Monday but there was no expectation that anyone would be home. I then follow up with I hope you not sending just one technician it is a 350 pound machine. I explained that the machine is on the second floor of my house and if one person tries to move it they will damage my floors. She is quick to point out that it is my responsibility to make the machine accessible. I said it is accessible. Then she stated that no one told her how much the machine weighed. When I responded that surely as Whirlpool authorized service provider you must have some understanding of the appliances you are repairing. She started screaming at me that they don't open until 9:00 AM (it was 10 mins to 9) and that I was to call back. I asked her to confirm if there was technician coming and she said that they are not sending a technician because the machine is too heavy. Then a man (identified himself as the technician) came on the line. He said that he already came by the house yesterday and that no one was home - I inferred from this that he was going to bill for this call since he already came by. I asked him to confirm who scheduled the service call for Monday afternoon he said "Whirlpool." I explained to him that the appointment was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon and when someone from his firm called me to see if it was possible to schedule it for Monday afternoon I said no one is expected to be home but it is possible that someone may be there, please call after you last call and I will confirm if someone is home. He didn't share the same perspective and told me to call Whirlpool to reschedule and tell them to ask for two service technicians and a licensed gas fitter in case the dryer needed to be disconnected. I asked how do you know the dryer has to be disconnected when you don't even know what is wrong with the washing machine?
I called whirlpool, "yes sir the service call is scheduled for Tuesday 12-4" "Yes sir they know the model number and therefore the dimensions of the machine."
We apologize for this experience and will have another service provider respond to this call.
I can only imagine that a service provider who falsifies information, screams and shouts when challenged and has an asymmetric perspective on reality cannot be trusted in your home.

JC Appliance Ltd. was referred to me as a 3rd party vendor from Whirlpool Canada LP to come and fix our broken ice maker for our Whirlpool Gold refrigerator (Model #GS2SHAXSS03). I found JC Appliance Ltd. to be unfair in their dealings with me, and warn any prospective customer against using them. Here are the 6 stages as to why I have come to this conclusion:

1. After the JC Appliance Ltd. technician, named Adrian, initially arrived on March 15, 2013 to diagnose the broken ice maker (which cost $96.05 for this 15-minute diagnostic visit), he recommended I purchase two parts (ice maker assembly and microcomputer), directly from JC Appliance Ltd. His office manager called me after Adrian left and she said the parts cost $379 plus tax ($428.27 all-in). I was shocked at this sticker price and later called back Whirlpool, who informed me I could purchase the parts independently from a parts store (Reliable Parts on Caledonia).

2. When I called Reliable Parts they told me the total cost of both parts was $364.35 taxes included (not $428.27), and that no third party should charge a penny more than the list cost of the factory-issued parts. So, JC Appliance Ltd. was going to charge me $63.92 extra for pure profit when they should not have.

3. When I called Adrian on his cell a week later to inform him that I had purchased the parts and had them in my possession, he let me know that it would cost $200 to repair the ice maker. I said ok (although that seemed like a high amount) and he said he would get me a call-back with a confirmed appointment from JC Appliance Ltd., as he would not work under the table. The JC Appliance Ltd. customer service rep called me back and quoted me $275. I told her Adrian said $200, but she replied it was a "more complex job". The call ended without me booking an actual appointment.

4. Unprompted, Adrian called me back a few hours later, and I told him the price discrepancy between his oral quote and his company's higher follow-up quote, and he said he would call me back yet again in a bit to see what he could negotiate with his company. He never called me back.

5. The next day, I called Whirlpool Canada Ltd., told them about the above points #1-4, and we scheduled to have a new service technician sent out. Two technicians (as partners) arrived on the scheduled date of Friday, April 5, 2013 -- one even wearing a Whirlpool shirt (note: Adrian wore nothing identifying him as a licensed technician) -- and installed the ice maker assembly promptly. When I told them that JC Appliance Ltd. was going to charge $275 for the same job, they both laughed and were shocked as well, saying that $275 for an easy 20-minute job was ridiculous. They actually asked me whether Adrian took credit cards or cash only. (Adrian did not have a mobile POS machine like these technicians did). My total installation cost from these efficient and professional technicians came out to $113.

6. Finally, the new Whirlpool technicians did *not* install the microcomputer, only the ice maker assembly, as they said that the microcomputer was working just fine (a warning/malfunction light was not on) and so this was a totally unnecessary part that JC Appliance Ltd. upsold me. Result: the ice maker worked fine without the microcomputer installation and started dispensing ice like normal over the next 24 hours. I returned the microcomputer part to Reliable Parts and was refunded $169.49 as the box was unopened.

In conclusion, had I used JC Appliance Ltd. all the way through, I would have spent an additional $331.49: for an overcharge in service repair ($275 estimate - $113 actual cost = $162 overcharge), plus the likely installation of a microcomputer I didn't actually need for my ice maker to function ($169.49). I am still out the $96.05 for the *mis*diagnosis of my ice maker (i.e. Adrian prescribed me to purchase a part I did not need).

So, if you are ever in contact with JC Appliance Ltd. of 2150 Steeles Avenue, run-don't-walk away from them. And shame on Whirlpool for not vetting JC Appliance Ltd. before sending them out to their customers. Whirlpool has also been notified and JC Appliance Ltd. should have been put on their "do not call" list going forward.