Brand Source Appliance Service & Repair

They did a good job overall, but the only issues was trying to schedule the service and get the part they needed.

Our first experience with Brand Source was good. They fixed our Bosch washing machine, no problem. Our Samsung refrigerator, however, what a whole different experience. Our freezer was not cooling properly. It worked sometimes and other times not. The first technician fully admitted he wasn't sure what was wrong with it, and we agreed to try replacing the defrost sensor. After this did not work, I called again and asked for a technician familiar with the Samsung refrigerators. The next technician decided to replace another sensor, and if that didn't work, the control board. When he came back in hand with parts, the control board was defective and had to be ordered again. When the control board came, he promised this would fix the issue. Again, it did not resolve the issue. I was finally able to reach a manager, who said the technician would call Samsung from our house. Before this person was scheduled to come, he had an injury, so another delay. When a technician came the next day, he decided it was the compressor that was bad based on the error message. We did not agree and pressed him to contact Samsung as agreed with the manager. Samsung determined the error meant it was the inverter board. Afterwards I spoke with the manager, who assured me the part was being expedited. When I called back only to find out the part was yet another 7 days out plus time to schedule a technician. I knew that I could have the part overnighted and replace it myself the next day. At this point, we had been without a proper refrigerator for SIX WEEKS! You have to wait for parts, and you can't schedule a technician until the part arrives, always adding another 2 days. To be fair, there were also some delays in confirming the refrigerator was not functioning properly. When I told the manager that I could get the part in a day, he was willing to cancel the order, and we fixed our refrigerator ourselves the next day rather than wait another 10 days. We will obviously no longer use this company. The president's line redirects to a simple customer service rep. When I've tried calling, their phone isn't answered until 11 am or so, and voicemails are never returned. Customer service does not exist.

It was delivered on 9/3/2013. The installer removed the old dishwasher and hooked everything up for the new one but could not get the dishwasher to fit in the existing space. He said he was not a carpenter and told me someone would call me later that afternoon to arrange a time to complete the installation. He would only charge me a delivery labor charge $65 and $30 for parts (6' supply line). Several days later no one called - so I reluctantly removed the lip of our cupboard with a jigsaw, hooked up the drain line and supply line. We used the dishwasher for the first time Monday evening 9/9. On Tuesday morning I was in the basement and noticed water dripping from one of the wood beams directly below the dishwasher. I pulled it out from behind the counter and found the dishwasher was the source of the leak. More specifically - the drain hose is made up of two pieces of corrugated plastic joined with a 2" hard rubber nipple. The installer tightened a large hose clamp in the middle of the nipple to connect the two pieces of plastic drain hose. The plastic hose was crimped and this is is where the leak occurred. I called Brand Source and spoke to a dispatcher. They asked me about the problem. I told them where the leak occurred and they said they could send someone out by Thursday (2 days later) - between 8 and 10 from the factory warranty group. At 10:00 no one had showed up. I had received a voice mail the evening before confirming the appointment. I called that number and reached a service man who's immediate response was to use profanity and blame the office for not letting me know he was running late because his truck had broken down. He showed up at 10:30 - and I showed him the source of the leak. He said the installer had used the wrong clamp and showed me the one that should have been used from his tool kit. He said it was easy to tighten the hose clamp too tight, the drain hose was damaged and it would have to be replaced. He then asked me for $50 to cover the service call - and said he'd have to order the part and come back out to install it. I asked how much more that would be and if it was covered with the warranty. He said none of this was covered by warranty and it would cost me an additional $265 for the repair. I refused to pay for the service call - $55 - and told him I felt the problem was created (kinked drain hose) by the Brand Source delivery man and that Brand Source should fix it no charge. He told me I'd have to call the dealer (Appliance Factory Outlet) - and argue that point with them. I called the dealer and asked to speak to a manager. I was told the manager was in a meeting and could not be bothered. The sales person on the phone was very nice and said he could help. I told him the story. He was very sympathetic and said he would call Brand Source then would call me right back. He called back and told me Jason from Brand Source would be calling me shortly. Several hours later - no phone call - so I called the dealer back and asked to speak to the manager. Again - the manager could not be bothered. I asked for the original sales person and he was gone picking up his child from school. I told my wife I was at my limit with both of these companies and felt the best course of action would be for me to fix it myself. She said they should take care of it, and she would handle it. She drove to the dealer and spoke to someone who was very helpful and anxious to fix the situation at no cost. He called Brand Source, discussed the problem and made arrangement to have them fix it for us at no cost. My wife expected a phone call on Friday 9/13 from Brand Source and it is now 9/19 and we have not heard from them. I researched the broken part on the web and found it to be a standard drain hose used by several dishwasher manufacturers. I ordered the damaged part for $11 + $4 next day shipping from Amazon. It arrived on 9/17 and installed and tested it - works fine. Received a bill from Brand Source for $54.95 - stating "Customer installed unit himself due to countertop issue. Because of this, the unit's repair is not covered under the manufacturer." The extended warranty we purchased is worthless and our experience with Brand Source has been a nightmare. One of their employees damaged the hose and they refuse to take responsibility - choosing to blame it on me (the customer). I called Brand Source and discussed the ordeal with Merlin. He empathized with me and told me the most he could do was to lower the $55 to $25 - as he was required to pay the driver. I reluctantly agreed to pay the $25. End of store - also end of my relationship with Appliance Factory Outlet & their partner repair company called Brand Source. I've learned the hard way.