A & E Factory Service Consumer Reviews - Page 3

DES MOINES, IOWA -- I am writing this review as I am unable to locate a website for the company itself. This has to be the worst service I have ever experienced. My elderly mother has an electric Roper stove. Approx 5 weeks ago while she was cleaning her oven she burnt her hand. The element was heating up though the oven was off. After speaking with customer service @ Whirlpool (the makers of Roper) they set up to have a service technician come out at their cost. This was great. The service tech from A&E came out on Saturday Oct. 13th. Well, he was not a stove guy. He worked on washers.

After a couple of calls he was able to determine that it was the element that was bad. The cost of the part was $54... labor to replace $180. Seeing as though it was just a couple of screws & clipping a couple of wires on to the element I could handle this myself. One week later got the part & I installed it. The oven still would not work. I assumed we just got a bad part so I contacted A&E and they set up for another tech to come out at their cost. On Oct 27th another tech came out and found the problem to be a box, I would assume the "brain" of the stove was burnt out. We did not need the element, however since it was their error the part and labor to replace was no charge.

The tech said he would order the part on emergency & rescheduled for himself to come out the following Wednesday. The part did not arrive until Wednesday afternoon so we had to reschedule for the next day. At this point not really a big problem. Thursday comes and they are to be there between 8-12 (large 4 hr window). At 1:30 my mother gets a call that he is 30 minutes away. She waits. At 2:45 she calls the service department to find out what happened and they tell her she was not on the schedule, she was just being worked in & they do not know what happened to that tech but they will have another tech there by the name of ** by 5pm.

5 comes and no tech. She calls back and is told there is no tech by that name she would have to reschedule for Saturday. Of course she is upset and hangs up on them. I call within 5 minutes to schedule the appointment for Saturday. They can not do Saturday would have to be Monday November 5th between 8-12. A tech would call before coming and she must answer or they will not come. Well here we are, my mother waiting for a phone call. At 10AM she opens the curtains on her sliding door to find a note that says "sorry we missed you. We were here at 10AM." No phone call to her or myself (I am the one they were to call for now on).

I contact the service center to get the excuse that she was first on his route and they do not call the first appointment. They did not tell us this, if they had I would have told them they need to call because she may not hear anyone knocking on the door. 10am is their first appointment!

Why tell us between 8-12? Well after 3 request for a supervisor I get a "lead". She tells me she will contact the tech who is at his 2nd appointment, though it has only be 10 minutes since he left the note, to see if he could go back after that appointment instead of end of the day. She will call me right back to let me know what she found out. That was 1hr 45 minutes ago. This has to be the worst service company ever!!! What is a person to do?

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS -- Less than 3 years ago we purchased appliances at Lowe's (washer and dryer). We also purchased the extended warranty offered. On July 2nd, my dryer quit heating so I called the company on the brochure to submit a request for repair. I was told that the next available appointment wasn't until July 12th so I scheduled for the 8-12 time slot. Having a family of 5, I wasn't thrilled with the idea of going so long without a dryer and having to haul my 8 month old BABY to the dirty laundromat but I didn't have any other options..

July 12th, the technician finally shows up at my house shortly before noon. I had to run and pick up my son from swimming lessons and when I returned the tech said that he had figured out the problem - it was indeed the heating element. I thought "well duh" - THEN he proceeds to tell me that he has to order the part!!!! When I questioned him as to why they wouldn't carry the parts with them he said that the "company" doesn't want to spend the money to ship the parts until they know what part they are going to need because if it wasn't the heating element, the "company" would have to spend the money to return the part!

The poor guy probably feared for his life at this point, he said that he "emergency ordered" the part and that it would ship directly to me in 2 days or perhaps 1 week... he didn't know. THEN he told me that the next available appointment in our area wasn't until August 2nd. This would mean that I will be without a dryer for an entire month. Are you kidding me???

He told me that I would have to call the "company" to try to get the date moved up. He also indicated that A&E Factory Service is actually owned by Sears... so on the days he works on a product purchased at Lowe's, he wears his A&E uniform and hands out those business cards, but when he works on Sears items, he wears that uniform/business cards.

After he left, I called the number on the A&E card. Spoke with three different people (repeating my story three times) about my disappointing situation... the final person being a "manager" at some call center in who-knows-where who basically told me that there was no way to speed up the process, track the part, etc. I mean seriously, these people could not care less. I then find out that the part (remember the "emergency order"?) won't be here until maybe July 20th. Maybe before but no guarantees.... Ugh! I'm so frustrated by this point.

The lady tells me that she can't even schedule my appointment until tomorrow (July 13th) and that I would have to call back then. I asked her if there was a way I could contact her again so that I didn't have to go through the agony of explaining my situation another 5 or 6 times. No of course not. So today (July 13th) I have spent a great portion of my day trying to get somewhere with these crooks. I have called Sears, and then they transferred me to A&E because I'm sure they got tired of listening to me complain and ask such pesky questions about the service I paid for but wasn't getting... A&E (call center again) was no help either.

Meanwhile, the laundry piles up and I have to make another trip to the laundromat. As I read other reviews about this company I'm just saddened by the fact that we as consumers are being ripped off by these huge companies like Sears and Lowe's. We go there because they offer a better deal than the smaller hometown guy but we end up paying MORE in the long run because these big companies don't CARE about us.

The absurdity of the situation is insane. I have no idea where the technician had to drive from because we live in outstate Minnesota (rural) but how efficient is it for him to have to make this journey TWICE? I'm guessing that it would have been cheaper to pay the shipping for the part and then they'd actually have a slightly-less-offended customer. I really can't say enough about how disappointed I am by this company's service. I should add that in defense of the technician... he was very nice and professional. It's not his fault that these companies have no idea what they are doing.

(To start I have way more disappointment with A&E customer support than I do with the techs that installed the broken tub while being watched and timed by a QC lady. I would never use this service again since they feel no need to correct problems they make.)

Called for service because our front-load washing machine was making noises and is under warranty. A&E shows up a week later and said they needed to order a new half tub & new basket to replace bearings. Parts showed up at my house 3 days later. Called A&E to let them know parts are here and they made us wait almost another week to send the guys out to repair the washer. Day after the techs leave we turn on the washer to find out the thing is dumping water all over the floor. Called A&E again and was told it was just a loose connection they would send a tech out next week to look at it.

I pulled off the front cover to see if it was a loose connection just to find ground wires hanging, they never hooked back up and the side of the NEW half tub they put in had a chunk missing along with big cracks. (No pieces in the washer so it was broke when they installed it.) Called A&E again and told them what the problem was and the lady got very rude and said it was not the techs problem if the parts were broke out of the box. (They installed them & this is no small piece or crack.) They set up another day for 1 week later after I requested a different tech they sent out the same guy again. He looked at the washer said "I'll order more parts" and left again.

Next day we get parts I called A&E again and was told they would send someone out in a week to repair the washer. I then asked the lady why it was that A&E's repair people took my washing machine from making a little noise to not working at all and it's taking them weeks to fix it? Without missing a beat she asked if there was any other appliances I would like them to repair when they came back to fix the washing machine they put broken parts in. I told her I would never use there service again.

I have also called Maytag about this and was told once I purchased the machine it was not Maytag's problem but the warranty service provider's problem. (Spent $1000.00 for a washer that's always broke.) The lady at Maytag told me they make a very good product and when I pointed out the 1,000's of complaints on the Internet I was told "that's just people opinions and has nothing to do with the quality of Maytag".

All I can say is think twice before you ever buy Maytag or use A&E repair. The customer service at both places is just simple pathetic and it makes no since that A&E can install parts that even the customer can see is broken and they don't feel the need to get the issue resolved without taking 2 more weeks to do so.

The newly renovated home I purchased in September, 2009 came equipped with a brand-new Maytag side-by-side stainless steel refrigerator with water & ice dispenser. Several weeks ago, I contacted Maytag to report that the water line to the ice maker was leaking, spreading ice throughout my freezer. Even with the leak, however, the icemaker was working well, producing and dispensing a great deal of ice. The polite customer service representative scheduled me for an appointment with A&E factory service, with an 8-hour service window on a weekday.

I agreed to the appointment and took time off to meet the technician on the date of the appointment. The technician performed the repair and explained that the icemaker was out of alignment, causing the leak. By the next morning, no ice had been made, nor has there for almost three weeks.

Since then, I attempted to call the technician back on the cell phone numerous times and he has not called me back. I spoke daily with A&E customer service to have the technician call me and fix the icemaker. I booked another appointment with the technician agreed to come by my home to check on the problem at my home at 5PM. At 3:53 PM, the technician called me to tell me he was "done" for the day. I told him that I was in my office and that we had agreed, that day, to meet merely one hour from then. He said "€œwell, I'm done so I'€™ll just order another icemaker and bring it over next Saturday"€ (a week and a half following that date).

I called ** at A&E escalations and complained about the unprofessional nature of the technician, and said that the icemaker had been working before the initial service appointment. A week and a half later, after daily calls with A&E customer service and taking yet another ½ day from work, the original technician (against my request) was sent to my home and changed out the icemaker which has still not produced any ice.

They then called to say I was scheduled between 8 and 5 (9 HOURS!!!) the next day for service and despite my numerous requests to respect my busy work schedule (how else does one afford to buy new appliances?), a technician who DID NOT SPEAK ENGLISH called me at 10 AM on a Wednesday to tell me he would be at my home in a few minutes. I was in a meeting and could not run home to accommodate this man, so I had to call back the escalations department in Texas to reschedule for Friday. At the time of my writing this, this simple repair has still not been fixed.

I cannot begin express my displeasure with A&E factory service, who took a relatively routine repair and caused a complete malfunction of an almost brand-new icemaker. Furthermore, I am extremely disappointed with the professionalism and lack of communication displayed by the local unit here in the Philadelphia area in showing less respect then the cable company in scheduling appointments. I suggest everyone refuse to be serviced by A&E when calling Maytag/Whirlpool, so that may be they can stop contracting with these total wastes of space.

FOLLOW-UP: Maytag corporate and I had a long conversation and extended my warranty as well as sending a locally owned company to make the repair this week. They told me that the A&E contract was expiring soon and they may be "nailing their own coffin" (a direct quote). Coincidentally, ** from A&E contacted me through my post on the Complaints Board website soon after my post and said she'd have someone from the local unit call me (something I had requested through their escalation department over 5 times with no response).

Then, someone from A&E (only identifying herself as being from A&E, not giving her name, called from **), proceeded to got my name wrong twice, and proceeded to get in an argument with me as she took exception with my apparently calling her non-English speaking technician "stupid" while on the phone with their escalations department in Texas. She then told me it was good that Maytag assigned another company to perform the job (why would anyone in this economy want to work?) because she didn't want to call me anyway and hung up on me.

In a time where people are out there looking for work and looking to do a quality job, it's a shame that companies like this can get major contracts. Stay away - they are absolutely terrible.

MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE -- This has to be the worst service I have ever experienced. I have a Maytag refrigerator. I recent had both a warranty call as well as a product recall scheduled. The warranty call was scheduled by Maytag who unfortunately uses A&E service. The recall I scheduled through the number given for the Maytag recall. The recall was totally automated and you can not talk to a human and it does not give you a number to call. Both calls were scheduled for the same day. The automated call to confirm the two separate calls was done and confirm to by in the 8 to noon time range.

At one o'clock I called and complained that no one has showed up. The call tech then cancelled the first call and supposedly called the repair person to contact me and put me higher in the later schedule. Two hours later I called again since I had not been contacted. Now they only show the warranty call and try to tell me I was wrong. I again requested to be contacted and still no call. Finally showed up as last run of the day and no parts for the warranty work which show have had a tech follow up call. Next week again and we only got the recall item fixed first 8 hours I waited.

After speaking with customer service @ Whirlpool (the makers of Roper) they set up to have a service technician come out at their cost. This was great. The service tech from A&E came out on Saturday Oct. 13th. Well, he was not a stove guy. He worked on washers. After a couple of calls he was able to determine that it was the element that was bad. The cost of the part was $54... labor to replace $180. Seeing as though it was just a couple of screws & clipping a couple of wires on to the element I could handle this myself. One week later got the part & I installed it. The oven still would not work.

I assumed we just got a bad part so I contacted A&E and they set up for another tech to come out at their cost. On Oct 27th another tech came out and found the problem to be a box, I would assume the "brain" of the stove was burnt out. We did not need the element, however since it was their error the part and labor to replace was no charge. The tech said he would order the part on emergency & rescheduled for himself to come out the following Wednesday. The part did not arrive until Wednesday afternoon so we had to reschedule for the next day. At this point not really a big problem. Thursday comes and they are to be there between 8-12 (large 4 hr window).

At 1:30 my mother gets a call that he is 30 minutes away. She waits. At 2:45 she calls the service department to find out what happened and they tell her she was not on the schedule, she was just being worked in & they do not know what happened to that tech but they will have another tech thereby the name of ** by 5pm.

CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE -- Originally posted on 4/21/2009. I purchased a new oven at HHGregg. When it was delivered to my house on April 1, it was delivered with a broken control panel. This means I have not been able to set the clock or control the cooking temperature on my oven for 20 days. The only assistance they have offered is a minimal refund and A&E repair service. I invite you to read my review of their service!

This is the worst company I have dealt within customer relations. April 7 a technician came to my house to repair an oven that had been delivered on April 1 by HHGregg. The technician took pictures of the model and serial numbers of our oven and used that to order a part. He told my husband that he would return the following Tuesday.

So on Tuesday, April 14 we received a call asking if we had our part yet. My husband said no and they rescheduled our appointment. When UPS finally delivered the part that evening at 5:30 it was the wrong part. So I called the 800 number to attempt to talk with someone. After speaking with 2 people I was finally able to talk with someone who said he was going to have the parts department send the correct part and that it would arrive in 7 days.

Later in the evening, around 8 pm, the rescheduling department called me and wanted to reschedule. The lady on the phone told me that her job was to call and reschedule missed appointments and that she could not answer any of my questions. Two days later I was contacted by the company wanting to send another tech to my house to take another picture of my oven so that they could reorder the part. So I called the 800 number again. Again after talking with 2 different people, I was finally able to speak with someone who helped me. However, the most help she was able to offer me was to have a local manager in my area call me.

The manager finally returned my call. She couldn't accept that we had the wrong part. I finally said "the control panel you ordered has tactile buttons and my over is a touch screen. The panel you ordered only has 6 buttons and mine has 28, and you ordered a Maytag and my oven is a Samsung." So at this point she finally realized that I was correct, but I still had to convince her that she had the necessary information in her office to order the part without the need to send another tech to my house.

This was Thursday, April 16. She ordered the part to be expedited to me through UPS and scheduled for a Saturday appointment that I had been told earlier in the week was not available in my area. Yesterday, Monday, April 20, there still had not been a part delivered to my house. I called the 800 number and was told that it had been "shipped" according to their system, but there is no way to track it. I then called my local manager back who also could not track the part that she claimed she had ordered to be delivered within 3 business days. She told me she would have an answer for me by 9:30 the next day.

I am still waiting and it is past 9:30. In fact, I called her and left a message at 9:30 and still have not heard anything. I guess this is going to be day 21 of having a brand new oven sitting in my house that does not work. My advice is to stay away from HHGregg and A&E.

Since my post I have been yelled at on the phone by the local manager for asking too many questions regarding the delivery of my part, I have spoken with her supervisor's assistant in Nashville, I have spoken with One Source, and the customer information Team (CIT) at the A&E 800 number. None of which have been able to tell me anything or do anything to help me other than to confirm that my part was shipped today (rather than yesterday as I was told by **, the local manager, last night), and that my part will be delivered Thursday! All I want is a little understanding and someone to make this experience better.

Originally posted 4/24/2009 (modified version here): Here we go! On Tuesday I was told that my oven part would come on Thursday, and this is Friday... no part! On Wednesday I called the Bax Global company based in Atlanta, GA that was responsible for the shipping of my part. The lady I spoke with on the phone had no clue what was going on because she couldn't find the tracking number I had been given in her computer. Odd, I thought. But, I let it go.

So yesterday I anxiously awaited for UPS to drive by, but before they did my phone rings. It was ** from the Nashville, TN office of A&E. He was giving me a courtesy call to let me know that there was a mishap with my part. He says "the part missed the truck in LA and will not arrive to your house until tomorrow". His only response to the torture this company has put me through was "this is the shipping company's fault not ours ma'am and I apologize for your inconvenience." His mother should have taught him how to properly apologize because I assure you I was not feeling empathy or sympathy from him.

And as we as humans know an apology is meaningless unless there is sincerity expressed. As I hung up the phone with him my other phone rang. It was the owner of Bax Global calling. This is great!!! He was calling to let me know that "there was some miscommunication with your freight. It was mistakenly shipped to Texas. We are going to do our best to have it delivered to our distribution center in your area tomorrow." However, this did not tell me when the distribution center would be able to deliver the part or when we would be able to reschedule a technician to come to our house to completely remedy this problem.

So that is when I began trying to call HHGregg again, and I called Samsung. Samsung offered to have the oven fixed by a local company and began the process for this. So I called my friend ** to let her know that I would not be needing her service after all and I canceled my work order with her company.

I will keep updating until the oven is working. So far the new company and Samsung have been exceptional to work with. Within 5 minutes of ending my phone call with ** I received an email confirming my problem and their solution. The email even included ALL of the contact information for **, Samsung, and our repair company. Who knew you could work with customers so well!!!

Wait!!! I forgot something hilarious. The technician showed up while I was on the phone with **. He actually told my husband that the wrong part was ordered on April 7 because the tech didn't look up the correct part number. He said, "he has had to order a bunch of those for ovens so he thought that he knew the number and didn't look it up before he ordered it". What quality service technicians this company offers! So the moral of the story is consumer beware of companies that lack honesty, integrity, and humanity.

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA -- I completely agree. A&E and Sears/Whirlpool are a complete disaster. We're on week four for our service request on a Whirlpool Duet dryer that is only six months old. The short story is A&E came in to fix one thing on our dryer and blew out our heating element and that part is six weeks away according to A&E. So between October 1st and mid-December we will be without a dryer. (Keep these stories in mind when Whirlpool asks you if you want to extend your warranty for $100+ a year...their service stinks and it's worth the frustration.)

End result is still to come...but we got tired of the run around and ordered the parts from Sears Direct (which is where A&E Sears gets their parts) and it should be here tomorrow, not December. There is a big difference between October 30th and December 15th when you're waiting for a part to fix your dryer.

Full story: our dryer broke with an F25 Thermistor error and it took a week to get A&E Service (Sears and Whirlpool) to our house between 8 am and 12 pm (arriving at 3:30 pm). They told us we needed X, Y, Z parts. The parts took a week to arrive and they were shipped from a place that was only 20 miles away (but we're not allowed to pick them up and they won't pick them up for us either).

Then another week for them to come back to fix the machine (week 3). In week three they finally showed up at 3:00 pm (for a 8 am -12 pm window) and a different technician said "These are all the wrong parts. The person that ordered these didn't know what he was doing."

This guy said that all that was broken was a safety switch and that he could permanently bypass the switch so we never have the problem again. I asked if it was safe to bypass this and he said that as long as I keep an eye on the dryer and make sure it doesn't get too hot, it would be fine. I expressed my desire to keep my house from burning down and would prefer he just fix the part. After he tried to convince (bully) me for a few minutes, he finally gave up and said he could fix it a different way and replaced our thermal fuse. I now know that this was a temporary fix for him to get out the door.

The dryer worked for two loads and then died again...A & E came back a week later...yet again a different guy and he said "the previous guy didn't ground your machine properly and blew out your heating element." This heating element is out of stock and won't be available until mid-December.

HERE IS THE FUN PART: After complaining to A&E (owned by SEARS) for breaking everything...we calmed down and did some research. I figured out who they order parts from - SEARS Parts and SEARS Parts Direct (.com). I called SEARS and they can ship the part the same day and even overnight it to us, but A&E will only talk to FSP Appliance Parts (also owned by SEARS) and A&E says they don't have a phone number for FSP Parts.

So I found the address for FSP and did some web research...figured out that the number for FSP Parts (AKA Sears Roebuck Parts Dept.) in Glen Burnie, MD and called them. The part can be shipped from Texas and arrive in 7-10 days. Still a long time, but much better than A&E six weeks + one week to get a technician to come.

End result is still to come...but we got tired of the run around and ordered the parts from Sears Direct. It should be here tomorrow. There is a big difference between October 30th and December 15th when you're waiting for a part to fix your dryer.

TEXAS -- I have had the misfortune of having purchased problematic appliances made by Maytag/Jenn-Air. My misfortune has increased exponentially after having been exposed to the unprofessional service staff your company has employed to represent the ideals of customer satisfaction.

Approximately 1 week ago I made a call to A&E for service on my dishwasher and was given the first appointment for 8/2/08, between the hours of 8 am and 5 pm. I was not thrilled with either the one week wait, nor the breadth of the time frame, considering that the first of my two days off from work would be engaged waiting for your technician, but helplessly accepted the appointment.

From morning into afternoon, we anxiously waited for your technician to arrive. At 5pm when he hadn't arrived, I called A&E to figure out what time he would be here. Sarah explained that at 10:23 am the technician determined no one was home and he moved on to service the next client. I was baffled by this explanation as my entire family was home all day, having been inconvenienced waiting for this professional to arrive. She said she would send a message to the technician to return my call within the hour.

Livid by the callous misrepresentation that no one was home, I began to rethink my day. At 10:23 am this morning during a thunderstorm, while having breakfast, my phone rang and a man with a heavy accent asked for an unfamiliar name. Without a second thought I quickly informed him he had the wrong number. I checked the caller ID, redialed the number and the person answered the phone “hello?” I asked if this was the A&E tech and he said yes.

At first he denied that he was the technician assigned to fix my dishwasher, but after having posed some irrefutable questions, he admitted that he had called and made the assumption no one was home. He then explained that all his fellow technicians were through for the day and he still had two appointments to complete, so he would not return to fix my dishwasher. He suggested I call for another appointment.

I immediately called and was told by Sarah that I needed to call tomorrow to make another appointment, as my file was still with the technician. I requested the services of a manager and Misty dismissively reiterated similar sentiments. She went on to explain that she could place a note in the employee's file, but there was nothing she could do to resolve the immediacy of my need to have a working dishwasher.

I requested an emergency appointment and was told the company does not engage in that practice. She suggested that I call back at 8 pm to reschedule another appointment, as that was the earliest the technician would send his update to the company. I became even more incensed when I was told the next possible appointment would be six days later on Friday 8/8/08, a day my husband and I work.

Needless to say, I am enraged by the manner in which your company does business. Firstly your technician did not identify himself as an employee of A&E when he called my home. If he had, the occasion would not have arisen for me to write this letter. Secondly, he seemed either manipulative not wanting to leave the warmth of his truck during a thunderstorm to execute his duties, or he was overwhelmed by his workload, so he chose not to service my appliance, or he is grossly inept that he could not figure he was calling the wrong person.

The fact that I have to wait another week for an entire day again is egregious. When customers are inconvenienced in this manner, the company should take onus and extend itself to repair the damage done. The practices demonstrated by your staff, and the ideals of your company does not seem to epitomize customer satisfaction. Conversely, it serves to infuriate your customers.

We pay astronomical amount of monies for the appliances and the service contracts, and to be treated with callous disregard is egregious. Changes should be made to the way in which this business is operated, because it in not customer-friendly and your customers are growing increasingly disenchanted.

ROY, UTAH -- A&E Factory Service is the most wretched company I have ever had the misfortune to deal with. I was foolish enough to listen to Maytag who recommended them to repair my fridge (1st mistake). When the tech came out to repair it, he sold me an extended warranty which I again was stupid enough to purchase (2nd mistake). 3 months after the first repair on my 5-year old Maytag fridge (NEVER, EVER but a Maytag), it died again.

The tech came out and outlined what parts had to be replaced. It was the same parts they replaced before, only now it would take them 10 days to get them here. 18 days later my fridge was working again. Ever tried living without a fridge for 18 days? It's not pleasant. 3 months after this episode, the thing died again, the problem was the same.

Called the center and got a tech out and again, parts would not be available for 10 days. Considering I can ship anything to anywhere in the world in 24-48 hours and based on the fact that I located local vendors with those parts that day, I find 10 days to be beyond pathetic. This alone screams of their total lack of customer service and dictates what a horrid company they are. Well the day before the tech was to come back and fix my fridge, I get a call saying that one of the parts needed is on back order. I tell them I can get them locally and wanted to know what their problem was.

Apparently they have "standard processes" they have to follow. 8 days after this the parts arrive and I, not they, call to scheduled the tech. The night before the tech is to come out, I get a call confirming the appointment for the next day between 8-12 am. 10 minutes later I get another call saying the appointment is to changed to 1-5 pm. I refuse this change, saying I have a doctor's appointment that afternoon and was told the appointment would be left between 8-12 am. I took the day off work to wait for the tech and at 12:30, no tech. I call the "service" center to find out they changed the appointment to 1-5 pm anyway.

After discussing this problem with Nancy, a supervisor who stated that the notes showed I declined the change and agreed the appointment should not have changed, assured me that the tech would be to my house before 2:30 pm. At 3 pm, no tech. I call back to learn that they re-routed the tech to another call and skipped me. Apparently not have a working fridge for 4 weeks doesn't make you a priority with this wretched company.

I got the corporate office address; they couldn't provide me with a phone number, and rescheduled for another week out. Let my mistake be a lesson. DON'T USE A&E Factory Service for ANYTHING. They are awful! DON'T buy Maytag, they break with very light use!

ROUND ROCK, TEXAS -- In late May '07 I had a failure of my Frigidaire large room air conditioner. Frigidaire set up a repair appointment with A&E appliance repair some 10 days later. Unfortunately, the repair person was quite inexperienced. I finally convinced him (help him troubleshoot) that the dead short on the AC line was the result of a short in the compressor unit. Unfortunately, he ordered the wrong part number for the compressor, and 10 days later, a piece of sheet metal arrived as the repair part.

Now comes the trouble with A&E Customer Service... I called A&E's only contact line (in Texas) and told them that the service man ordered the wrong part and could they give me a number where I could contact the service man to speak to him and get him to re-order the part. The customer service rep said NO, I could not talk to the service man, they had no contact information for him that they would share with a customer. But they would send him a message to call me.

Two days later, not having hearing from the service man, I called A&E back. They informed me that NO, they would not let me talk to the service man. Even though he sounded about 16 years old on the phone, he was demeaning and implied that I was incompetent to make a judgment on what part was needed or not needed. (Although I assured him as an electrical engineer with 40 years experience in things electrical, I was probably quite capable of knowing.)

I said that was unacceptable, and asked to speak to his supervisor or boss of A&E. I was informed that NO, they would let me talk to the supervisor, no they would not give me his telephone number, no there was NO e-mail address. However, they would give me a mail address for complaints: Mr. Mark **, **. (As an aside, Mr. ** never responded to my complaint letter.) I asked how was I then going to get to speak to the repair person? They informed me that the service person would call me ONE HOUR BEFORE SHOWING UP FOR MY NEXT SERVICE APPOINTMENT.

I said that that would be unproductive, as there would not be the part for him to service the air conditioner. But was told that it was the only way to resolve the issue. I made another appointment for two week later, and sure enough a repair tech (not the same one) called me when he was about to arrive at my door. He looked at the A/C and said, "Oh, we have to order a new compressor! It should be here in 10-14 days."

I called A&E back, and asked to schedule the repair for two weeks hence, when the part should be here. I was told they wouldn't schedule until the part arrived on-site. When the compressor came two weeks later, A&E would then accept a call to schedule an appointment for installation...you guess it...TWO WEEKS LATER! Finally, tech showed up and did a fine (difficult repair) job, and after nearly 8 weeks my A/C was fixed.

Boy, this would have been a lot easier if the A&E Customer Service was a little flexible to handle a simple screw-up on the part of the first service call, and had not been so arrogant and inflexible. In total I had an over 4 extra weeks of being without A/C (Baltimore, MD in June...95 degrees) because A&E Customer "Service" was unable to straighten out a simple screw-up.