Buyer Beware

Tl;dr: Buyer beware; we paid more to buy local, got an appliance that broke twice in the first 4 months, and then received worse-that-box-store, dystopian customer service. I have bought better appliances from box stores that were less expensive and were repaired faster when they had issues.

I believe in keeping my money local and made 2 purchases from The Superstore in 2022 valuing $3,500. My 2nd purchase was a refrigerator for which I paid $2,250, only to see it break less than 4 months after purchase. This ultimately resulted in the loss of a fridge-full of groceries (family of 5), and worse yet, breast milk for our baby that had to be thrown away. After contacting The Superstore, they reached out to a 3rd party repair company, and I give an enormous amount of credit to A+ Appliances, who showed up and got our fridge up and running later that evening. Unfortunately, it died a few days later, resulting in more garbage bags full of groceries. I called A+, and they said that the faulty part should be replaced—which we agreed with—but we needed to contact the store because it was under warranty. This is where it all falls apart.

When we contacted The Superstore on 12/13, Kim informed us that she had ordered the part and it was being shipped “2-day air.” Kim gave that customer service vibe that says “because we’re doing something, you should be happy” (like when an airline cancels your flight and puts you up in the Newark Howard Johnson like they’re doing you a favor). I expressed my frustration to her that this was not a “cheap” appliance, and that this was not an easy situation for my family. Her response may be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard a human say; she said this: “We can’t bring it to you, but we can provide a loaner.” Think about that. I have to drive 30 minutes, each way, to pick up a REFRIGERATOR, that I would then have to, myself, move into my home (on a temporary basis) as a stop-gap for 2 days. Kim didn’t get it.

So here we are, at 5:30pm on 12/21 (8 days after they ordered the pa