Appliance Center....Ummm...Yeah...OK...

Appliance Center used to have a good image in the community and backed up their products. I stopped going there about six years ago after they refused to take back an appliance I bought that their movers had dropped and dented as they wheeled it into my house. I finally was able to find someone at the store that believed me - an older woman, probably one of the owners - and let me get exchange it for a new one. I wouldn't go there again no matter what's on sale.

Bought a new washer and dryer there on Christmas Eve. The saleslady could not have seemed more uninterested in me and my business. She was totally preoccupied, scoffed at the brands I was considering because they weren't the 'top of the line', and basically turned me off from the place for any future purchases. We bought a dishwasher and stove top there about two months ago...and the dishwasher is the loudest most annoying pile of crap I have ever purchased. I told the lady about it, and her response was to buy the better brand not the discounted one. I know...I am the idiot for returning, but they are the only outfit I know of that will deliver and haul off your old stuff free of charge, so I keep going back. I think this is why they get much of their business. Does anyone know of another local company that will deliver and haul for free when you purchase for future reference. Thanks.

Similar recent experience. Uninterested sales associate which I had to track down. Went again the other day, walked the entire store, which is now sizable, and not a single person approached me. I tried!

Sounds to me like it's a staffing problem? I wonder if the owners are aware of this... has anyone complained or posted on yelp?

Had a bad experience last year at this time purchasing a washer/dryer set. Salesperson tried to switch me to a different brand, wrote up the wrong price and then conveniently forgot to include the storage accessory that was to be included for free. Prior to delivery the next day, I caught the errors and made a very nasty phone call. The accessory was added to the order and the $80 overvcharge was credited immediately.

I will not be back.

How disappointing. We've purchased all of our appliances from them both for home and work for the last ten years or so and I've also noticed quite a decline in service. I guess I assumed it was just me until I read this.
Is there any other locally owned place for purchasing appliances?

Home Depot does free delivery and take away, and so does lowes I believe.

Now that you have me thinking I had a similar experience as shonuffisdead. Was looking at one of the cheaper washers and they showed no interest in me.

That is until I told them I would need to know what it would be with our builders discount. I guess they seen how much my dad and I have purchased for there in past years and decided they better make me a happy customer if they wanted to keep our business.

"Is there any other locally owned place for purchasing appliances?"

The Anderson's sells some appliances. I think my inlaws purchased their washer/dryer set from them.

If you haven't been to the Anderson's on Talmadge, you should. They have completely redesigned the entire store. I believe there are many more appliances there now, plus a huge food department.

^^ The same with the Maumee location.

This has caused me to think of past experience with AC as I have been a faithful customer of theirs for years. I have been a fan of their casual style, willingness to dicker, and quality of products.
The best experience was with the delivery guys who took long and caring minutes instructing me on usage and care of kitchen appliances.

On the other hand, I once called to ask if they stocked an item on their website and the guy on the phone snidely and quickly grumbled something like “no, we aint got them”, didn’t thank me for at least trying them and hung up.
Next, apparently being a slow learner, I went back and bought a TV from them. I later called to inquire about a mounting bracket and was quickly and carelessly given a price but upon arrival it took no fewer than three associates to actually honor the price albeit only about $50.

An additional attempt to shop local resulted in the following experience: An uninterested sales gal, an attractive woman named Tammy, was reluctantly helpful in answering my questions but was less than gracious when she had to repeat certain features to my dumb ass.
Then, AC’s policy it seems, is, once you have the product numbers you no longer need your sales associate nor do they want any thing to do with you. Upon calling back to place the order, I found that the customer needs not the sales associate but only to give the product number to the cashier and arrange for delivery.

Did or will I say something? Yes I will. According to the National Retail Federation, customers usually do not complain believing it will not gain them satisfaction. But, they will tell 8 to 20 others about their experience and that’s bad for business. When a sales associate graciouslu solves a complaint the customer tells 8 to 20 other people and that’s good for business and customer service. That is my goal.

I have not shopped there. And I will make sure nver to go after hearing of everyone's experiences at Appliance Center. I will probably go to Lowe's in the future. I go there for just about everything else.

When Purchasing anything you better do your own research on google and know what your looking for when you go in any store.
Don't ever rely on a salesperson for accurate information.
As far as taking away old appliances, if you can get it out to the curb it will probably be gone by the next morning.

We are not regular customers, we shop the sales. We got our washer and dryer from them 5 years ago and had no major problems once we convinced the salesperson we had a budget and we were sticking to it, so we went back for carpeting earlier this year. It was a 'warehouse' sale, so we went in the back and were confronted with carpet on rolls with no swatches to look at or anything. The salesman stayed with us and one other couple, cut bits off the corners and took us outside to see the true color in daylight, tagged our choice in huge letters with a massive Sharpie, wrote it up, scheduled the delivery, and the guys arrived on time and did a great install. Maybe the carpet guys are the best ones there, I don't know, but I have no complaints with AC...yet. :)

Nana, that's great. I'd rather hear more stories like yours than negative reports like mine.

I stopped going there about six years ago after they refused to take back an appliance I bought that their movers had dropped and dented as they wheeled it into my house.

I thought I was reading my own experience, renegade, when I read yours.

I didn't have any problems because I actually witnessed Jr. & Bubba (Bubba done think he cood lift a washur all by hisself) drop my mother's new Whirlpool washer right on our driveway out of the back of the truck. They then told us they'd take $100 off the price if the dent was OK. We told them bullshit and bring a new washer.

I like AC--a local store trying to make a go of it. But, to look at this board, seems like the more they have grown the core values of the owners have not been communicated to all employees.

Good Evening,
My name is Kenny Wanemacher and I am a manager at the Appliance Center. We love our customers and every deal is a big deal to Appliance Center. Our 100+ employees and their families want our customers to be happy customers for life. Please contact me today and we will gladly try to resolve any issues or concerns you have with our service.

This is my direct line. If I am unable to answer, please leave me with your contact information and we will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your concerns.

Thank you again and I look forward to hopefully getting the opportunity to talk with you.

Respectfully,

Kenny Wanemacher
Appliance Center
419-779-0408

acwarehousemanager@msn.com

Kenny,

That is a great offer and I hope those who have had difficulty take advantage of it.

Appliance Center replaced my mother's damaged upon arrival washer without question, so we are good. We have bought at least 2 washing machines/dryers, 3 TV's and other appliances from you in the past 25 years. We like the store. I was upset at the time, but when the machine got replaced, my mom was happy so I'm happy.

As for my experience (and mine alone), the only thing I would say is ensure that your delivery personnel are adhering to safety guidelines when getting things in/out of the truck. I know your folks have a ton of crap to deliver & pick up, but safety first--especially for those dealing with heavy lifting.

The guy who ended up dropping the washer lifted it straight out of the delivery truck (at least his shoulder level), then couldn't hold the weight by the slippery sides of the washer and dropped it hard. I know that cannot be what you show these guys to do.

Stay safe and thanks again.

I was wondering how long that would take.

"Word of Mouth" advertising is the most powerful form of advertising there is. Negative experiences, as shared here, can quickly kill a business.

It sounds like AC has lost control in the quest to grow. We always used to shop there first when looking for an appliance. But the last time (last year) when needed both a new stove and fridge we were dissappointed with the salesman's attitude. He belittled my selection criteria for features I wanted for each appliance. It was as if, since they didn't have it, those feature combinations didnt exist. Well, they did, and we bought exactly what we wanted at Sears that same night.

They oughta figure that folks might have done their homework first and know what's available. I ALWAYS try to give an independant or a locally owned operation my business. It's sad that AC has gone in this direction. I doubt if we'll go back.

Wow, I've never shopped there, but Ive always thought their commercials were pretty good. I was waiting until we really needed an appliance and I was going to give them a try. Now I probably won't head there as my first choice. Does anyone have a good experience at AC they'd like to talk about? I'd hate to see this guy go out of business because of a few idiot salesmen. I wonder if the owner reads these comments on TT.

Locally owned Appliance Center has long been a fixture in the Toledo area. I've bought from them in the past and never had any problems. Two years ago I noticed AC had teamed up with Taylor KIA on a joint advertising campaign. AC had long supported union workers and the importance of buying local. So I thought this was a slap in the face to all the local manufacturing workers that buy from AC. Well I called the store and relayed my concerns about this relationship to the management. Unknown to me I was not alone in my angry endeavor. Well it turns out they were responsive to our complaints and dropped the join ads with the foreign made KIAs. Now they are promoting buy local which I would hope means autos too! You see our problems are our own making, when you support nonunion producers you, in effect, are supporting low wage with limited benefits jobs. We see the results in our local economy that once had middle class jobs that supported schools and government. With a much higher standard of living for all! Now we have foreclosed homes that no one can afford and food banks that are overwhelmed. Giving to a chain big box store or an Amazon only takes dollars away from Toledo and costs you more in the end.

So thank you Appliance Center for being responsive to Toledo manufacturing workers and know a well paid worker is a loyal repeat customer.

Our 100+ employees and their families want our customers to be happy customers for life.

I believe that this is what Kenny the manager wants, and prospective customers likely agree with him. The 100 plus employees? Some might, others don't, and some just want to make it to the bell.

AC might try a few mystery shoppers and see what happens.

APie, do YOU read the comments? I said I had a good experience x 2 and the warehouse manager posted 4 posts above yours. anything else you want? ;p

I went to Appliance Center today looking at dryers.When I entered the store I was immediately greeted by a sales person.He then took me to the dryers and showed me what they had.I found him to be very friendly and well versed about his products.I explained to him that I was just looking and that I wanted to price compare.He did not have a problem with that.As I was leaving the store a young lady asked me if I had found what I was looking for and I said yes but that I needed to look at a few more places.She told me to have a happy new year as I was leaving the store.My experience was totally different than what I have been reading here.I have also purchased several appliances there over the years and have always been satisfied.I will say that I liked it more when it was smaller,but I feel that way about grocery stores also.

Yes Nana I read many of the comments. I usually skip over yours. Next time I need carpet I'll be sure to check out the Appliance Center. It never crossed my mind to go to a place that sells appliances to buy carpet. I'll check them out soon, I need to get an oil change too. Do you have any suggestions?

AC used to have relationships with most of the local homebuilders for new construction. Obviously the number of local homes being constructed the past few years has declined dramatically, thus affecting one of their sources for revenue.

I tried to do business with them in an unrelated field when they were going thru their expansion. They do not seem to treat other vendors as they say they want to treat their customers.

- "Word of Mouth' advertising is the most powerful form of advertising there is."

You're right about that, Holland. A lot of businesses and services think these are just isolated incidences. But letting other people know about your experiences, particularly on the Internet, has more of an impact on businesses or services than owners know. Nothing beats "word of mouth" to spread the word about your negative or positive experiences in the business community. Nothing!

I bought mine from The Andersons Maumee, great service, local still, and good price.

The Andersons was great, I bought my grocery, paint for my kitchen and bedroom, and appliances.. All was good value

Anderson's has great customer service. I always buy from them first, if I can.

Wife told me about the one in Maumee. She mentioned about the odor and the tired appearance of the store overall along with the furniture looking older and not current instyles. So she went there looking for a Xbox 360 controller and the salesgirl brings out a Wii controller. Salesgirl proceeds to literally argue with my wife that she said Wii. And then when she said they didn't have XBox controllers, my wife told salesgirl that she saw one in the display case. Salesgirl then says "show me" in a well, uncustomer friendly tone.

Basically it made Value City Furniture look like a high-end dealer.

Do you have any suggestions?-American Pie

Yeah, stop being a jerk and Happy New Year!