My nightmare began about three weeks ago when I set my dishwasher to wash, right before bedtime, like I always do because it's the most energy efficient time. The next morning I woke up to ankle-deep-water in my fist floor and my basement was raining. As I was coming down the stairs I wondered why my home smelled like a log cabin, you know, kinda musty. It wasn't until I stepped into cold water that I realized why and then it took me about a minute to process and a few seconds to start screaming and crying. My two middle kids cried along with me and then we ran upstairs to wake my oldest son up.
When my teen came downstairs we called my husband, who instructed him to shut off the main water valve when the one under the sink didn't stop the water from gushing out of my dishwasher. We then tried to clean up the mess with towels which was a never ending job. I am so proud of my son. He worked hard that morning without complaining and when I told him to take a break he said "I can't mom. I have to clean up our home."
When my husband came home he tried using the Shop-Vac to help clean up, but it was useless. I then called my best friend to pick up my two middle kids and then my home owner's insurance to report the damage. My home owner's insurance sent a company to clean up the water. I must write a review on this company, ServePro, because they have the NICEST men working for them. These guys were so courteous, respectful, and sympathetic to what we were going through. They had to rip out our NEW floors and leave these huge dehumidifiers and fans to dry up the water. Oh my, the next few days were a nightmare. My home reached a temperature of 95 degrees because we were not allowed to turn on the AC or open the windows. There was dust everywhere and the noise level was crazy. We had to shout just to hear each other.
Anyway, in the mix of all this I called Sears to come repair the dishwasher. This happened on a Saturday and the earliest appointment for them to come out was Tuesday - not my first choice, but not unreasonable. What was unreasonable was their repairman trying to blame my water for a faulty valve and then not having the part to fix my dishwasher. He said hard water was at fault because the mineral build up disrupted the valve from closing. This makes sense and is a reasonable explanation. However, there was no proof of this. When my husband asked why he came to this conclusion, the repairman was at a lost for words and said it was a "hunch." In my development everyone has the same water and yet, I am the only one whose dishwasher failed because of it. We aren't talking about a 20 year old dishwasher. This baby is only five years old. Not only that, but we splurged for stainless steel, not just the outside, but the tub too and it's an "Elite" model. There was no sign of mineral build up on the valve or anywhere in the dishwasher. The repairman said that he could not do anything else without the needed part and put an order in for it from our home. We asked when the part would arrive and he replied, "next Tuesday." My husband then had to ask if a rush delivery could be requested. We were told yes, and a delivery date of Thursday was given. The repairman said that if we received the part before Tuesday that we could call him for an earlier repair appointment.
Thursday came nothing. Friday, nothing. Weekend and Monday, nada. Finally, it was Tuesday evening and I hadn't heard anything from Sears, so I called. Mind you that my entire home is in disarray and repairs are at a standstill until the dishwasher is repaired. My home owner's insurance will not proceed until the repairs are done. So when I called Sears, the first two people I spoke to gave me the run around. The third person, told me that she would put a request so that the "Parts Department" could call me. An hour later the Parts Department called me to let me know that the valve was out of stock and would not be available until May 31 st! Seven weeks from that day! Almost two months! I couldn't help, but cry. I asked to speak to a manager and from this point on I spoke to about 5 different departments. I pleaded with them. I explained that I have four children, including a newborn baby. I explained that my husband is a Fire Fighter and in the military, that I am mostly alone dealing with a house that is not function-able. "Sorry Mrs. T***** all we can do is give you a $50 gift certificate." Are you kidding me?! That's like telling a gunshot victim, "here, put this Band-aid on." I told that person "Fifty dollars? Ma'am, I have no floors what is a fifty dollar gift certificate suppose to do about that?" I asked if there was any way that I can get a new dishwasher since the part was almost two months away from being available and I was told that my warranty would not cover that. The only way I could get a dishwasher issued to me is if the old one is "not repairable." So we paid the extra $200 + for a warranty that is basically useless. I am so frustrated. My home owner's insurance cannot go after Sears because in the state that I live in we have passed the statue of limitations.
I feel that Sears is a heartless company, that they would allow four children to live in a home, under these conditions for two months. I am so upset. I am sure that if I were the daughter of some top Sears Executive I would have had a new dishwasher the very next day. My husband and I were loyal customers of Sears, not anymore.
.
