A few weeks back I received an integrated dishwasher from Argos. The Bush DWINT125SS Full Size Dishwasher - Stainless Steel. 542/9246
However, I was not expecting an integrated dishwasher. The product page nowhere states that it is an integrated dishwasher. And the product picture shows the door fully down, so there would be no clues there either. So I spent the last hour on telephone support getting thrown around from one department to the next. I was asked twice for my order number (which was not provided on my eReceipt), my postcode (which they could not locate), and finally the card I used for the transaction.
The first customer service rep, tried to lay the blame on me by saying that if I scrolled down to the bottom of the product page I'd see that the dishwasher I wanted says "Designed to be built in." I am honestly annoyed that this was put back on me as my own fault. All of the Bush dishwashers, except the slimline ones, say "designed to be built in", so are they all integrated and it's up to the customer to figure it out or do the customer service reps not know what they're talking about? Of course not. The Integrated ones clearly say "integrated" on the prodict title. The normal ones do not. The second customer service rep, gave me a fake customer complaints email address. customercomplaints(@)argos.co.uk does not exist...
There is nowhere on the product page that describes the machine I bought as integrated. There is major confusion here. That Bush model needs "integrated" put into its title. You also need to inform your staff that "designed to be built in" is not the same as "integrated", and that a simple apology is due, instead of laying blame on the customer, when the customer is not at fault.
I called them to come and collect it. We had to wait 6 days before a day was available. The delivery man called us only once on the morning of the pick up, but my wife was busy with kids and chores, and missed the call. She called back when she saw the missed call but he said it was too late. We'd have to rearrange a pick up. We have now been stuck with an unwanted machine in the middle of our small kitchen for more than a week.
We decided to go and order another machine (The Bush DWFSG146W Full Size Dishwasher - White (532/6710)) in the meantime to save time, as we are quite anxious to get one as we have small kids in the house and we are both very busy with them and with work.
Big mistake. This is the now the second dishwasher in a row that I have bought from Argos that is faulty. It's almost unbelievable! The first one is now sitting in my shed, uncollected. The second one is sitting in my kitchen, installed, but with a door jammed. I've actually damaged it trying to open it. The first one was incorrectly labelled on the website. This one is just plain faulty.
Again, customer service was atrocious. One man actually cut me off mid sentence and transferred me. There simply is no channel to voice my complaints with Argos. No one wanted to listen to my very valid complaints. I don't blame them. They probably have horrible floor managers breathing down their necks to keep up the pace and get through the calls ASAP. It seems they just wanted to tick off the boxes on their list and get me moved somewhere else. I got moved around (again) to the same departments twice, before it was finally decided what was going to be done. They suggested I get the machine returned, but the next available pick up date in 3 weeks away! Can you believe it? 3 weeks!
So my only other option was to have a repair man come and look at it. The closest authorized repair man they have is 2 hours away, so I doubt he'll be out any time soon either. I'm just going to have a local handy man come and look at it. It looks like it can be fixed, it's just the hassle and bother I've had to go through, with zero sympathy from a company that is only interested in my wallet.
Update: A local handyman was out in 10 minutes and quickly identified the problem with the second machine. The base of the door is too wide on one side. It seems the screw hole was drilled just a little to wide and now the door gets jammed when trying to open it. This machine should never have passed quality control. Shame on Bush and shame on Argos. I now have a damaged machine (that at least can wash dishes and has a proper door) that I paid good money for. But I'm honestly to tired and fed up to have it replaced.
I will definitely be spending my money elsewhere in the future. At least for white goods. I need to be able to see the machine I am buying. And while buying local costs more, I will be assured a better buying experience, friendly staff, and quick replacement and return should the need arise. Well worth the extra money. I thought I would be saving with Argos, but the money I saved was not the worth the weeks and weeks of frustration and headaches.