Tefal’s dangerously bad customer relations
Last week the Bennett family toaster died. Its last moments were spectacular with arcing, sparks and flames.
I suspect it was dangerous.
It is a Tefal model we bought last year. When it gave up the ghost we did the usual sales receipt hunt so we could take it back to the shop and get a warranty replacement or refund.
Although the toaster is 13 months old and the company claims it isn't covered by the warranty, New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act says otherwise.
A new toaster should toast for more than a year.
The issue is moot because we lost the sales receipt.
I called Tefal's 0800 700 711 customer support line.
When I explained what happened the representative told me to take the toaster to a repair centre.
I hadn't mentioned the missing receipt although, technically I could argue proof of purchase isn't the point. Goods should be fit to do whatever they are sold to do regardless of paperwork.
But that's not my point. The toaster only cost $80 – which I had already written off. In fact by this point we had already bought a new toaster – though not from Tefal.
I wanted to report the dangerous arcing to the customer service representative. My aim was to give them valuable feedback that could save people's lives and help the company build a better toaster.
But the customer service representative wasn't interested.
I also had a very clear impression she was trying to get me off the line as quickly as possible.
When pressed she said she was "transferring me downstairs" whatever that means.
The call transferred to a voice mail line where I left a short message and a telephone number where I could be contacted. The phone hasn't rung.
So the only conclusion I can draw from this is that Tefal isn't interested in a potentially dangerous problem with its products.
This scares me.
Moreover, what is the point of a business having customer relations when this kind of information isn't collected? Or am I completely out of touch with realty expecting a manufacturer to care about these things?
My 4-slice toaster cost me $30 at Briscoes (in a 50%-off sale, admittedly) nearly five years ago and it’s working fine. I can state this with some certainly as it is my practice to pop the receipt into the box, and put the box in the attic or spare closet or whatever.
Strangely, the only appliances I’ve *ever* had break have been a pair of cheap Warehouse dehumidifiers. The fan motor is burned out by the end of the winter (I run them 24 hours a day) and I take them back and they fix it, and the same thing happens the next year. Yay for 5 year warrantees.
Bruce Hoult
17 Nov 09 at 9:03 pm
I’m with you on that one – so often, my aim in contacting a company wasn’t so much that I was looking for a replacement or a refund, but rather wanted to let them know that their staff had been terribly rude, that their products seemed to have a fault, etc.
Being a blogger, the above often ends up in the company trying to “pacify” me by giving me a freebie or a refund, but it’s like hitting my head against the wall – they rarely appreciate the REAL reason for which I contacted them: The wellbeing of the company and future customers!
I suppose that’s too alien to them…
Vero Pepperrell
20 Nov 09 at 8:45 pm
That’s a good point. Some business are so cynical, they can’t comprehend anyone acting from anything other than selfish motivation.
Bill Bennett
22 Nov 09 at 4:00 pm