GE Service Warning

[Mike Henderson]

I'll pass this story along in case any of you encounter the same thing - so you won't be shocked as I was.

I have a GE side-by-side refrigerator and it started icing in the freezer section - ice was running down the sides. So I call GE Service and they tell me the service call will be $100 (rounded). The guy comes in, opens the freezer and says, "Yep, there's ice. You need an ice kit."

After some discussion, he discloses that the "ice kit" is about $900. To say I was surprised is to put it mildly, and I was somewhat at a loss for words.

I pay the guy the $100 and after he leaves, I do some research on the web. Looking at the operation of the defrost, it seems to me that the most likely cause is a "tray heater" which sells for about $60. If I add $100 for labor to install it, we're in the ballpark of what I expected the repair to cost.

The more I think about this, the more upset I get. Here's my major complaints:

1. The service technician did nothing to find the failing part. He just looked in the freezer and said, "You need an ice kit". I told them when I ordered the service that there was ice in the freezer, running down the sides, so they could have told me at that time about the "ice kit". There was no need for me to pay $100 to have the technician verify my observation.

2. I object to putting in a "kit" when there's likely only one failed part. Putting in a kit is just putting a cost on the owner so the technician doesn't have to do any diagnostic work.

They could argue that, if one part failed, the others might be ready to fail. But that's a decision for me to make, not for them to force onto me. I may decide I'm willing to take the chance. If it fails again, I'll pay more but if it doesn't fail, I saved some money. But it's my decision to make, not theirs.

To add insult to injury, after the guy left, I took a hair dryer and defrosted the ice. Since then, it hasn't iced up again. So maybe the drain got blocked and my defrosting it cleared it. Only time will tell.

So if you need service from GE, make sure you come to an understanding with the service tech before you allow him/her into the house.

Mike

[Eric Larsen]

Mike, went though this two months ago.

Ended up paying $300 for a $20 solenoid so it would make ice again. General Electric can [censored, censored, censored, censored.]

If it breaks again, I'm going to replace it with a brand that isn't out to unfairly chisel their customers. Everyone in this development has GE refrigerators, and ALL OF US have similar stories about the ice system. Every single one of us.

To heck with GE. Next time, Sub-Zero.

[Greg Cole]

I had GE try to hoodwink me on a dryer. $100 service call (mandatory fee I was told) even though the dryer was not even a month old.
The part would be replaced under warranty, labor was out of pocket.... (calling a local appliance repair shop & 3 minutes on the phone diagnosed it). I ordered a replacement valve for $45.00 from the appliance repair shop and ordered a spare as the guy at the repair shop said they fail "occasionally" & still came out ahead. The GE brand of said valve was something like $250.00 (not too mention the aftermarket brand valve has been in service for 7 years now).
I'll never give GE a nickel for another appliance, part nor service.

[Wes Bischel]

Mike,
I feel for you - and have had a similar experience only with the servicing of our boiler. Seems many servicing companies have a policy of not "taking into consideration the customer's amateur diagnostics." I guess it's a nice way of saying they ignore the customer and need to look at it themselves. Allows them to make more calls per day.
In your case I think I would be calling the management and demanding my money back. $1000 for a repair - at least half the value of the unit is ridiculous. You should have been informed about that before they scheduled the appointment. Then again, they probably make more money on these false calls than we might think.

I hope the unit keeps working - at least long enough for you to have time to pick out a new one.
Of course, this is one reason we have our 1946 Philco in the basement.
Wes

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mike,

Did you order and install the heater? Did that fix the problem?

Was the service guy an employee of GE or was it a local contractor? Did you report your dissatisfaction with someone with the company?

[Chris Padilla]

http://www.repair2000.com

This is a great site for DIYers like most of us who read this forum. I've saved a fair amount of dough fixing things myself by posting there.

I had a Maytag refrigerator (will never buy Maytag again) that had an ice problem as well. After following advice from the above site, I measured a few things with my ohmmeter and figured out my defrost heater had died...I picked up a new one for $35 and was on my way.

Later on, I noticed my oven cooking funny. I figured out that the lower burner element had died...followed advice from site...measured some resistance...ordered new lower burner for $60...oven is back to normal.

The guy who runs the above site KNOWS his stuff...no doubt about it...and he answers all questions and so far, he has been dead nuts on for all my issues.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

Did you order and install the heater? Did that fix the problem?

Was the service guy an employee of GE or was it a local contractor? Did you report your dissatisfaction with someone with the company?

Ken, since the freezer has not "frozen over" since I defrosted it, I'm waiting to order the part. I've studied the manual and feel pretty confident I can replace the part, if it comes to that.

The service rep, as far as I know and could tell, is a GE Service employee.

I did send GE an e-mail with the same information I posted and was contacted by a representative this morning. He was absolutely unwilling to do anything for me. But at the same time, he could give no justification for installing a "kit" instead of just replacing the failing part.

I intend to escalate my complaint to higher levels but I'm not optimistic. I told them I'd only communicate with them in writing (either e-mail or snail mail) from now on because of the attitude of the representative that spoke to me. I'm not optimistic that anything will be done, and that's why I posted here.

Chris - thanks for that pointer, I'll check it out.

Mike

[Bonnie Campbell]

Seems to be the thing for companies anymore, making shoddy appliances. I've an frost free up right Whirlpool freezer, and I'll never buy another. The design of the drain hole for the self defrost is set up so it plugs up. After one service call where we lost a freezer full of game meats (By the way, WAS still under warranty and I'll give Whirlpool credit, they did pay for what was lost, that time), that time some relay switch had never even been hooked up at the factory. Second time we called another service guy, he said that all their freezers have the bad drain. So the third time it started building up ice I went ahead (after eyeballing what the service guy had done before) thawed it myself and bent the tinfoil lip to the drain. Now the water ices up in the bottom and I can just bust it out with a screw driver when it starts building up. Before it would back up into the coils so it required a complete thawing. I'll be selling this piece of junk as soon as I can find someone desperate enough to buy it, WITH an explanation of the problem. I'll stick to a chest freezer from now on.

As for the Whirlpool refrigerator, I won't even get started on that piece of junk. I WON'T be buying any Whirlpool brand appliance again, I know that!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

For future reference, I recommend Repairclinic.com. They have a self diagnostic program. You can also email them to diagnose the problem, then order the part from them.

They also have exploded views of many appliance types and brands. I own GE and Maytag products, so I use Repairclinic.com often.

-Jeff

[Brent Ring]

I buy my appliances at Costco. If something goes wrong - I just take it back and they replace it - No questions asked. I have had some washer and dryer problems and they keep swapping them out - it is a bit inconvienient, but I only have the cost of my time and gas.

[Rick Moyer]

If it only happened once and has not re-occurred, is it possible that the freezer door was not shut properly?

[Mike Henderson]

If it only happened once and has not re-occurred, is it possible that the freezer door was not shut properly?

I thought about that, Rick. I did have this happen once before and after I defrosted it I didn't have the problem again for more than a year. At that time, I wrote it off to leaving the door open.

This time, I really checked and while I can't be absolutely sure, I don't think I left the door open.

But in any case, that's even more reason for the service technician to do a better job of diagnosis. You can imagine how pi**ed I'd be if there were NO failing parts and the problem was just leaving the door ajar (and I paid $1,000).

If the door was the problem, I'd gladly pay the $100 and kick myself for leaving it open.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Let me add a fairness comment. The refrigerator is about 15 years old and has worked well up to now. So having a service call in 15 years is not something I see as a problem.

What I do have a problem with is the approach of GE Service in trying to make this a $1,000 service call, when it probably should be a less than $200 service call.

Mike

[Lee DeRaud]

Laugh if you want, but my "go-to" people for appliance repair is Sears. (I won't shop in their stores, but that's a completely separate issue.) They change supplier brands for "Kenmore" often enough that their guys are fairly savvy regardless of what you actually have in your house.

Symptoms identical to yours on a similar vintage GE, guy was in and out in about 45 minutes, new heater installed, about $140 total. (This was several years ago, I'd expect it to be higher now.)

[John Fricke]

The problem I've had with factory technicians, you call and describe the problem, tech comes out makes his own diagnosis and of course doesn't have the right part. He then orders the part and comes back wanting to charge another service call. We have a local repair guy, self employed I try to use whenever possible. I can describe the problem to him over the phone and normally he has the correct part for the repair when he arrives. If he didn't happen to get the correct part he doesn't charge extra to return.