This letter is to complain about the quality of service (or lack there of) that we have been receiving from The Brick Warehouse (William Kitchen Road). This past February 2010 we purchased a Frigidaire Professional (FPHS287F) refrigerator at The Brick Warehouse on William Kitchen Road, Scarborough, Ontario Canada. The process to make the purchase was a relatively pleasant experience. The salesman and the store manager were professional and we were happy at the time with our decision to use The Brick.

However, this very quickly changed. About 2 weeks after we took delivery of the fridge we noticed that water was dripping on the floor. We called The Brick and we were informed that we have to call Trans Global. A service call was scheduled and the technician diagnosed the drip pan as the cause of the problem. Unfortunately, he did not have the part and another service call had to be scheduled. A few weeks later the pan was installed. This did not correct the issue. I spoke to the store manager asking about getting a replacement fridge as I did not think a brand new fridge should be leaking. He however, told me that I have to contact Trans Global and they will determine if the fridge has to be replaced. I called Trans Global and they said that it is up to The Brick to decide to replace the fridge. No one was taking any responsibility and I was stuck with a leaking $2, 000.00 fridge.

Another call was placed with Trans Global. This time the technician said it was the hose that leads to the drip pan "probably" had a hole. Of course, he did not have the part and another service call had to be scheduled. A few weeks later and another technician, this one actually seemed to know what he was doing. He diagnosed the problem as a factory defect with how the hose installed. The hose was not correctly installed and the water was dripping on the outside of the hose instead of on the inside. He said it needed major repairs and he could not do it by himself and another service call would have to be scheduled. We are not prepared to have a 3 month old fridge undergo major repairs and are tired of the service calls and the inconvenience. Each service call required a vacation day from work and I have to empty and repack the fridge.

We contacted the store manager at The Brick on May 21, 2010 informing him that the technician has indicated that the fridge has a factory defect and that we would like a replacement. He said that there are none in stock but he will place an order and we should have it in about a week. Needless the replacement was not delivered in the time it was promised nor did anyone from The Brick get back to us on the new delivery time.

The replacement fridge was finally delivered on June 19, 2010 by two very unprofessional delivery guys and they had hung the doors incorrectly. The left side door had a huge gap between the hinge and the hinge cover and the right side was lower than the left side. Unfortunately, we did not notice this until after they had left. Once we noticed the problem we contacted the delivery guy and his response was, "there is nothing I can do about it, contact the office. How is that for customer care? The following Monday after we hooked up the water line we found out the water valve on the brand spanking new fridge was faulty and was causing a very big leak when dispensing water.

So knowing the drill, we contacted Trans Global to schedule another service call for Tuesday June 22, 2010. This would now be the 5th service call and a 5th vacation day.. The technician confirmed that the water valve was broken and a new one has to be ordered and another service call would have to be scheduled. With regards to the doors, he fixed the gap between the hinge and the hinge cover on the left door and corrected the height by raising the height of the right door. However, the right door slips and makes a cracking sound when opened beyond 95 degrees.

On Wednesday June 23, 2010 we went into The Brick and spoke to the store manager informing him of the new issues and letting him know that this was not acceptable and wanted another replacement. However, the stock in the store is very limited based on our requirements on size, colour and features. The only comparable one (style, size, colour) was a Bosch. The store manager indicated that this is not an option because of the price difference and we would have to pay the difference. We figured that the price difference would compensate us for all of the frustration and inconvenience. The store manager however, said that this was not an option and we should find another one. He then left us and never came back. As we were leaving we saw him watching the FIFA World Cup. How is this for customer care?

The Operations Manager for the store was worse. He has been very arrogant and condescending during this entire episode. Since this saga began we have sent multiple emails to [email protected] and to date we have yet to receive a response to any of them. How is this for customer care? We have spoken to the Operations Manager on a few occasions and he has been very unpleasant to deal with. At no time did he ever apologize for our inconvenience or show any empathy for our situation. His implications are that we are causing the issues ourselves and that we are blaming The Brick for the problems with the fridge. I told him that we are not blaming The Brick we are complaining about the lack of customer service. They are selling a product and they have a responsibility to provide service if/when the need arises. When told about the number of vacation days we had to take for the service calls he implied that is not his problem and that we should have scheduled the calls for the weekends. We tried but service calls on Saturdays are very difficult to get and we cannot wait for weeks to get the issue addressed. When told that we will take our complaint higher he laughed and said nothing will change as it will just come back to him anyway. How is this for customer care? When we asked about the Bosch fridge as a replacement he said that will never happen. He was not even willing to negotiate a price in good faith for all of the problems and inconvenience we experienced over the past 4 months. He has no business being in the sales and service industry as he has no concept of customer service and does a disservice to The Brick.

This was our first major purchase at The Brick and will certainly be the last one. We have decided to return the fridge and take our business elsewhere. I know that the loss of my business will not have any impact to The Brick but I will also share my experience with family and friends and anyone that will listen. The word will get out.


The Brick should consider changing their email address, [email protected] as there is no evidence (as demonstrated by the store and operations managers at the William Kitchen store) that ‘customer care’ is a core business value of The Brick.