Just over three years ago we bought a complete kitchen from IKEA. When I say ‘complete’ I mean it included all the usual white goods. Included in that was a built-in dishwasher.
For three years the kitchen (and its appliances) have all been lovely; nice to be in, great to use, easy to cook in, and the appliances have been perfect.
Lately, though, the dishwasher has been drinking rinse aid. I mean absolutely guzzling the stuff. As we’re out of warranty I shopped around for a service/repair company to come and look at it and tell me what’s wrong.
I chose a company called Glotech (apparently, the UKs Number 1 domestic appliance repair service). Booking the callout was easy. A couple of days later an engineer turned up at the appointed time, looked at the dishwasher and said to fix the rinse aid addiction, it needed a new distribution unit. I spoke to his office; we agreed to progress the repair, they ordered and I paid for the appropriate part. We booked a repeat visit so the new part could be fitted.
On Wednesday (9th Feb 2022 – today) an engineer rolled up at the appointed time, and proceeded to try to dismantle the built-in-ness of the dishwasher, to enable him to take the actual dishwasher apart, to fit the new part.
To be fair, dismantling the built-in-ness was a job in itself. He needed to take the kitchen unit front off the machine before he could dismantle the machine itself. Putting it together after the engineer had fitted the new part needed four hands, so I offered to help and held things in place so he could . After about ten minutes the engineer said the job was done.
I inspected his work before he left. There were a few problems:
- The top inside seal of the dishwasher was no longer folded into the frame, instead it was proud and a safety risk
- The door was now binding against something inside the machine when you opened it
- The door itself seemed to be less well-fitting
- The right-hand hinge was defective (it wasn’t defective when he arrived)
This is a funny old way of saying a job is done – leaving the machine defective.
When I inspected the inside of the dishwasher door it was apparent that he had applied force to try to prise the door of the unit away from the machine, instead of thinking about how it was fixed. This also explains the defect on the top seal inside the door, and probably goes some way to explaining why the door no longer feels as if it is a perfect fit. And probably goes for the defective right-hand hinge, too
I also noticed bloodstains on the inside of the dishwasher door. Believe me, these bloodstains weren’t there before he arrived!
So I called Glotech. And by that I mean I tried to call Glotech.
The first call attempt I joined the queue at number five. Eventually I filtered my way down to being number one. And then I was cut off.
So I redialled and joined the queue at number seven. After a while I got down to being number one again. And then I was cut off.
I smelled a rat. I disabled my caller ID and called them again.
I jointed the queue at number seven, eventually got down to being number one and… my call was answered! I’m sure this is just coincidence, right?
I gave the lady my details. She said that the engineer was booked to be with me between 08.00 and 13.00 today. I explained that he’d been, he’d effected the repair, and that he’d left with the machine not in the condition it was before he arrived.
She put me on hold to have a call with the engineer. When she came back on she said he could be here on Friday (today). I asked if there was a chance of getting someone different as he didn’t exactly inspire any degree of confidence.
She said she could get the first engineer to attend, and he could be with us on Thursday (which would be today, now). I thanked her for her help. She said I’d get a confirming email with an eta.
Hours later… no confirming email from Glotech for the visit.
Hmm…
At 08.48 this morning I had a call from Andrew, a Glotech engineer, who said he’d be with me in about 20 minutes. Yay!
Andrew arrived and dismantled the built-in-ness with almost (but not quite) a wave of his hand. Then he showed me the problem, and then proceeded to fix it.
Less than an hour later he was gone, problem rectified, with both the dishwasher and the built-in door unit fully reassembled.
Now that’s how to do it.
Sounds like the first engineer – and I use that term loosely – was more of a cowboy.
Luckily the second guy knew his stuff.
It’s a bit of a lottery when it comes to hired help.
To be clear, I have no trouble with Glotech. They’ve bent over backwards to remediate and rectify. And they’ve been marvellous communicators. It’s just such a same that the first engineer didn’t come up to their mark. I’m sure with training and careful management he’ll become an asset to the company.