Viking Microwave

Viking Microwave

Mr. Fred Carl President of VIKING 111 Front Street Greenwood, Mississippi 38930 Dear Mr. Carl: We have been in the process of renovating our home for two years. Recently, we renovated our kitchen, a complete remodeling and replacement of all appliances. We decided to go with the best brand names available and Viking was one of those names. Of the Viking line, we purchased a six burner gas range, a downdraft ventilator and a microwave oven. It is the microwave oven that brings me to write you this letter. The very first time we used the microwave, it failed. It was less then three minutes into the cooking cycle, the unit shut down, gave off an order and the entire display went blank. Immediately I was concerned that a product of such a well recognized name would fail so quickly. I called my place of purchase and was informed that even though the unit was brand new, they could not authorize the replacement of the microwave. I would have to call the local service organization and they would have to come out to repair the unit. Repair a unit that was virtually NEVER USED! I found this to be absurd, but went along with the madness. After contacting the service company who informed me that replacement was not an option that he had the authority to make, I decided to call the Customer Service Line in Mississippi. I spoke to a representative who informed me that it would have to be handled through the local service representative and that replacement was again not an option. I asked to speak to her manager who told me, "It is not our problem. You must go through the local service organization in New Jersey and that the unit would NOT BE REPLACED." Mr. Carl, I find this type of Customer Service totally and completely unacceptable. A product that does not even last three minutes should be a NO BRAINER. It should be IMMEDIATELY REPLACED WITHOUT QUESTION. I am now told that the service distributor doesn't have the parts needed, Viking does not have the parts needed and there is a possibility that SHARP, the actual manufacturer may not have the parts, which leaves me with a rather expensive piece of JUNK. So while I wait for my piece of garbage to be fixed, I intend to get the word out to all I can that VIKING is not a name to be purchased do to their poor customer service and integrity of the products. I also intend to Black Out the name of Viking on the remainder of the products for the upcoming photo shoot of the remodeled room for the kitchen design company that designed the kitchen. The name VIKING will also not be mentioned in their brochure. Sincerely, Michael Click this link to e-mail the message author: Email User

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I also purchased Viking products for the entire kitchen only to be dissappointed with the product and the company's attitude. I had a cook top fail in less than 1 year and it cost $500 to replace the burner that shorted out. Viking would not even acknowledge the letter, let alone back up their product. The viking repair service said the Regional manager said we must have done something wrong. And now they microwave turn-table failed - I don't think I am going to fix it based on how often this product fails and their company attitude.

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I too have just had my second breakdown on my Viking Microwave. I have owned this unit for 4 years, and I now consider it to be a lemon, especially after reading these reviews. Wish I had done the research prior to buying. After the first breakdown I also called Viking customer service and they were worthless. I will not get it fixed a second time, I will start shopping for a new microwave next week and IT WILL NOT BE A VIKING PRODUCT!!!!!!!

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If I had known about this website I would never have bought Viking appliances. I too remodeled my kitchen and installed a hood, 6 burner stove, single oven and convection microwave. The problem with the oven is the racks are extremely hard to pull out and push in. Service tech looked and could do nothing about it. The microwave had the turntable fail and cost over $130 to fix which took the service tech less than w minutes. I will never buy Viking again.

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I have had a very similar experience, here is my letter to Fred, since I can get NOWHERE via the phone except to speak to customer service who tells me "this will not be escalated". "I have a supervisor, but you will not be transferred to them"

October 30, 2008

Fred Carl, CEO

Viking�

111 Front Street

Greenwood, Mississippi 38930

Dear Fred Carl, CEO:

My husband and I decided to remodel our kitchen in June of 2007. We did extensive research on the cabinetry and appliances. After long discussions with my husband on making the decision of purchasing a Viking Range vs. AGA, we decided to purchase a Viking Gas Range.

Upon arrival of the range the following events occurred.

1. The installer that came with the retailer to deliver the range and hood was incapable of installing the hood. Appliance Contract Sales of Chester, VA, promptly asked for payment of their product, swiftly got in their delivery truck never wanting to hear from us again or even care to follow up to see if we had been able to install the hood. They were also unable to hook the range up at that time due to the lack of access to the hood for installation. The foreman of our cabinetmaker, Richard Pomplun owner of Seaboard Cabinetry, Petersburg, VA, installed the hood within an hour. Although we had to call our plumber and pay for an additional cost to have the range hooked up to the gas, due to the lack of care of the retailers installer Immediately after the gas was hooked up and I was pumped up like a child on Christmas Eve in anticipation of my brand new cobalt blue Viking Range, my bubble was burst. The stovetop was not working. At this time because I was not sure what the problem was I did not test the oven or any of it other features. I got on the phone with my retailer who said they would have someone out to my house as soon as possible.

2. After a couple weeks of phone calls to the retailer and to Jasco Appliance repair, the authorized service provider the retailer had called, still my range was sitting in my kitchen with out a resolution. After much aggravation and repeated phone calls Jasco finally showed up. The igniters were faulty and had to be replaced. Of course they had to order the parts. The range was delivered to me January 7, 2008. By time February rolled around and with out any resolution from Jasco or the retailer I called Viking directly. Viking sent me on to Hadco, your previous employer. Finally a few MORE weeks later the igniters were installed and I thought I was worry free and ready to enjoy my now 2 month old �new� toy that had sat in my NEW kitchen with its partners of expensive appliance that were working just fine. Which is a good thing, because I really was happy I could cook in my GE Monogram Advantium oven. But, NO� I was disappointed again.

3. The oven was not heating properly, nor was the simmer settings on the stovetop. I once again called the retailer, no help but to tell me to contact Hadco directly, there was nothing they could do. I tried to cook for my family in the oven, but it took nearly 1.5 just to cook the already made cookie dough cookies that you slice and cook. I tried conventional bake, the oven made a HORRIBLE load noise. I spoke to Hadco, Viking, Appliance Contract Sales, Several of the local services to find out what was going on with new range, could someone please help me?? Weeks go by.. Jasco finally shows up again, not sure about the exact timeline, but I am suspecting we are in mid March by now. Jasco tells me that I am not allowing the oven to heat up, even after I told him it was taking 1.5 for cookies, told me the oven was working fine. I asked him �why does the gas come on and off ever minute or so?� His response was �this is normal for gas ranges, have you never owned one?� I said � yes, I have owned gas ranges, not Viking but this does not seem right to me�. I moved on to my next issue the simmer setting. He fiddled with a few things, not sure what he did. Told me the simmer was working fine. I demonstrated to him that the simmer setting was not suppose to eventually boil anything and that the flame was visibly too high for a simmer. Again I got the �have you ever had a simmer setting?� I responded �yes, and it actually simmered�, he then proceeded to act as though I was a crazy customer. His conclusion to his service visit that I had waited weeks for was � The oven is fine, you need a new fan it is burnt out, he would order it and you should buy a simmer plate for the stove top if you want a true simmer�. Here I was thinking, didn�t I buy this range in particular because it supposedly had a �true� simmer? By the end of the visit I thought. Maybe I was crazy. That evening I went to the grocery store and bought several boxed packaged bake goods to perform my own test kitchen. AGAIN!! Nothing would cook in less that 1.5 half or longer. Again I was left to the racket of calling Hadco and Viking ranting and raving that my range was still not working and that I wanted to speak to a manager. I think the process of actually getting to speak to a manager took another couple weeks of calling daily until I received a response. Ira, the regional service manager from Hadco phoned me and said he would be coming to the house himself from Baltimore (a 2.5 hr drive to my house). But that he would not be able to be here immediately he was in training traveling.. yaddy yaddy. Another week passes and Ira finally shows up at my house. I do not recall what he did to resolve the simmer issue, but that was resolved. He asked me �what did Jasco do to check your oven?� I told him � he put a thermometer in it for a few minutes and said it was fine, it was normal for the range to go and off repeatedly� Ira says � this is not normal, there is a problem with the oven�. Ira searched and thought and finally discovered that the cover to the thermostat had been installed upside down, causing the oven to think it was heated up. So now, months later I am FURIOUS, HATE my range, want to bomb Viking and Hadco. But, I say to myself.. Your range is working properly now, move on. Meanwhile, Jasco STILL has not called to install the new fan. Finally they do show up. I was so angry with Jasco that I refused to be there for him to install it and made my husband take the day off to deal with it.

4. So now I can use my range freely.. Right???? Oh but no� A few weeks later the igniter on the stove starts acting up again, I ignore it, because I thought my mental health was more important rather than to deal with your company, Jasco or Hadco. Besides, I was able to cook on 5 of the burners and the oven was working. Thinking I will deal with it later. The stovetop starts acting even stranger. I tried to use the convection oven again! Now that I had a new fan, igniters and recently serviced for a lack of proper assembly of my range, that was customer ordered and now told basically.. Sorry that you have not been able to cook we are committed to sending you parts over and over again with the underlying tone of �we don�t give a crap� for my new 7,000 unit! So now I go to cook a cake for my daughters Birthday in my awesome new stove. I try to preheat the oven to 350 in the convection setting, but all of a sudden my family is complaining of the smell of gas. I put it in bake mode, and it went away. Again ignoring the problem. For months the oven smells of gas, I even tell guest, �just ignore it, it goes away, I know it�s not right, but I don�t feel like dealing with Viking�. August rolls around, I call Hadco and tell them of my new issues and ask to have Ira come out to my house. 2 weeks pass; I hear nothing from Hadco nor Ira. I receive a call from a Jays Appliances in Virginia Beach. Virginia Beach is 1.5 hours from my house. They tell me they have been contacted by Hadco to come out and service my range. But, with the distance will be a while until they can get with me. Go figure.. Why would this be an urgent issue? Jay�s appliances come out, I need new igniters AGAIN!!!!!! And he will have to call Viking about the oven, the gas is not burning and he does not know why. No call from Jays yet. So I decide to clean my oven (another reason I purchased Viking), after the unit cooled down and I was able to open the door to wipe the ashes out, low and behold!!! The glass door in the inside had shattered! This was last Friday at 4pm.

Friday the 24th of October I call Viking, express my issues and regret of ever purchasing the product. Beg for help; please help me get this resolved. Send me a new unit. Take this one away� obviously something has happened to this unit. I am told NO, we will repair it!!!!!!!! But how many times?????? And what happens in January when I have to start paying for the servicing? Do I have to get an attorney I ask? Does your company know what customer service is?

Customer service (also known as Client Service) is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. - None of which has been done with your company.

According to Turban et al. (2002)[1], �Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction � that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.� - obviously the product is not working, it has not met my expectations.

Its importance varies by product, industry and customer. As an example, an expert customer might require less pre-purchase service (i.e., advice) than a novice. In many cases, customer service is more important if the purchase relates to a �service� as opposed to a �product".

Customer service may be provided by a person (e.g., sales and service representative), or by automated means called self-service. Examples of self service are Internet sites.

Customer service is normally an integral part of a company�s customer value proposition.

Some have argued[2] that the quality and level of customer service has decreased in recent years, and that this can be attributed to a lack of support or understanding at the executive and middle management levels of a corporation and and/or a customer service policy. Is this your stand on the subject?

I was told that the problem should be resolved by the weeks end. I was told I would get a call first thing Monday as to when the parts should be installed that Jays Appliances had fail to install now almost 3 weeks later. I was told that they would be sending the glass directly to my house.

I got no call on Monday morning. I had to call on Monday around 11am. I was told that Ira would be calling me shortly. Ira called, he did his normal politically correct song and dance, told me he was committed to get the range in working order and that he would be calling me back shortly to let me know that the parts were on their way.

I got a message from Hadco telling me that the parts had been ordered and sent to Jays Appliances who had already received the other parts (so why had they not called to make an appt to install after 3 weeks?), I was given no timeline and have not heard from them since. Now Thursday October 30th, 2008. 10 months since the stove was flopped in the middle of kitchen floor.

Tuesday I called Appliance Contract Sales who told me they would call me back one they had contacted their Viking rep. I heard nothing from them.

If I do not get a resolution of you taking your NON working product out of my house and giving a full refund you are going to force me to contact an attorney. At this point I don�t care, it is principal.

I am a seasoned 100% paid commissioned employee me. I have worked for many companies such as Citigroup as their Account Executive. I have never! seen such a disregard of a customer�s time or money.

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I have owned this crappy Viking convection microwave and have had it serviced four times in two years. It has never worked for more than a few months. Now, the warranty has expired and, of course, Viking will not repair the same issues that have been breaking down since a month after I purchased it. Because Viking farms out the service calls, they don't stand behind the servicing, which is not a good thing because there are chronic problems with this machine that apparently are impossible to fix (or so it seems since it's been repaired four times and is broken again!).

Seriously, buy ANY other brand than Viking. I have Viking's range too and it's a whole other story of repairs and failures and the worst imaginable customer service through Viking.

I only wish I'd read Consumer Reports and seen their unbiased review of how Viking has a terrible break down and repair track record. You'd think for the money you'd be getting a quality product, when in fact, you'd be better off with a much more reliable and better-reviewed item for literally one-ninth the price. Please don't make the mistake I made and stay away from any Viking purchases.

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Sadly, I'm having the exact same problem with my Viking microwave. It took a little longer than 3 minutes to fail, but not much longer. There are limited service centers providers in our area, like most areas, and it's been two weeks without a service call. You would think that a high end brand such as Viking would be going the extra mile in service to protect their image, especially in the case of a defective product. Being used in The Food Network kitchens apparently gives Viking undeserved credibility. I just hope that, once fixed, the fix is permanent.

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Consumer Reports has provided repair histories for kitchen appliances and Viking has not fared well in its reviews. In some areas, Viking has the absolute, rock-bottom ratings for repairs. Your experience certainly attests to Viking's well-deserved abysmal repair reputation.

I, too, had considered Viking products for an upcoming kitchen renovation, but I am going with Wolf and Thermador now. At these price points, I want to know that I can rely on the company standing behind its products.

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Thanks for your review. I was researching microwave ovens and wanted to check out Viking due to the brand name. I probably would have bought one, except for your experience!