Wash Your Hands Of Such Negligence

I sell a top-loading washer to a gentleman, along with a five-year service agreement. The service agreement covers most things except customer negligence.

He comes back into the store about a week later, absolutely livid.

Customer: “The washer isn’t working correctly! It’s all off-balance, and the drum is ruined!”

A service call is scheduled for the technicians to figure out what the problem is. A few days later, when the technicians go out to his house, they are shocked at what they find.

According to the technicians (as none of us were there), the drum is cracked, and the machine itself barely runs. Apparently, it in no way resembles a brand-new washer. The technicians refuse to do any type of repairs or order new parts for free (which is part of the service agreement), citing evidence of customer abuse.

The next day, the customer returns to the store even madder than he was before. During a long argument between the customer, a department manager, and me:

Department Manager: “Sir, perhaps you’ve been putting too many items into the washer?”

Customer: “No! Just one thing! The first thing I did with the washer was wash a bowling ball.”

Apparently, he did not realize that would be bad for the machine. His service agreement, of course, was void after such a blatant display of negligence. And, of course, he did the customary vow to never shop at our store again.