our policy is to not quote prices over the phone -click-

[mikester]

So I'm calling around for appliance prices and it seems about 60/40 on who will give me a price over the phone and who won't. I live in LA and have a full time job - I'm not about to fight traffic to you if you can't give me some indication over the phone that you can give me a good price.

So...that's the thing.

I've called a few places today and gotten that response. "We don't quote prices over the phone."

me: "How do I know how much you're going to charge me then?"

them: "It is our policy not to quote prices over the phone."

Me: "How do I know how much you're going to charge me then?"

Them: click

Well...at least I don't have to drive there now.

Next call...

[widebody911]

So you're trying to buy an appliance ('fridge, stove, washer, etc) and want a price over the phone? Unless you had a specific model #, I don't see how they could do that if they wanted to. I imagine you'd tie up a quite a bit of time just comapring features and whatnot.

[scottmandue]

Best buy seems to have the best prices more or less... it they are not the store that hung up on you.

Home depot carries appliances.

Have you tried shopping online? Google what ever appliance you are looking for.

HTH

[Mike Bonkalski]

Check out

www.us-appliance.com

I found out what I wanted for our kitchen, then went here. Best prices, no sales tax and shipping is only $59 no matter what size the order. I had a refridgerator, stove, hood, and dishwasher shipped for $59!

[mikester]

No - I have the part numbers and know exactly what I want. No haggling or selling over the phone. I wasn part number XXXXX and I want to know how much you will charge me for that. No talk of features or anything - I know exactly what I want.

I'm not going for the #1 best price - I want to spend my money locally and support the business in or near my community. I also like dealing with someone local with large purchases of this nature. If I can find someone local who will give me what I feel is a fair price then I'll buy from them but if I can't even get that price from them over the phone then they can take a hike.

I use the internet pretty hard to find exactly what I want becuase most places I've gone don't have ALL the models in stock. We went to best buy and sears which have a large selection and cataloges. I also went to one of the places that hung up on me today - earlier this week. I got an idea of the models and how they looked but the features I read about. I intended to buy from them as well since they met the local requirments and we willing to help me in their store. I gave them the very first crack and they hung up on me... Still Google is king - or should I say froogle is king?

anyway - I suppose that's more detail on the situation.

The cost benefit analysis goes a bit like this to me (and I suppose it's subjective); If I have to spend 3 hours of my work day going to and from your location or all day on a saturday or sunday going to multiple locations because I can't get a price for the model I want over the phone - my time is worth more than I MIGHT save if I bought from you. Rather than taking time from work or family... I would much rather, knowing that I know exactly what I want call you - get the price and if you're not far off the best price I have so far give you the opportunity to meet or beat it if you're closer to me. So these folks that I went to this week to look at their stuff didn't have what I wanted and I needed to do some research as well to determine what I wanted (their in stock selection was weak). I now know what I want and called them first - I didn't want to drive back over there if their price wasn't good. They couldn't help me over the phone - I'm not fighting to give them my business. I'm the customer - they need to fight for my business. There are simply too many sites on the internet that HAVE the prices for them to tell me I have to come into their showroom to get service.

At least...that's how I see it. They certainly had other options than to hang up on me.

[B D]

http://www.pacificsales.com/

There hard to beat on price and will discount even more if you get several items. They carry high end stuff as well.

[mikester]

Originally posted by B D
http://www.pacificsales.com/

There hard to beat on price and will discount even more if you get several items. They carry high end stuff as well.

They were actually the second place I called that told me that they did not give pricing over the phone. It was in their opening recording though - not from an actual person. I didn't have time to argue with them regarding it so I took it for face value and hung up myself.

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by mikester
I didn't have time to argue with them regarding it so I took it for face value and hung up myself.

Oh wow, does that mean you will no longer be doing business with yourself?
J/K

My Dad swears by Pacific sales also.

[grudk]

Few in sales/service have any skills or manners anymore, at least in L.A.

I continue to be amazed at the rate of social deterioration here

Shop around online.

[mikester]

Well, if I have time over the weekend I will go by their torrance location. but the fact that their phone system message when I call in states that I can't get a price over the phone doesn't make me happy. Makes me as the customer have to work harder and I can't see how that is good especially in these days of the internet.

[EdT82SC]

I worked for a local chain of appliance stores called "Phil and Jim's" when I was in college. The reason they didn't give out prices over the phone is so the competition couldn't call and find out all your prices, and undercut you by $0.01. These days with everyone being on the internet it's pretty easy to figure out their prices. Most of the same guys are still in the business now as they were when I was, and old habits die hard.

B D is right about Pacific Sales. I saved $1800 there over the best price I could get anywhere else when I remodelled my kitchen. That was for a built in double oven, warming drawer, cooktop, cooktop vent hood and dishwasher. And nobody else would honor their price match garantee. They told me to go buy it at Pacific Sales. So I did.

[mikester]

Well, like I said - I'll go by there over the weekend if I haven't got it wrapped before then.

[mikester]

Update; Well I went over there that weekend (7/2) and they had everything I wanted except the Oven and the gave me a great price. I told them I needed it in a week - The fellow writing up my order said "no problem."

So I called yesterday morning (they are closed on Sun and Monday) and I'm told that the only thing they have in stock is THE OVEN!

Now, leaving messages I can't get a hold of anyone who will call me back and my Contractor wants to start doing installing the cabinets on Friday. The operator at the store paged him and any assitant manager multiple times but no answer. So I was forced to leave him another message (he hasn't called me back from the one I left him this morning yet).

I have high standard for customer service I suppose - I said I needed it in a week and he said he could do it. I gave him an extra 2 days and now it's going to be even longer than that and my kitchen is going to have to wait.

I'm venting a bit cause I'm really frustrated that I can't get a hold of anyone who can help me at the store and I can't go over there tonight because I have a mid term in my stats class.

*($*%&$##!

[pbs911]

I told them I needed it in a week - The fellow writing up my order said "no problem."

Been there done that with Pacific Sales. I guess their week is different than the rest of the world.

[EdT82SC]

Tell them you want them to deliver the oven now, and then at least you will have that. You don't want to wait for everything else to come in, and then have the oven be gone.

When I did my kitchen they told me everything was in, I scheduled delivery, and one item wasn't on the truck. It took them another week to get the last item. My contractor was so far behind though, that everything sat around for a couple months before it got installed.

[mikester]

Well; I finally got a call back from them in the evening. Said they had everything and wanted to know when I wanted it delivered.

What really irks me is that when I was on the phone and said "Find him." She said she wouldn't - she paged him and he didn't answer the pages. She said there was no way he was going to excuse himself from a customer to answer the phone. My point to her was that if he doesn't he might loose a customer none the less.

Anyway - now I'm waiting for them to call me with the delivery times.