Nutid bc 154, the Third

Hello, I would like to write another chapter in my experience report with the Ikea refrigerator due to recent events :)
As some of you may still remember, I had problems with my new Nutid bc 154 at the beginning of the year.
It was then exchanged by Bauknecht for a new device in April, which was not much warmer either :(
Now the device suddenly stopped working completely in mid-August.......
1. called Ikea this time and spoke to a nice lady (who unfortunately spoke/understood German poorly)
The company would get in touch within two working days to set an appointment (it was Thursday afternoon!)
but I could also call directly.
2. called the company (the well-known one :rolleyes: ), appointment "to take a look" in 10 days
3. called Bauknecht to ask if that could be. The lady there wanted to take care of it and get back to me.
She did so an hour later, unfortunately only with the message that the company would get in touch if something became available.
But the lady immediately said that I shouldn’t hold my breath. She definitely wants to forward the complaint.
4. Friday morning 8:10 AM message on the answering machine, company coming Monday at 12 noon, if that doesn't work I should get in touch.
5. A very nice technician was here punctually. Mini circuit board defective, must be ordered from Italy.
6. Only 11 days later it was there, meaning new appointment
7. The appointment went very quickly, the same technician came and bam it was done :)

Now the kicker.... the refrigerator now needs to be regulated. On (as before) "just on" it is far too warm.
It took me a good day to find the right setting. I currently have it running on level 2,
in plain language that means, ..... pasta does not freeze when ketchup is added, I can store cucumbers in the fridge without them freezing, and my margarine is spreadable :D

I now wonder (and ask you) how it can be that.......
1. suddenly it works that a task is carried out by a technician?
2. that the refrigerator is suddenly adjustable, which was not possible before with this one, nor with the predecessor.
Unfortunately, these questions will remain unanswered ;)

More than telling you that I am not an electronic device expert, I unfortunately can't do. Just: I would go to IKEA and talk to them about compensation...

Hello Maverick 1854, I hadn’t even thought about compensation. Probably because at first I was just annoyed with the thing, and now I’m simply glad that it is adjustable. But you’re right, it would be worth a try. The question is whether it’s enough to say that it was so cold, or that the second device was defective after four months. Who should I contact best, the branch or the headquarters? I’d appreciate a tip.

The best would be a letter or an email with the entire process. Do you possibly have a case number or even 2? Then write these right at the top first. This makes it easier for IKEA to assign it.

How about a shopping voucher? Offer that. That is a concession from you that you do not want cash. Unless you insist on it, but that usually doesn’t make much sense. What about travel expenses? Or telephone costs at the hotline? But you have to provide proof of these. However, that is all that is possible.

Even if this sounds inappropriate and overdone now, ultimately you don’t buy electrical appliances at Ikea. Sorry, it’s all junk from abroad and – quote – “....order spare parts from Italy..” grin..

If you buy something decent, a spare part, if Murphy doesn’t strike, will be there in 1-2 days, rarely longer. And "decent" doesn’t mean Liebherr now, but simply something "German". No matter if it is fully or partially produced abroad, the company is German (I’m talking about other companies) and they stand behind their appliances. (Miele also already produces in China! No joke!)

If you buy Poland-AEG or Italy-Electrolux or Turkey-BEKO or Slovenia-Gorenje, etc., then you have to live with the junk :)

The kicker is washing machines for 178.- (not a typo!) EUR at Mediablöd. Huh? Production cost fifty bucks, what should be inside, and who keeps the spare parts in stock for the customer and who pays for it? Not the customer in the end, they "paid nothing"...

Ok, I have also seen Candy machines running for a very long time, Beko as well at my friend’s, where I have also patched the detergent drawer (basically it should be replaced, but that’s not worth it with that JUNK). 8 years of a Beko washing machine is pretty good, but leaking is not good :) (Just like my clumsy repair with epoxy glue, hehe, but it holds and I advised against ordering any spare parts for that junk, better a Siemens/Bosch with AquaStop for 300-400 euros and that’s it. Maybe 500 euros. Spare parts are always available very quickly (1-2 days or immediately on-site!)

But that doesn’t help anyone who has a device that is acting up, like in this case.

That the fridge is now adjustable, wasn’t before. grin... I won’t say anything about that. hehe

Oh, and proper customer service (not the "only 1-10 euro travel fee" rip-offs! And definitely not those who want to take your appliances away! (THAT IS DONE (almost) EXCLUSIVELY BY UNSCRUPULOUS CUSTOMER SERVICES!)) makes an appointment within 0-3 days, checks it, sees what is broken, orders, has it after A FEW DAYS (or has it in stock!) and installs it, done. And you won’t get a repair bill of hundreds of euros. Everyone also knows that most locksmith services are scammers. You can always open a lock without damage. But they want to make a living, they don’t have that many jobs anyway, and from Wuppertal to Münster you drive happily when you can charge 80 euros for travel and a new lock has to go in and "I didn’t see anything" and night surcharge and so on… oh, that annoys me again..

Anyway, the customer always has to wait a bit for a repair! Customer service does not wait on call for the customer and have nothing else to do.

And never let your electrical appliances be hauled away by ANY customer service! Everything can be repaired on site, except for bearing damage on Miele washing machines, then you need a crane :confused: And with cooling appliances and refrigerant replacement, that’s also very difficult on-site. (if that’s still done at all, mostly only in commercial sector now)

For the layman, the whole thing is hard to oversee anyway. The customer thinks they paid money for something and now must be looked after quickly and everything must run smoothly. That Ikea doesn’t pay much for that stuff at the manufacturer, the customer also pays not much, but rather too much (in my opinion) for it and in the end the customer service has the junk right in front of them… So you have to look at that first from another perspective, namely that of the customer service technician.

Addendum:
You also have to differentiate between independent customer services and factory customer services. 1) The factory ones (Profectis for the catalog sh… for example) don’t work for the customer, they are employees and don’t care when it gets finished. 2) The independent customer service technician is obliged to help the customer quickly, otherwise it’s a LOST CUSTOMER! 3) Only the scammers allow themselves everything, because they always find a sucker and if a region is exhausted, they move on to another one and there with a new name… oh… Never pay attention to those cheap ones in ads or flyers, who offer you an inspection for very little money! There are also 20-40 euro inspections with travel, labor and taxes. That is serious and sometimes the error is already fixed during the inspection… (A washing machine drain pump is usually in stock, so NOT in the car, grin. Most professional companies have a V-belt in stock, otherwise 1-2 days waiting. A fridge thermostat is in stock or 1-2 days waiting. (If necessary, short-circuit, compressor runs, appliance cools, you quickly drive to get the thermostat..) Motor carbon brushes (a heavily worn part in washing machines) are in stock or ordered.. And so on… A factory customer service doesn’t care if they have it in the car, but of course they try to take something with them as a precaution after a telephone consultation of the defect or they always have a basic stock with them. So with factory customer services that repair only certain brands, there is always a certain spare parts assortment in the vehicle. For freelancers who repair everything, it looks very bad, the phone call with the customer is important, the electronic data of the appliance and what the defect is. Specialist services can usually smell out the defect and bring something suitable.

Don’t be surprised, but sometimes I think I should have become a priest or something… I’m just "preaching" :D

Oops, that was really a novel ;)

I was not aware that you don't buy Bauknecht/Whirlpool appliances......

I got in touch with the "Regional Customer Service of Bauknecht" here....

The refrigerator is running, and I hope it stays that way...... as well as the Whirlpool oven!