sine nomine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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accessibility_fail2015-02-16 05:01 pm
sine_nomine) wrote in accessibility_fail2015-02-16 05:01 pm
Major Appliance Manufacturer Fail
I bought a blender last year. An Oster, because they are -- generally -- high quality and because this particular model had both decent power and reversing blades... the better to make smoothies with.
I'd been out of town for a while so the blender wasn't used for about two weeks or so. Awakened one morning and decided I wanted a smoothie for breakfast. Loaded up the blender, turned it on and NOTHING. Tried another outlet. Nope. Tried re-seating the blender jar. Nope. Removed the blender jar entirely and tried turning it on (because this particular model turns on without the jar in place). Nope. It wasn't just nearly dead. It was really most sincerely dead.
So I called the nice Oster people; it's about a year old. Should still be under warranty. The customer service person appeared to have found my order but she had to have me in the same room with the blender as there was information "on the blender" that they would require. I was driving at the time so that didn't happen. I called back today with the blender in front of me.
Here's where we get into fail:
Today's customer service person (who said she couldn't find my order but at least found the record of the previous call) asked me to look at the metal prongs on the plug. According to her, there would be numbers inscribed on one of the prongs and alphabet letters on the other. They could be on the inside or the outside of the prongs; it varies where they put them.
I couldn't see a thing. And I have 20/20 vision, though focusing is a little slow sometimes. Managed to find something that vaguely magnifies and lo and behold, on the inside of the metal prongs, there was in fact something inscribed. I was clueless, of course, as to what it actually said.
But here's the kicker: She couldn't assist me without knowing what those letters and numbers were. And I can actually see! What if I were a customer who couldn't?!? Would I have to call a friend to come over and read the silly plug? Could there be any worse place on an entire blender to put the very numbers that identify this particular blender than the prongs on the plug?? And on the inside of them, to boot!
I told her it would probably be faster for me to slice off the plug and send it to them. Or, alternatively, to send the whole blender back. She informed me that wouldn't work as I'd be sending the blender back "to the warehouse, not to the Customer Care Center that is trying to assist you."
So we left it that "consumer will be calling back when consumer can access the requisite numbers and letters".
I think, however, that I will instead be hunting down the address of the CEO of their parent company, packing up the blender and shipping it off with a letter that politely says "You have got to be f'ing kidding me! Figure out a way to send me a new blender... and to improve the location of your identifiers because on the plug in teeny tiny letters is ridiculous."
I'd been out of town for a while so the blender wasn't used for about two weeks or so. Awakened one morning and decided I wanted a smoothie for breakfast. Loaded up the blender, turned it on and NOTHING. Tried another outlet. Nope. Tried re-seating the blender jar. Nope. Removed the blender jar entirely and tried turning it on (because this particular model turns on without the jar in place). Nope. It wasn't just nearly dead. It was really most sincerely dead.
So I called the nice Oster people; it's about a year old. Should still be under warranty. The customer service person appeared to have found my order but she had to have me in the same room with the blender as there was information "on the blender" that they would require. I was driving at the time so that didn't happen. I called back today with the blender in front of me.
Here's where we get into fail:
Today's customer service person (who said she couldn't find my order but at least found the record of the previous call) asked me to look at the metal prongs on the plug. According to her, there would be numbers inscribed on one of the prongs and alphabet letters on the other. They could be on the inside or the outside of the prongs; it varies where they put them.
I couldn't see a thing. And I have 20/20 vision, though focusing is a little slow sometimes. Managed to find something that vaguely magnifies and lo and behold, on the inside of the metal prongs, there was in fact something inscribed. I was clueless, of course, as to what it actually said.
But here's the kicker: She couldn't assist me without knowing what those letters and numbers were. And I can actually see! What if I were a customer who couldn't?!? Would I have to call a friend to come over and read the silly plug? Could there be any worse place on an entire blender to put the very numbers that identify this particular blender than the prongs on the plug?? And on the inside of them, to boot!
I told her it would probably be faster for me to slice off the plug and send it to them. Or, alternatively, to send the whole blender back. She informed me that wouldn't work as I'd be sending the blender back "to the warehouse, not to the Customer Care Center that is trying to assist you."
So we left it that "consumer will be calling back when consumer can access the requisite numbers and letters".
I think, however, that I will instead be hunting down the address of the CEO of their parent company, packing up the blender and shipping it off with a letter that politely says "You have got to be f'ing kidding me! Figure out a way to send me a new blender... and to improve the location of your identifiers because on the plug in teeny tiny letters is ridiculous."
no subject