Compactappliance.Com – a Review of Compact Appliance’s Website

I landed at compactappliance.com by doing a search for the air conditioner that I wanted. They had it cheaper than anywhere else so I ordered from them. The item was shipped rather fast by UPS and it arrived a few days later.

Opening the box, I realized that the remote control was missing. Compactappliance.com was already closed for the day, and since it was a Friday, there was nothing that could be done until Monday. I sent them an e-mail requesting the remote be mailed. This didn’t seem like a big deal so I went ahead and installed the air conditioner over the weekend.

The reply that I received on Monday was shocking. They demanded that I mail the air conditioner back to them and then they would send another. I could understand the claim that they didn’t have any extra parts, but there would have been no difference if they had taken a remote out of a box and sent it to me as opposed to sending me an entirely new air conditioner. Not to mention that it would have cost about $50 to return this unit.

It shouldn’t cost the customer more money to get an item that they already paid for.

I called the company to speak with someone personally. The man who answered the phone refused to transfer me to someone above him. He said that he already knew what his manager would say.

What was even more shocking was when the man said the only other way to solve this issue, aside from a return, was to purchase a second unit from them. I was asking for the remote that should have come with my purchase, and they were trying to sell a second item. No matter what, they were going to guarantee that it would cost me to receive the remote. This was completely unfair.

Since the remote wasn’t in the box, I wondered if they had either accidentally or deliberately sent me a refurbished/open box item. Visiting their website, I saw among the few refurbished/opened box items the air conditioner that I purchased with an available quantity in the twenties. I accused them of sending me one of these cheaper units, but the man didn’t even acknowledge the accusation.

After a lot of arguing, I was finally told that if I wanted to speak to the manager, he would have to call me back. I, however, never received this return call. I ended up calling the company that made the air conditioner and they are sending me a remote.

For all of their claims about great customer service, one would think Compact Appliance could have done better by me. I’ll never order from them again and I feel for anyone who has a problem with their order. With large appliances, it’s going to cost a lot of money to have the issue solved when returning the item is the only solution.