Walmart Special

Preface: I had the same toaster for 11 years and it worked wonderfully until it broke. I have gone through 3 toasters in the past year.

Okay...so Brian was making toast (or trying to) and the toaster kept tripping the breaker. "What the heck?" So he tried another outlet, it started to heat up, sparks flew, a loud POP and it was dead. Great!

Monday morning rolls around and I thought, "Hmmm, I think I'll have some toast." Just kidding...no toaster. I, then, made a plan-- "When I take the boys to school I'll run into Walmart and exchange the toaster so it will seem like we didn't ever not have one." Great plan, ay?

8:54 a.m. That's when I arrived at the Walmart Customer Service Center. After waiting behind 2 people I told the CS Rep I would be right back with my exchange item. This would only take me 2 minutes, right? WRONG! Turns out Walmart doesn't carry the particular toaster I had purchased 4 months prior. Ho hum, gotta choose a different toaster. After checking out all of the options I chose a toaster that was pretty close to the same style as the blown up one.

Back to the Customer Service Center where I explain to the CS Rep that the toaster I had purchased 4 months ago is no longer in stock so I chose a different one with the same price tag and the representative tells me, "Since you don't have a reciept, and since we don't carry that model any longer we do not have UPC to return your money to you." I then explained to her that this particular model of toaster is currently under warranty for another 8 months and that they should not have any trouble exchanging it for a working toaster. Then she said, "You'll have to call the manufacturer." Well, alrighty then! I bought the other toaster and was out of there.

So I call the manufacturer (G.E.) and they inform me that my toaster has a two-year warranty with Walmart because they have a contract with them AND also that toaster has been recalled. By now I'm a little flustered with the curtness of the CS Rep who sort-of helped me at Walmart.

Back at the Walmart Customer Service Center I go. With a great big smile on my face I explain, once again, the happenings of the morning, my phone call to the manufacturer and that how silly it is that we take small appliances, like the toaster, for granted. The CS Rep gave me a blank stare not knowing what to do and calls for a CSM (customer service manager) to help out. She was at lunch, so 5 minutes later she strolls to the CS Center and half way listens while the situation is explained. Once again, stooper of thought....a call to another CSM who takes 6 minutes to arrive at the CS Center. Well, this guy CSM takes a look at what's going on and calls, yet another CSM on the phone to gain clarification on how to handle this tiny, little problem.

I'm thinking, "I just want a DANG toaster, what is all the fuss? Over a twenty-five dollar toaster!?!"

Now I've had to go through one CS Rep, two CSM's and a phone call to a third CSM. By this time (about 20 minutes of time), I got the priviledge to explain one more time, "my toaster blew up, I tried to exchange it this morning, I called the maufacturer, they said, 'bring it back it has a 2-year Walmart warranty and it has been recalled'."
The CSM guy says: "How do you know it's been recalled?"
Me: "G.E. informed me of that after I took the toaster home and called them."
CSM guy: "Hmmm."
Me, pointing at a paper: "There's the recall paper on your board right over there."
CSM guy: "Oh, that makes it easy!" "The UPC is right on that paper!"

Oh my H-E-double hockey sticks!!!!! Then I got to work with a different, very nice and happy CS Rep kid (that makes a total of 3 Reps and 4 CSM's over a dumb TOASTER). He returned my purchase money of the original G.E. toaster that blew up which is the reason they were recalled, gave my money back from the other toaster I bought in the morning, and finished up the transaction with my NEW purchase of a freakin' toaster.

I picked out a "cool", slender looking toaster to try out because in about 6 months I'll be exchanging it for a new one anyway. Oh my HECK!!!