Then he went social...media that is.

So, for those that know my husband, he is NOT a believer in FaceBook.  Nor does he tweet or instagram his large Tim's with 1 cream.  Social media isn't his thing.

However, the run around he received from SAMSUNG Canada was enough to render the calm and patient, into flying (lint balls) of rage.  He would call, and call.  He fell for the "We will call you back in 10 minutes".  Then the second time, he managed to stay on the line a little bit longer with someone supposedly of a manager status, but sadly again Samsung did not call back.  Anyway, read on and you will hear it from him.

My husband is resourceful, and did order one of the parts quickly enough, which sadly was not the problem. But the part that was evidently discontinued was a bit harder with Samsung playing hard ball. (More on that tale to come).

So back to the social media thing.... you have to imagine my surprise when I received an email from him one day, requesting for me TO POST ON FACEBOOK something HE wrote. (I will give you a moment to pick your jaw up off the floor).

As such, today I welcome my first (hopefully not my last) guest blog poster, my husband.  This is what he asked me to post on the Samsung FB page:

"I have a (Samsung) washer that is approximately 4 years old. I was informed by a repair technician that the main circuit board needs to be replaced, but that it is no longer available through their wholesaler. Subsequently I called Samsung support, who referred us to the parts distributor. The distributor, in turn confirmed the part is no longer available. When I questioned why a product that was only 4 years old was no longer supported, I was referred back to the Samsung support number.... Another call and explanation and I was told that the agent needed to look into it and would call me back in 5 to 10 minutes. More than 24 hours later, no call, so I contacted the online chat support people. Long story short, I was referred back to the 800 number, which I reluctantly called. The agent offered to call me back in 10 minutes and I politely explained that I'd heard that before and would prefer to hold. I was subsequently transferred to another agent. Another transfer and still no progress.

At this point I have a major Samsung appliance which is only about 4 years old and is nothing more than scrap metal because no parts are available. Please consider this before you purchase a Samsung appliance."

I did so on the Samsung (US page), then again on the Samsung Canada page.  Samsung (US page) at least responded asking if I contacted Samsung Canada.  See that?  See how they deflected....ohh!  It's not US it's them!  Anywhoo, this about sums up our customer experience (or lack there of) with Samsung Canada.  In the wise words of my friend Schone, thanks for your lack of customer service.

Let's end right here with a challenge.  Go read the comments left on the Samsung Canada FaceBook page. First find them (left hand side), then scroll through them see if you can see a recurring theme.  

Review #1: King Koin, Almonte

Location: Little Bridge St
Cost: $2.00 per wash, .25 per 5 minutes
Laundry supplies available: No
Change available: No
Hours of Operation: Closes at 9:30
What's near by: River, restaurant next door, lovely downtown Almonte, the Riverwalk
Accessability: High step on outside, no ramp
Rate: 1/10
Pro: No people to watch over you
Con: No contact info when there is a problem.
Dates visited: June 20, 2014 and July 9, 2014

We have used this landromat twice, and in total I lost $6 to machines not marked as "Out of Order". (I left a note).  It was relatively clean, no bugs, a small seating area with some reading material.

There are approximately 14 washers, and the last time I was there 3 or 4 were working.  I'm not exaggerating.  Some are missing the internal tub, some are missing the coin mechanism, so those are obvious they they are out of order. Some take loonies, some quarters, but not both.  Some you insert your money and nothing.

They are older machines that are front loaders, harvest yellow for those children of the 70's that remember when all applainces seemed to come in that color. And they are fairly small.

The machines that worked washed my clothes, luckily, as our dryer is still working, I only need to pay for washes.  Dryers are oversized, which is nice, and they all appeared to be in working order.

My daughter and I went one Friday night and we bought pizza from next door, and sat by the river to eat it (walking by not one, but two NBer's who had just met).  We walked down the Riverwalk and found an ice cream store.  There is a Barley Mow restaurant as well on the Riverwalk, which has a nice patio.  Just up the street is Mill St which is loaded with antique shops and a inexpensive bakery, Baker Bobs Bakery, which carries some Gluten Free products as well.

Why I gave it a 1: I went to wash clothes and I washed my clothes.  I have since found better laundromats closer that have a better chance of having working machines.  I will have a lovely memory of this laundromat because of the time spent with my daughter on our outing.

**I will make a special note that the owner recently passed away in March of this year as I discovered while confirming the name**

In the beginning.....

Now to back it up.  

Around May 26th, 2014, my husband reported to me that our washer wasn't working, specifically, the tub would not fill.  The spin cycle still worked though.  Odd combination, but no matter the combination, a washing machine without water, will not a clothes cleaner make!

4 years and a couple months after purchase, is a pretty safe time frame to say, no there was warranty to call in on.  Some people suggested to go back to the store we bought it at.  No, my husband decided to go to the source and called the company.  You may have heard of it? Samsung?  This wasn't a call to lament the loss of our washer, but simply to locate a local techincian.

And he found one!  And he called him!  OH!  I'll call you back.......and my husband called him again, and again, Oh I'll call you back...nothing again.  Then out of the blue, a voice message "I'm in your area now (1pm), can I drop by? Um, no??  This went on for a few weeks. 

Let me point out, this was in no way Samsung's fault (the run around technician I mean).  It was ours for clearly being wrong that in this economy someone might MIGHT want a job.  Or at least that people might MIGHT understand that we work full time jobs, and that it is sometimes considered inappropriate in the middle of a manager meeting to stand up and say, "Oh, excuse me, as I am at the beck and call of the washer technician to get our washer fixed, I have to leave.  Otherwise we send our daughter to daycare in dirty clothes and she becomes that kid."  (Not based on actually events) (that kid, unrelated reference to the movie Big Daddy, if unfamiliar with the movie, perhaps give it a watch waiting for the next update).

Fast forward weeks of tub laundry, we locate a second technician!  Holding our breath we scheduled an appointment, and  HE SHOWED UP.  Shut the (dryer)front door!  We know how this works though, so we knew we would be left with a working machine.  We are not that naive.

What we were not expecting was this news:

The part we needed was discontinued

In fairness, the technician said it could be 1 of 2 parts, but we would not know until one was replaced.  I can imagine my husband blinked and retorted something to the effect of, so our 4 year old washer has been effectively rendered scrap metal?  The technician said that all the parts are made at the same place in ****** (I hesitate to say the country as we love it there), and there is no quality control.  Kinda like our 2001 Kia Sportage, you either got a good one or you didn't.

The run around with Samsung was jsut about to begin.....

...and where AM I doing laundry?

Let me stop there for a minute and slow it down for a minute, before I launch into the "saga" portion of the story.

Are you with me?  Good.

You may be at this point asking "Wait.  How ARE they getting clean clothes?" " Don't they have a 3 year old daughter, and two dogs?"

Smartie (clean) pants!  Why yes we do!

For some time my husband, did laundry, are you ready, in the bath tub.  Yes. He. Did.  Old school bath tub washing.  My mom would joke he should get one of those scrubbing boards, you know like this...



(Sorry for the double picture)
No, we didn't have a scrubbing board, but we did have a metal curtain rod. Swish, swish, and voila, some semi-clean clothes!  Honestly, he reminded me of a gondaleer.  Come on, picture it.  Wide brimmed hat, striped shirt, wide bottom capri pants, singing Italian Opera without the soothing boat ride along one of Venice's many water ways of course.

Luckily the spin cycle on our Samsung washer still worked.  God bless my husband for doing this, not an easy task, but it took FOREVER to do laundry.

Bathtub soak.  swish, swish
Bathtub rinse.  swish, swish
Bathtub drain.  squish, squish
To the washer. spin spin
Hang it out to dry

(Sounds rather like a square dance I might have learned in grade 8 gym class.)

Finally, I had enough, and started seeking out laundromats.  That has to be easy, I thought.  I will have a bounty of choices, I thought. I mean, in the day in age where google is a noun and verb, and synonymous with "look something up", there must be information at a click of a button about where and hours of operation?........no, no I would not.

And Kanata and Stittsville, for whatever reason, have no laundromats.  Yes, we have no laundromats, we have no laundromats today. or yesterday. or tomorrow.  You get my picture.

It did take awhile, but I managed to locate 4 within a 40km radius.  Yes, 40km.  There may be some closer, but I have yet to find them.  When I do though, you will be the first to know!

Know of any?  Leave a comment below.

Let the laundry games begin!

Writing the first post and I find myself asking how did I come to be here? What chain of events led me to seek out new laundromats, weekly expeditions with my mom or daughter in tow?  What caused this compulsion to point out laundramats in any town we pass through, just in case.

Short answer:  Our 4 year old Samsung (remember this word) washer stopped working.

Long Answer: Well, that's what we are here for!

Welcome to my Laundry Quest, may the suds be with you.

I think back to 2010: My husband and I had just been married down south, so we purchased a new washer and dryer with money from his side of the family. A high efficiency, front loading, stacked, delivery charge knocked off, price matched Samsung washer and dryer.  

I read the instructions, examined our laundry soap and ridded ourselves of any non-high efficieny soap.  We would not be needing that around here anymore!  I emptied traps, left doors open for air drying, cleaned drains and lint traps.  It was great. You could not hold me back from doing laundry. Let the laundry games begin!

Then our dyrer broke, maybe 2 years ago, luckily, during the summer so we could air dry clothes (which we do quite a bit I must admit).  The technician was helpful, though it took awhile to get the part, as the wrong one was initially ordered. 

Then the eye opener: He told me that he would never have bought this brand, and that the whole "front loader washing machines are great" is a gimick.  No, sorry, not as good as the good ol' top loaders.  I was a little devastated

But that's not why I am here.

I am here as in May 2014 our Samsung WASHER stopped working, and that my frothy friends, is another story.