BIG NEWS: all about stuff that is or should be in the potty (no baby yet)

**This has been edited after spending the better part of the day on the internet looking up information on KitchenAid Superba Dishwashers. I was astounded at how many other consumers have had similar problems. I particularly appreciated the post which was an open letter to the CEO of KitchenAid. I couldn't have said it better myself.**

******

Elizabeth went pee-pee on the little potty.

Just like that.

She received high-five's all around ... a standing ovation from everyone who was at our house at the time ... and three seven hours later - still hasn't stopped talking about it.

We are extremely excited.

This morning, I called KitchenAid to follow-up on our Superba dishwasher repair, which was suppose to happen yesterday.

But instead of having a functioning dishwasher when the repairman finally departed at 4:45 PM (after arriving at 4:40 PM), I was told that the parts would be special ordered and the repair would most likely occur "sometime in the next two weeks."

When I spoke with a customer service representative yesterday, they told me to expect a call from the Consumer Affairs Division, today.

When I still hadn't received a call by 1:00 PM, and they close at 5:00 PM (EST), I called back and talked to another customer service representative who informed me that "there is no such thing as a Consumer Affairs Division" and the *problems* that I am having need to be taken up with the factory service department - an entirely separate company from KitchenAid.

A company that KitchenAid referred us to the first time the dishwasher broke in August.

After being *disconnected* I called back and spoke to five more people and an hour and a half later, was eventually routed to the Consumer Affairs Division.

THEY DO EXIST.

Although, in a Great Wizard of Oz like fashion, heavily guarded from the consumers who have affairs that need to be addressed.

Until I was patched through to the Great Wizard (who ultimately told me that there was nothing they could do) ... I had to tell each subsequent representative and supervisor and manager my name and telephone number and address. I also had to tell them the model number and serial number on the appliance.

And although you'd think there would be a record of the thirty or more phone calls we've made, I had to tell each person that I spoke to, what the exact problem was.

In hindsight, I should have just told them to go back and listen to the &$##@^ tapes that they use to record all of their customer service calls in "an effort to insure the highest level of integrity and quality is received."

I told each customer service representative how the dishwasher is three years old and has broken six times in the past year, five times in the past five months. And how the same equipment that is replaced (the control board and fuse) keeps failing, repeatedly.

I told them that we've spent the better part of the past three months without a dishwasher and in the past year, spent more than $400.00 on service repairs and extended warranties and although a normal person might decide to cut their losses and go buy a new dishwasher, I am far from normal.

Especially right now.

I told the Great Wizard that all I want is a functioning dishwasher. I do not want them to continue completing "band-aid" repairs that will inevitably fail in less than a months time. I added that as far as I could tell the name "KITCHEN AID" is on the front of our dishwasher, and therefore, problems arising with the appliance should ultimately be resolved by them. Even if that means they have to take it up with their subcontracted factory service department.

Their response?

"We're sorry for the inconvenience. There is nothing more we can do."

Nothing more? Did I doze off?

Because "nothing more" would imply that they have at least done "something".

With my spare time, I have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and have placed numerous calls to our local television and newspaper consumer advocacy departments. I'm also finding out what needs to be done to file a small claims lawsuit. Since KitchenAid has vowed that they won't replace the dishwasher, I've decided that If I can recoup the money spent on the purchase price ($800.00) plus the cost of repairs and extended warranties, that's my next best option.

If there is one thing that I have learned from watching my mother trying to potty train our children, it's that patience and perseverance pays off. Like Elizabeth figured out today - there are certain things that belong in the toilet. Among them, our Kitchen Aid Superba dishwasher and the lack of customer service that we've received.

I've also learned that dealing with people who give less than a crap about customer service may be the key to sending me in to labor. If there is anything good about this - it's that the next blog update will most likely be from Charlie.

(Lots and lots of contractions today. They're really starting to make me appreciate my mother and the large number of women that have given birth to all the people that inhabit this planet. Now, we're off for a brisk walk around the block.)