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juliew_austin

Wolf oven dilemma - What would you do?

juliew_austin
11 years ago

I'm very concerned about the deceptive sales practices of our local Wolf dealer and I'm not sure what I should do.

This Saturday my husband and I went to our local appliance store to find a replacement double wall oven. We were greeted by a salesman who showed us several ovens, after comparing them we were most interested in the Wolf "L" series double oven Model DO30F/S. We inquired to details such as the specific dimensions this model required and, most importantly, the price. The salesman printed out the a sheet with the specific dimensions for the Wolf "L" series double oven and an overview sheet for the Wolf "L" series double oven. He stated that the MSRP price was printed on the page but that wasn't the price we would be charged. He then hand wrote another, lower price on the "L" series print out and told us that was what he could sell it for that plus tax and delivery and installation. We spoke about the price and my husband even asked specifically how long this price was good for. The salesman assured us that although other brands had some price increases this year, that this price (the price he had written down on the Wolf "L" series printout) would not be changing any time soon. We told him that we wanted to double check the measurements and he said that he would be emailing a quote with tax and delivery as well as prices for some of the other ovens he showed us on Monday (the store is closed on Sundays). We did not discuss prices for any other ovens in the store.

I was shocked when the price he emailed me was almost $1K more than the written price he gave us in the store. I called him to inquire way the price had gone up over the weekend. He told me that the price hadn't changed. I told him that the price in his email was very different than the price he had given us in writing in person. When I read him the price he had written down, his response was "well I don't know where I would have come up with that price." He asked that I send him the papers so he could see what he had written. I drove to the store and showed him in person what he had written down. By the time I arrived he had "figured out" where he got those numbers from. He said that he that he wrote down the price for a *different* model Wolf double oven, one that we had never even considered. He went on to say that I could purchase this *other* model oven for the price he quoted if I didn't want to spend the additional money for the oven I was interested in. It didn't seem to matter to him that he had given us a price in writing, he just shrugged it off and saying it was an "honest mistake." I'm not sure if it was a mistake or not, it doesn't seem very honest to give someone a written price and then tell them it we be almost $1000 more.

Later that day my husband and I met with the store manager and explained what had happened, showed her the written price we were given for the Wolf "L" Model DO30F/S and asked her to honor the written price we were given. She said she'd have to speak with the store's owner and with Wolf but that she was sure she could work something out. I'm not so sure it was an "honest mistake" or if it was a "bait and switch" tactic. Before we heard back from the manager my husband and agreed that if they made serious attempt to adjust the price maybe halfway or even a couple of hundred off, then it most likely was an honest mistake if not, then this is likely their way of doing business; get you interested in an appliance, tell you it's a price you can afford, get you excited about it and then up the price and offer you a lesser item at the price given or force you to pay more than the price agreed upon for the item you are interested in. The manager called back and said that the best she could do was take $49.00 off the price of delivery (we live less than 5 miles from the store!) because Wolf would not let them sell the oven at the price we were given. I had even offered to take a floor model for the original price offered but they said Wolf would not allow it.

I don't know if this store is being honest or not or if this is the way Wolf really does business. I had heard such great things about their customer support but if they allow there distributors to provide written prices and then not honor them, I not even sure I want one of their ovens. I told my husband we should just get the old oven fixed but I know he really wants a new oven and he wants this specific oven.

This experience has left me with a very bad feeling toward both this particular store and the Wolf brand. Any suggests? I know there is no way I will ever deal with that appliance store again.

Should I just get the old oven fixed about ($800 to repair)? Look for a different brand oven? Contact Wolf and find out if this store really contacted them and if not let them know how they are giving out written prices and then not honoring them? Look for a different store that sells Wolf? If I purchase the same oven from a different store at a higher price than I was originally given would I have any chance in getting the difference back in small claims court for breach of contract? (Perhaps I've been watching too much Judge Judy ;-) but I'm so angry about this and I really don't know what I should do.

-juliew

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