Why I won't purchase another Durrmaid

J

jdmser

New member
Last week toward the end of 19 hour marathon detailing session I notice my Durrmaid extractor started to smell. If you've ever had the pleasure of having an electric motor go out on you I'm sure you know the smell. By the end of the job the extractor had maybe 50% suction, the vac motor was going. This didn't surprise me at all since I use my machine all the time and know extractor parts don't have a very long life expectancy.

So, I nurse it along till I had a chance to give them a call. I end up talking to the owner of the company, Dennis Duerr. He told me that they didn't have any vac motors in stock because of recent tornadoes in the Midwest but, was trying to get them shipped to him as fast as possible. He told me he was expecting a call later that day to find out when the motors would be getting there and would call me back to find out how I wanted it shipped. He ask for my information including credit card, my mistake, and I gave it to him.

Fast forward a week and a half to yesterday when I'm checking my bank account and notice a charge from Durrmaid. This wouldn't have been a problem if Dennis had called me back like he said he was going to. However, he never called and I naturally assumed he had forgotten about me. I ended up sourcing a vac motor from Grainger. When I called Dennis to discuss the charge at first he was very nice. Until he looked up the order and saw that it had already been shipped. Then he became very confrontation. First telling me that the motor I had replaced it with wasn't good enough. Then telling me that I should have called them when I knew I didn't the motor. I explained to him that I had been waiting for him to call me back the whole time. This resulted in Mr. Duerr cursing at me and hanging up on me. That's why I'll never buy another Durrmaid.
 
Sounds to me like BOTH of the involved parties here handled the situation poorly. Can't really feel sorry for anyone when the communication process breaking down is the cause of problems in their entirety.
 
I understand your frustration and agree that the company failed in its follow through. If you were told he would call you back, it was certainly his responsibility to to so and when he did not it reflected poorly on his company. Things to happen and it would have been a good idea for you to have given them a call, but that does not relieve him of his responsibility.

I would contact your credit card company and see about disputing the charge and contact Durrmaid in writing to advise them of the action you have initiated and why. Hopefully you will find a resolution to this situation that brings you some satisfaction.

Did the new motor work? If it matches the factory specs I can't imagine it "not being good enough".
 
I wouldn't say it's personal. I'm not really that upset about it. As far as a communication breakdown, I figure if someone says they're going to call you back to finalize an order they should call you back. If they don't then an order was never placed. I honestly like the machine and it's worked well for me so far. The only problem I had while replacing the motor was that the studs that hold the two tanks together had rusted and had to be drilled out. He actually told me about that during the first phone call and that they have replaced those studs with stainless ones on their newer models. I think this is more of a customer service problem and customer service is just as import to me as reliability and performance when considering a machine like this.
 
No matter what the situation, the owner of a company should never use profane language towards a customer. That's tacky and poor business. There's no defense for that, no matter how much of a jackass the customer is.

And I do everything I can to buy from companies and people who go the extra mile to make me feel valued - not cuss at me and hang up. I'm not quite sure I can see how anyone is defending the owner here.
 
JaredPointer said:
I'm not quite sure I can see how anyone is defending the owner here.
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To be clear, I'm not defending the owner's actions in case you thought that was what I was getting at. I think that the company owner should have returned the call before processing a charge and shipping a part (therefore he should refund the customer's money) but I also think the customer should have called back again before simply going to another source to get a motor.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
I think that the company owner should have returned the call before processing a charge and shipping a part (therefore he should refund the customer's money) but I also think the customer should have called back again before simply going to another source to get a motor.
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Yes.

And quite frankly I don't see how anyone can justify anyones actions here when nobody even knows what was said over the phone.
 
I usually order these small parts from my neighborhood appliance parts guy. It's closer and cheaper than Grainger.
 
Addicted2Bling said:
Yes.

And quite frankly I don't see how anyone can justify anyones actions here when nobody even knows what was said over the phone.
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I never justified anyone's actions - just stated that a business owner should never cuss a customer and hang up regardless of what was said. Period. Maybe that's how you do business or expect to be treated by the people you deal with, but to me, it's completely unacceptable and would be enough to make me never do business with them again. In fact, knowing that's how this guy treated a customer I'd go out on a limb and say that if I were ever in the extractor market, Durrmaid would be a brand I wouldn't even look at.
 
JaredPointer said:
I never justified anyone's actions - just stated that a business owner should never cuss a customer and hang up regardless of what was said. Period. Maybe that's how you do business or expect to be treated by the people you deal with, but to me, it's completely unacceptable and would be enough to make me never do business with them again. In fact, knowing that's how this guy treated a customer I'd go out on a limb and say that if I were ever in the extractor market, Durrmaid would be a brand I wouldn't even look at.
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So you're saying that you would pass on a quality product all because you dislike the owner that's manufacturing the product?
 
Addicted2Bling said:
So you're saying that you would pass on a quality product all because you dislike the owner that's manufacturing the product?
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Quality product? Read the reviews as posted on Autogeek.net. Only one good review. Just hope it doesn't require service because it looks like bad customer service and poor quality from Durrmaid is an ongoing trend.

Source: Durrmaid Hot Water Carpet Extractor at Autogeek.net

Perfect Size for Mobile, March 21, 2011
Reviewer: John Meade
Small enough to easily maneuver around the car. Powerful suction. See-through handle is a smart feature.


Terrible Customer Service, May 29, 2009
Reviewer: Nick M.
Purchased this extractor about a year ago and had the solution hose break. The ends where the hose was to pivot was made out of plastic. Obviously plastic won’t hold up to well under extreme heat while bending, so naturally, it broke.

That, however, wasn’t the worst part. I promptly called Durr-Maid to get a replacement and was told one would be sent out by a gentleman named Dennis. I waited a week and nothing.

Called again and was told by Dennis it would be sent out.

Waited a week....nothing.

Called again and was told it was sitting on the Dennis’ desk and that he’d send it out following our phone conversation.

Waited a week....nothing.

I called back and got Dennis once again, who I told I had to go out and buy another extractor because mine was inoperable. I can’t operate a business without one. He then replied very sarcasticly.."Well I guess you don’t need the part anymore". What a jacka$$, this is certainly no time for jokes. Pardon my french...if I’m paying close to $700 for a piece of equipment, it better be functional. I told him how rediculous the situation is and how terribly they’ve handled the whole thing. He replyed..."Well, I guess you fell through the cracks". What this genius doesn’t realize is he was the only one I dealt with. What TERRIBLE customer service.

I eventually recieved the part 4 days later. They even tried to make me pay for shipping after all this garbage. Do yourselves a favor and get a Mytee or equivalant.



Broken, June 22, 2009
Reviewer: John
Had this extractor for less than a year and have now had the heater core blow twice. Customer service is unbearable and slow.

Don’t waste your time or money.


Buy any other brand!, May 03, 2010
Reviewer: Dave
Machine worked well the first year and a half, and then disaster struck. First, water pump literally melted. Received a new pump, then the jets broke. A week later, the plastic fittings on the hose broke. Now it appears as though the second pump is not working. Takes too long to get parts when the machine is down.
When Dennis was called, I was told that he didnt have parts for the machine and I had to wait for them to be available. I called back another time, while Dennis was on the phone with someone else, and overheard him say "let me get rid of this guy". After a few minutes of talking with Dennis after that, I was then told "you will have to call me back because I have someone more important on the other line". Very poor customer service. If Dennis is handling all of it on his own, he really needs to hire personnel to assist.
After all of this, my machine is still not working. I wish I spent the money on a more reliable, non-plastic made machine. Now in process of getting a Mytee.


A piece of $hit!, October 01, 2010
Reviewer: Victor
This extractor broke after 5 uses. Still sitting in my garage for 1 year inoperable. AVOID it! After reading the comments I even do not want to call Dennis! Wasted money ( more than $700.00). It is a shame it says on the product:"PROUDLY MADE IN USA". What the irony!
 
JaredPointer said:
Nope. Let me spell it out for you for the third time - HE CUSSED AT AND HUNG UP ON A CUSTOMER. Not sure what you're not understanding here...
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Well he ordered his part, he got it, move on. Who cares about how big of an A-hole the owner is? Yeah I feel bad he had to go through all that, that is no way to talk to a customer. But when you have a product that you like that you have been using a while, you keep on using it. Business is business.
 
As consumers we do have many choices and retailers and manufacturers should always communicate with professionalism or else face the consequences of bad reviews and the loss in business that results because of that.
 
Bunky said:
It does not sound like the way to treat a customer.
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Agreed. that's one of the reasons i requested the Aztec Hot Rod extractor for a present, that's what i got, the new an improved one (it was on backorder because of the new upgrades, i ordered mine from autogeek of course). Durrmaid had way too many complaints to make me feel comfortable using their products.
 
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