Koolatron Garden Hose. 75-Gallon Rain Barrel

Koolatron customer service is abysmal

By javaman  Aug 18, 2011

Pros: None

Cons: Cheap construction, no quality

Do NOT buy this product! I did and I regret my decision to do so.First let me add that Amazon.com has been great to deal with regarding this and other issues but it’s unfortunate that they associated themselves with such an ethically challenged com...pany as Koolatron. I ordered my rain barrel only to discover that it leaked where the faucet threads into a nylon sleeve in the side of the barrel. The nylon sleeve is cracked. I contacted them about the problem and they informed me that they could not ship me a replacement sleeve so I could affect repairs at minimal cost and aggravation because they didn’t have the part. And so they directed me to return the rain barrel and, upon receipt, they would send a replacement. Fair enough, except after shipping the defective unit I would be left with a rain gutter about five feet off the ground which would be sure to cause major erosion when it rains. So I requested that they send me my replacement and after I swapped out the defective barrel, I could return it. No problem they said, just give us your credit card information. I thought this was all working nicely until I saw the charge on my credit card statement…$229.00 for the rain barrel and $89.99 for shipping for a total of $318.99. As you probably know, their rain barrel sells for $147.61 at Amazon.com with a shipping cost $17.97, which is waived with Free Super Saver Shipping. Now for the worst part of this nightmare, during the process of preparing to ship the defective unit back to Koolatron, I find the absolute cheapest shipping I can get is $160! The first question that comes to mind is, why wouldn’t Koolatron inform me of this and suggest that I simply place an order for their rain barrel with Amazon? Duh! This means the Koolatron warranty is essential worthless and, of course, this is by design. Such a strategy reflects the mentality of the management at Koolatron – craft a business model that offers inferior products, make it cost prohibitive for the customer to get any satisfaction when the product fails, all the while hiding behind the “power of policy”. As a matter of fact, since their policy is for the customer to return a defective product pre-paid prior to Koolatron shipping a replacement, I suspect most, if not all of their customers discover the cost of shipping to be prohibitive and simply put their defective piece of junk at the curb on trash day.During another call to Koolatron I was advised by a customer service rep to simply refuse delivery of the rain barrel so I could find a solution elsewhere, yet in an additional conversation, another customer service rep said “Oh no, you must accept delivery or we will have to deduct our shipping costs from the refund to your credit card.” Further, I advise that you never trust a company that requires that the cost for returns of defective products be born by the buyer. They should always supply a return-shipping label.Also, always check with the Better Business Bureau before doing business with an unknown company. Shame on me. I mistakenly assumed that since they were affiliated with Amazon.com, they were reputable. Wrong! If you don't believe me, look at this information directly from the BBB website…This Business is not BBB accredited Koolatron Raywares Corporation4330 Commerce Dr, Batavia, NY 14020 On a scale of A+ to F D-Number one reason for score? “Problems with Product/
Service”.Actually, I suspect if you visit the BBB web site the score may even be lower than D- because I haven’t filed my complaint with them yet. And, finally, what is one to think of the professionalism, ethics and integrity of such an organization when I share with them that, given such abysmal customer service, I will have no recourse but to post a negative review at Amazon.com (and every other web site I can find that sells Koolatron products), contact the BBB and the State Attorney General’s office, and they reply to me, “Have fun!”? Caveat Emptor! Read more Less