Human’s can put man on moon, but…
Human’s can put man on moon, but human’s still haven’t invented a microwave that is long lasting… The other day my Panasonic Inverter microwave NN H665WF “died”. You know how when a microwave turns on, it starts off with a low-speed fan sound then jumps up to a high-speed fan noise? Well with my oven now, it starts off at a low-speed and stays there….that’s it! This is our family’s 4th Panasonic oven and we’re now ready to try something else!
I called Futureshop, where I purchased the oven back in August 2005, they told me the warranty was for 1 year from Panasonic - so tough luck. In consideration that I may just end up getting a new oven if the repair costs were outrageous, I asked the fellow if he knows which oven has the lowest after-purchase claims; but I got no answer from the guy…useless. Here I am talking to a Futureshop “warranty” expert and he apparently isn’t an expert. My next question to him was if he could recommend any repair shops in Toronto where I could take the oven. He tells me there aren’t any! At this point he’s already earned a status lower than “idiot” and “jerk” whatever that may be - perhaps the opposite of “genius”?
At this point I decide to check out Panasonic’s website. In 5 seconds I load up a list of 5 repair shops in my area using their customer support webpage! I start off by calling each one. The first one I get a Chinese lady who doesn’t apparently understand my English, so I tell her I’ll call back some other time. The second person I call, I try to explain my problem but I get the feeling they aren’t listening to me because the fellow keeps saying “just bring it in, we’ll look at it”. I get suspicious and ask him “is there a cost to just look at the oven?”. The fellow says “$16″. I’m thinking “gotcha, bugger”! The next, and last place I call, the lady on the phone explains to me that she’s seen the problem before and its about $40-60 to fix. I mention to her that I might as well get a new one, she laughs and says “yeah, its probably a better idea”! Now that I got her on my good side, I ask her what the Futureshop expert couldn’t answer, “is there any brand that you recommend I try other than Panasonic”. She mentions that she’s had a General Electric (GE) microwave oven for over 7 years and she’s never had a problem! I’m thinking bingo! I search up GE microwaves on Futureshop, Bestbuy, Sears, and Wal-mart’s websites. Futureshop and Bestbuy don’t carry anything other than Panasonic and Danby. Sears carries some GE, but they appear to be high-end models. Wal-mart has exactly what I’m looking for, 1.1 cu ft with 1100 watts and its ol sale for $85!
I just picked up the GE oven and we’ll see how it compares to the Panasonic over the next few weeks!
