Plugs Appliance Center — Attraction in North Charleston

This may be a little unusual, but I'm editing my original review. We had a great sales experience, but it seems after they got their money, it went all downhill.

In my original review (below), I mentioned that we were promised a loaner, because the fridge we wanted wouldn't be available until late November. We didn't need this loaner until we closed on our house in October. Mind you, original purchase was made in September 2020. When I called to schedule delivery of the loaner, they were absolutely clueless. They put the original sales person on the phone, who couldn't seem to recall promising us a loaner and was full of excuses. He told me he'd figure something out and call me back in five minutes. I ended up spending the rest of the week calling Plugs and leaving messages for him, because he never called me or my wife back. I ended up having to personally go down and visit the store to finally get his attention.

He finally arranged to have a loaner delivered.

Fast forward to the end of November, I called to find out when the fridge we ordered would be available. There was a lot of initial confusion, because they kept insisting that they had delivered our fridge already, and didn't seem to understand that they were providing us a loaner. Do they not keep record of these things? Had to find the original sales person again, who also insisted that our fridge had been delivered already, until I was able to provide him with the order number on my receipt. Oh, ok. Well, it was during the call that I was told the fridge wouldn't be in until the end of February. No one had tried to contact us to let us know, so if I hadn't called, we would have been stuck wondering what was going on.

So, end of February comes. I decide to call and find out if our fridge will be arriving soon, half expecting there to be another delay. Apparently it had been in for a week already. And nobody tried to contact us to have it delivered? What the hell. Give me my fridge.

Finally, the fridge was delivered beginning of March. A week later, though, we had issues with the door alarm constantly going off, even though it was securely closed. I was fed up with Plugs at this point, so I just called GE directly. They sent a technician out, who told me the person who installed the fridge connected the cables on the door incorrectly.

Good Lord. At this point, I thought I was done. Never again would I have to deal with Plugs or their ineptitude.

Fast forward to May, and I pull out the fourth door, where a thin metal bar just pops out and clangs onto the ground. At this point, I thought maybe it was just bad quality control on GE's part. But they always have great customer service, so we called them again and they sent out a technician. They put the thin bar back in and told us that the fourth door tray had been installed the wrong way (by Plugs, of course), which is why the bar fell out. The technician fixed it, thankfully. But that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Hence, my updated review.

I will never, ever shop at Plugs again. I tell everyone to stay away from them. Should have just bought the darn thing at Best Buy, like we originally planned to.

Original Review: We had a quick and easy experience. We had it narrowed down between two fridges before walking into the door, so it was easy for the salesman to help us decide which was better. We weren't expecting there to be stock issues and delays in shipping due to covid-19, but we have a flexible timeline which is fortunate. The store is able to accommodate and offered us a loaner if we need it....

Edit: I just purchased another appliance (dishwasher) from Plugs because Celia took care of my previous issue from a couple of years ago. I am very pleased with my purchase and the installation crew was awesome! I was recovering from elbow surgery and did the transaction with Leanne over the phone. It was installed three days later! Local is the way to go.

After I posted my issue (read below) I received a call from Celia who explained their current status with extended warranties. They did purchase a 4 year extended warranty on my behalf. I appreciated that Plugs stepped up to make it right. I wish my issue could have been handled in a timely manner not a year to the day of my purchase. Communication is key to customer service! Thank you Celia! Original post: I am extremely disappointed and will never purchase from Plugs again! I purchased a refrigerator last fall. I wanted an extended warranty and was told by Gene that they were changing their warranty company, but by mid November they would have a new company. Mid November I called about the warranty and Gene told me they still didn't have one. December same thing, January same thing. I called Gene many times and left a couple of (which were never returned)! When I talked to him in August he said he was headed to a trade show and to call him back on 8/24 because he should have a new warranty company after the trip. When I called back late August he stated that they still did not have a warranty co. and to visit the manufacturer's website to check out their warranty:( During my purchase he told me that a 5 year warranty would be about $199. The manufacturer wants $540 for the same time frame. I called today and..... they still don't have a warranty company! I don't understand how a legitimate appliance company does not have an extended warranty plan to offer their customers. If I was aware that Gene was going to string me along month after month for a year, I would have bought it from another place that offers a warranty program on the spot! I realize that a lot of people do not purchase extended warranties, but if that is important to you - ...

Original: Will not give so much as a courtesy call to let you know when / why your order is delayed by 3 months. At one point two of my pieces were in stock and just waiting on fridge, then I call back a month later and only one is in stock, meaning my salesperson either lied or they sold my ordered part. Then they're expecting a delivery on such and such dates and "we'll call you if there's any more delay," and the week comes and goes. It's a weird year, so delays are expected but failing to communicate with paid clients when a 6-week lead time turns into 19+ is unacceptable.

Post-install update: After finally getting escalated to the general manager, Celia, she was able to find aesthetically-similar, but significant upgrades to the appliances I ordered that were already in stock, the same afternoon, at no additional cost to me. I accepted the changes and arranged for a Wednesday afternoon install the following week. When paying off my balance that Monday, I find out the install is instead on Tuesday, and it's confirmed at 10:45-1:45pm. That's the difference between taking a half day off for an afternoon install on Wednesday, and a full day off for a midday install on Tuesday... Nonetheless, the installers arrived about an hour into their window, were knowledgeable about the appliances and installation, and were very efficient. Took about 2 hours to swap out three pieces. They immediately identified that I was going to need an electrician to replace the hardwired dishwasher power with an outlet, and Celia was able to get one by shortly after the installers finished.

After nearly 5 months, Celia's effort to make things right, and the efficiency and professionalism of the installers took a 1-star experience to a 3. Unfortunately they're let down by the lack of customer concern in the sales and...