Steve's Appliances — Local services in Mounds View

First I want to commend Steves appliance on the excellent customer service we received last winter. We were leaving on a trip that afternoon and I was washing clothes when my front loader died. I still had several loads to wash before leaving for our trip and my husband and I headed out the door to Best Buy in north town. On our way there we went by Steves and decided to check them out. We were greeted with great service and bought a top loader (I was disillusioned with my front loader because of the mold issue), within 5 minutes and it was put on the delivery truck and headed for our house before we finished the paperwork. I would say I had a working washer within 1 1/2 hours of my old one breaking down. I was able to finish my laundry and left on our trip with clean clothes in tow. Now flash forward to today. We have decided to go back to a front loader for several reasons. I did my research and found an LG with great reviews. We also wanted to buy a gas dryer to match. I first went on line to Best Buy, Lowes, Home Depot etc to find the best prices. I settled on Best Buy as they were also offering a $100 rebate. I then remembered the great service we received at Steves and decided I would rather buy local. I gave them a call to inquire if they had that model available and if they would match the price of BB which was $750 for washer and $750 for gas dryer. I talked with Matt on the phone - who seemed impatient and not at all customer service friendly. He told me they would price match. He looked up the model on best buys site and told me I was looking at the electric dryer for the price I told him - I assured him that no I was telling him the price of the gas model. He quoted me around $850 for the gas dryer from Steves. I told him I would look into it more and hung up. I went back on line and as I had said I WAS looking at the gas dryer for the price I had asked him to match. I called back with the online price in front of me and spoke with Matt again. We verified the model # and he said his computer showed a higher price and that is what he had to go by. End of story. Now I was going to forgo the $100 rebate from Best Buy to buy from Steves if they would match the price- but Matt would not and did not even say- if you could bring proof in of the price and we will match it or anything to that effect. I felt as though he thought I was not telling the truth. And I am sure that happens time to time- but I had proof. It is too bad because we bought both a dryer and washer today from Best Buy and as I said before- I would've rather supported a local company. Below is my proof $749.99 for a gas dryer. Sorry Steve's- you lost out to a big box store. For some reason - it won't let me add my photos- but I have a copy of the online price and the receipt...

Steves appliance post: Sorry for the long rant but felt like it needs to be out there. Over a month ago my wife and I purchased a new washer from Steve’s Appliances. We went to the store and their customer service was great and they were very knowledgeable. We purchased a new washer from them and about a week later it was delivered. While delivering the washer, they smashed the washer against our door and door frame putting large dents and scratches into the frame and door. They also damaged the washer and partially flooded our laundry room, damaging boxes of diapers. I contacted Jami the sales manager who was very professional. She stated she would send someone out to fix the door and door frame and look at the damages done to the washer and give us $100 for the door repair. I figured this would take care of everything but I was very wrong.

The person they sent out brought paint putty with them and attempted to color in the damage done to the door and door frame which made it look worse. They also came with a replacement part for the part damaged in the washer. The replacement part was not installed all the way, causing more damage to the washer where it was not operable anymore. The person who was supposed to “repair” it stated it was all good to go, not mentioning the damage they just did, and left. I again reached out the Jami and explained everything that happened and stated I wanted them to take the washer from us and give us a full refund. She stated she would call me the following day after speaking to her boss. I waited until 4pm the following day and showed up at the store to speak with a manager. I could see 4 managers sitting in their office but they refused to speak with me as they stated they were “busy”. Jami called me the following day and stated they could come to the house, remove the washer, and give me a full refund.

Fast forward to when they picked the washer up. I waited 24 hours before calling the store and again spoke with Jami asking for her to refund my credit card. She stated she would refund the amount but $100 less because she already refunded $100 of the purchase. Now we’re left with a door and door frame needing replacement and less money than we originally purchased the washer for.

I know this is long, but I need to say this as Steve’s appliance is reckless and does not take accountability for damages done while installing the product. This has been going on for about a month and I thought I was being nice by helping the local small business but I will never be using them again. Jami was very nice but the bosses above her were very disrespectful and wont speak to me and gave me attitude when I was in the store. I strongly recommend people do not use...

I have no issues with the three appliances I purchased from Steve's. The appliances I chose were in stock, delivered when promised, and 2 days later, I'm happy with my purchases. My issue is that when I initially called, I was told that there was no charge for delivery and "installation", which sounded great. The next day, I visited the store and ordered a range, and a washer/dryer set. When we neared completion of the paperwork, I was asked, "Are you okay hooking up the gas?" When I stated that I thought that "installation" would include the gas hook-up, I was told that "installation" does not, in fact, include hooking up gas appliances and that it would be $115 per appliance, plus the cost of any parts that would be needed. Since I was already deep into the purchase, I decided to swallow the cost and agree to have Steve's send out one of their gas contractors, the night of delivery. When the delivery guys were at the house, I mentioned that I had told the saleswoman that I needed a new dryer vent and I asked them if they do that, or if the gas contractor does that. I was told, "The gas guy will do that." Fast forward to when the gas guy arrived at the house. He did a quick inspection of what was needed and said, "You're looking at about $350, total." When I told him that I was quoted $115 per appliance, plus parts, he said, "Well it's not $115 anymore, it's more like $135. Everything has gone up." He also told me it would have been cheaper if Steve's had done the new dryer vent, versus him doing it. While I wasn't happy about it, I agreed to the $350 gas hook-up, and I was pleased with the work that he did. I had no issue with the gas contractor. He did a good job and I'm happy with his work. I just wasn't happy about the additional costs that I feel were withheld. When I called Steve's to voice my dissatisfaction, I received an apology, but blame was pushed onto the contractor, for raising his rates without notifying them, and no offer was made to refund any of my money. To wrap up, I don't feel that I was lied to, I just feel that the true costs of "installation" wasn't relayed to me, up front. This experience wouldn't necessarily prevent me from buying from Steve's, in the future, and I'm not telling anyone to avoid their business. I would just make sure you're aware that "installation" does not include hooking up gas appliances, and the $115 per appliance, plus parts, not only isn't accurate anymore, but it leaves room for your costs to be significantly higher than you had budgeted for. Just a "buyer beware", more than...