Best Appliance & Kitchens — Local services in Rutland City

Note to self…late September is not the optimal time to purchase a new replacement air conditioner. When my old through the wall a/c finally gave out, I did some research, decided to replace it with a Friedrich, and got in touch with Best Appliances in Rutland, wishing to shop somewhat locally. I paid in full, in person, and was assured by Molly that the new Friedrich would arrive from the distributor in New Jersey in approximately two weeks. Given that timeline, and with the weather still somewhat mild, my carpenter removed the defunct a/c from its opening in the wall and put up a temporary piece of plywood on the outside wall in anticipation of its timely replacement. Turns out it was not to be so timely after all.

Phone calls to Molly at Best weren’t helpful as she was unable to get any info from the New Jersey distributor about a shipping date. She ultimately put me directly in contact with their Friedrich rep who also tried his best, but could not come up with a date. Weeks went by, the temperatures continued to drop, and the hole in my wall loomed large. Fast forward another couple of weeks, and after realizing that communication with the Friedrich rep would continue to go unanswered, I decided to give Best one last shot before simply cancelling the order. Enter JOSH, customer service wizard extraordinaire. He promised to do what he could and called me back within minutes with both a shipping and arrival date. He committed to keeping in touch with any new updates which he did without fail, all while managing to be kind, understanding, extraordinarily pleasant and professional. He truly turned an unhappy experience into both a fun and positive one, and my carpenter is poised to install the new Friedrich this coming weekend....

Let me begin by saying that I have been doing business with Brian for many years along with my husband Reggie. He's always given us great deals in the past, so Best was my first spot. This was on 11/17/2021. My refrigerator died, so I was looking for something NOW. It was 4:55, the store was full. Fred approached me, told me they were out of stock on most refrigerators (of the size I was looking for) and showed my few floor models. I ended up with a floor model with a slight flaw. Asked if he would knock anything off (usually the seller will)and he said no. Pretty much, supply and demand. The cost was $2099.00. I'm at the register and Fred said the first slot for delivery was 12/6/2021. Now remember, my refrigerator is NOT running. The cost for delivery would be $150.00, BUT if I wanted it delivered on Saturday 11/20, I would have to pay $300.00 for delivery. Well, I'm now in a bind. I have a refrigerator that is not my first, second or third choice AND a steep delivery charge. So, I said yes, let's do it. Left the store and instantly regretted my decision. I must add at this time that Liz has somehow inserted herself when I was hit with a 12/6 delivery date. She's the one who said it could be delivered for $300.00 11/20. The next day I went into Rutland Appliance, spoke to Jonathan, got a brand new refrigerator and it was delivered 11/22. I'm not a loyal customer of Best any longer. Yes, times are hard, but customers shouldn't be taken...

Run, do not walk!!

Purchased three major appliances for our new house. Sales rep was nice enough, but their service techs are beyond incompetent ... the first crew showed up 3 hours late with no apology and no explanation (even the store didn't know where they were) and didn't have the parts needed for our installation, so they left the dishwasher in my garage. Second guy shows up, still doesn't have the install kit (which I paid extra for), so he tried to install the dishwasher with leftovers from the 17-year-old machine that we were replacing. When he left, he said not to use the new machine because the hose coupling leaked. What he didn't mention was that the power cord was downright scary. He also didn't have room in his truck to haul away the old machine (which I paid extra for). So, on that day, I went from having an old dishwasher that didn't work well to a brand new one that didn't work at all. And, contrary to popular belief, not all dishwashers fit in the same space. Ultimately, I had to bring in a plumber to move the drain and water lines, an electrician to move the power source and rewire the unit (because some internal wires had been cut too short), and a carpenter to restructure the space where the previous dishwasher had fit just fine AND hire a waste hauler to take away the old dishwasher.

Never in my life have I paid so much for such terrible...