ComplaintsforDoodlebuggers Fireplace, Grill & Outdoor

• Initial Complaint

  01/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased an electric fireplace insert from Doodleburger,in Pensacola. We made an appointment to go pick it up. At home when we unpacked it and out of the box, we discovered it is not the one we ordered. Plugged it in to see if maybe we could make it work. But the unit was not working correctly. We returned planned to return it. We put it in the same box, packed the same way as it was when we picked it up. So after several attempts to contact them with no reply. We took it back to their show room only to be confronted by a very aggressive, rude and loud manager. When I question the 15% restocking fee for an item we did not order plus it did not work) he became very angry. Among other comments, he let us know that “this is not a Walmart!” And “ I”I have to refund something just because you didn’t like it.?” He is going to issue a refund, less 15% restocking fee and it’s going to be at least two weeks before my card is credited. I don’t feel we should’ve paid the 15% and we most certainly did not need to be talk to you like that. If he had to approached the matter differently we might have considered re-ordering the correct one or may be a different one. But it wasn’t long till we realize we do not want to do business with company (that won’t return calls) or this extremely Rude man.

  

  Business response

  01/27/2023

  Customer did not try to contact us multiple times before returning. They called once and left a message that they had a question. Customer made a point to say they tried calling multiple times. But when we audited our system while customer was there they had called one time only and DID NOT return 3 phones calls from our team trying to answer their questions.  As the customer was continued to be caught in lies and called out they become very frustrated.    The items is exactly what they ordered as they spent numerous hours going back and forth with two sales associates trying to make a decision.   Customer informed us they did just did not like it after using it a couple of times. as they thought it would look different.  However, here is another lie as they state is was not what they ordered but it was exactly what they finally picked out. The Walmart comment was made as we are NOT a Walmart. We invested a lot of time to educated and guide the customer to help them make a decision.  We then had to have the item transferred to the Pensacola location from another location. Again, more time and resources invested to help the customer. Customer clearly signed (see attached) an agreement via Adobe Sign that clearly states there is is a 15% re-stocking fee.  It also clearly states our RETURNS policy.  Customer wanted to act like they did not know of this 15% restock fee yet is is very clearly stated (NOT IN FINE PRINT) on the signed agreement. Unfortunately customer does not understand that the 15% restocking fee is simply to cover the costs associated with the amount of time and effort that was invested educating, helping, transferring and now restocking the item back in.  We have no interest in working with this client any further as they clearly do not understand the value of our time and expertise or the costs associated with having these resources readily available to them. We did nothing wrong. We clearly communicated everything on the front end. We wish them well in their endeavors. 

  Customer response

  02/09/2023

  Again this man is insulting, 

  I am not going to resort to name-calling, but he definitely is not telling the truth, about anything in his response. 

  The fireplace we ordered was not the fireplace we received. The fireplace we received had white logs not brown logs. We would have never ordered a fireplace with white logs. Furthermore, the fireplace did not work. So not only was the color incorrect, but the product did not work. The vendor claims “they just did not like it after using it a couple of times, they thought it would look different.” This is not true, we picked up the fireplace on January 4th, opened the package on January 5th and tried to install it. We were willing to at least see how it looked in our fire place. But it certainly not what we  wanted. we did try it, and realized it was not functioning.  We tried to contact the vendor that same day.  I left two voicemails. Only the first was answered, by a lady in the office, to let me know it was being referred to a salesman. The salesman left me a voicemail, letting me know he sent a copy of the owners manual. I called him back,  and left another message for him and explained, I don’t need the owners manual, I needed to talk with someone. My second call, was asking for someone to call me. But we heard nothing from this company. So we returned the unit on the 10th, giving them ample of time to call us back. This is the time period that they are saying they left several voicemails. They were not on my phone they were not in the deleted voicemails, they were not on my phone, not listed in the call log I requested for Verizon, they were nowhere on my phone   anywhere. 

  So we went into their show room to return the fireplace insert. And we Where we were confronted by this totally belligerent man.

  I didn’t understand why I should have to pay a restocking fee on a product that does not work. The color and functionality error were on the vendor’s part. I should not have to bear the burden for receiving the defective product in the wrong color. All I did was ask why I am being charged 15% for a restocking fee.

  I placed calls on January 5 and 6th, and left messages. I checked Verizon for my call logs for these days. We could not see any calls/voicemails left by them, on the sixth through the 10th when we returned it. 

   I would also like to address several falsehoods in the vendor’s statement. His insulting, accusations, and the other false claims in his statement.

  I do not expect the receive reimbursement from the vendor, but I would like to warn other customers about their business practices and how we were treated. I recently purchased the same fireplace from another local vendor and received exactly what I ordered, which functioned correctly and arrived in a timely manner.

  

  Business response

  02/23/2023

  So customers never told us verbally that there was an issue with the unit only that they did not like it after hooking it up. They never said anything about not liking the logs. If you see the attached signed quote and a picture of the item sold they match. We noticed in the written complaint that they claimed the unit work but when we noticed this we took it out of the box and it worked fine.  I am really not sure what else we could do at this point. The customers ONLY stated when bringing it back that they could not get a return phone call. We actually showed where we called numerous times to answer questions. The phone message they left (that did get returned) only stated they had questions.  Then when they came in they simply stated they did not like it and wanted to return it. They never asked to exchange it or to look at other options. This is when they were reminded of the restocking fee.  This would have been a good time to tell us they would rather exchange it. This would also had been a good time to say it did not work (which when tested it did) But instead wanted to argue about the restock fee that again was clearly explained to them and they signed off on when they agreed to the item before it was ordered and brought into Pensacola. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  9/02/22. Fireplace check and get working. Paid $225. Fireplace worked by workers and shut off. Tried to light it again within the last week for the first time and would not work. Called a number of times and got either people who I could not understand or was cut off. Asked to speak to an owner or manager and was told someone would call back and only got a email response saying I would have to pay additional $225 for them to come out and get it working . This is a new fireplace. Phone message says they provide excellent service which is not true. I believe this is a safety issue. We are senior citizens and I guess they thought they do not have to fix the issue that they left us with.

  

  Business response

  10/31/2022

  We stand by our email that was sent to you on 10/25/2022,

  BEGINING OF EMAIL: Thank you for your phone call yesterday. I understand you are frustrated that your fireplace in not working. It could be as simple as the battery needs to be replaced, just as you stated. I highly recommend installing a new battery and see if that will immediately remedy the issue.
  

  I also talked with my operations manager and researched your account confirming what the technician stated on 9/2/2022 in his fireplace condition report that the Pilot Light, Gas Burner, Logs, and Remote Control were all satisfactory at the time of service. Please review the attach report.
  
  At this point, there are three options. OPTION 1: Schedule another service call for $225.00. Our current scheduling time frame is 8-10 weeks out. OPTION 2: Contact the online store you purchased the fireplace and tell them you are having issues. OPTION 3: contact the manufacture directly at  https://www.hearthnhome.com/ .
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to provide our professional services. We look forward to working with you again in the future and wish you a great day. END OF EMAIL

  As a senior citizen, your generation taught and installed the values that we are all practicing today. It is unfortunate, that you are not willing to stand by the value of being responsible for yourself. You freely choose to purchase your fireplace from an online provider and not to hire a CSIA and NFI certified technician to install the fireplace. You hired Doodlebuggers to provide a service in which we did and you even stated the fireplace worked when after we serviced it but to place blame on Doodlebuggers as though we are abusing a senior citizen crosses the line. It is not Doodlebuggers responsibility for your fireplace to work properly it is yours. We provided the service you hired us to do. If it stops working after we got it to work is not our fault, it could be operator error or a fireplace malfunction this is why you were given three choices to help correct the issue. You are just being lazy and feel it is okay to slander our company because your are frustrated. It is not okay, we all work very hard to take care of you as client and you did nothing but spit in our face. I will reintegrate what was stated in the email except you now have only two options because we will not be providing service to your home based on how you have treated our staff and lied about our company to the public.  OPTION 1: Contact the online store you purchased the fireplace &/or the installer and tell them you are having issues. OPTION 2: contact the manufacture directly at  https://www.hearthnhome.com/ . We wish you the best.

  Customer response

  10/31/2022

   
  Complaint: 18318458
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Call them and check out what they say. They do not stand by their work and after they refused to do anything I just asked to speak to a manager or a tech. Too much trouble to do even that. I have heard from another source that supports my opinion. I would never allow these people near my home again. I have a expert that will ck. out the problem. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Joseph Gildner

  

  Business response

  11/01/2022

  This is our final response as there is nothing else to resolve. To be clear,  you paid one time for our services does not mean Doodlebuggers has a lifetime obligation to work for free on your fireplace system. We provided the services you requested and fulfilled our obligation to you at the time of service.

  We will not enable your bad behavior of lying & entitlement by engaging any further in this dispute. There was a time before online reviews when people amicably resolved issues through conversation not by disrespecting, cursing at and talking down to another person or slander. We as a community should get back to being able to have an adult candid conversation and finding a solution before throwing temper tantrum to get our way. What happened to being kind and respectful to each other and working things out to find the answer?

  It did not have to end this way; however you have chosen this path of selfish entitlement through an online temper tantrum, one in which your would have spanked your child for 45 years ago, and now feel justified. Thinking that you have exposed s 24-year company who has serviced the community in numerous ways from free fireplace inspections after hurricanes to donations to multiple charities. We could not exist if our strategy was self-indulgent. We exist because we get up every day and do the right thing for our team and clients. When we make a mistake, we correct & learn from it to improve our service and company.
  We believe in kindness, honesty and integrity when working with our clients and team members as listed below in our Core Values:  
  Respect: Be respectful to clients and coworkers at all times.

  Education: Be constantly self-developing thru education and training for the benefit of yourself, Doodlebuggers and our clients.
  Communication: Be polite, direct and thorough in all communications whether internal or external. Integrity: Be honest with strong moral and ethical standards in all that you do.
  Productivity: Be focused on your job tasks and respectful of your coworkers to ensure timely completion of your assigned duties.
  Excellence: Be outstanding in all that you do by focusing on the above to complete the Recipe of Excellence!
  
  It is unfortunate this could not be worked out, as we believe that would have been the best solution. We wish you the best in finding a service provider.

  Customer response

  11/01/2022

  
  Complaint: 18318458
  
  I am rejecting this response because:. A cheaper service got my fireplace working. I expect no further comments from this company. All they had to do was call me. . 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *******

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