World of Washers

In my last post, I posted a message from Craig. He was on the fence about which washer he should get. In his message he included an email he sent to Whirlpool Corporation with questions about the line of Cabrio/Oasis/Bravos washers produced by Whirlpool. He received a response, and the three messages follow in chronological order.

From Craig to Whirlpool:

"I am looking to purchase a new washer this weekend. Based upon comments on the web that the Cabrio HE washers tangle and destroy laundry I'm shying away. However, a salesman at Best Buy stated Whirlpool is replacing the washplate with a different style for customers who have a problem. Can you comment on this and why the new plate isn't standard on all new purchases? Are the Maytag Bravos the same machine as the Cabrios? If I buy a unit can I just have the fixed plate shipped so I can install it and not take a day off work to wait on a repairman?"

Whirlpool's response:

"Dear Craig:

Thank you for visiting the Whirlpool website, we appreciate hearing from you and for your interest in our home appliances.

We understand how concerning it can be when you read consumers comments on the Internet, it leads you to believe there maybe an issue with an appliance. But please remember we sell thousands and thousands of appliances, as concerning as it is that several consumers can have the same issue with an appliance, it does not mean there is a manufacturing issue with all models.

Although we continually strive to use the best components available in all our appliances, any electrical/mechanical component can malfunction, and it is impossible to predict just when this might occur. It has been our experience that manufacturing defects will appear and should be reported well within the warranty. To protect our consumers against the possibility of a defect in materials and/or workmanship, we provide a one year warranty with our products that states that we will repair or replace any defect in materials or workmanship at no cost to our customers.

If there is ever a problem where a new plate is needed in the washer, then the design will change on the new built models. There is no guarantee against failure however. The Maytag Bravos are built the same as the Cabrios. During the first year warranty period, parts can not be shipped to you to install. If a failure were to occur, an authorized service would be doing the installation for you.

Whirlpool is dedicated to manufacturing top quality appliances and to standing behind those products in the event of a problem or failure. We realize that the purchase of a Whirlpool appliance is just the beginning of our relationship with a customer. For this reason, we have established many after-the-sale programs to help insure customer satisfaction, our ultimate objective.

We appreciate you taking the time to let us know of your concerns. We hope you will feel confident in your purchase of a Whirlpool appliance!

Thank you,

Susan W.
Whirlpool Customer Loyalty Team
Whirlpool Customer eXperience Center"

Craig's response to Whirlpool:

"Thank you for the response.

After a lot of debate I decided that CABRIO HE washers probably just aren't the right fit for me and the Wirlpool 6200 seemed to be a better choice. It appears to be based upon the larger Cabrio 4.5 CU washers using similar cabinet, electronics and drive. The agitator with a user selectable water fill and youtube videos of the Cabrio are what made me decide upon this model. Unfortunately, I feel that the F51 faults which are well documented on the internet for the Cabrio would probably be a problem for this washer as well. The web site 'theworldofwashers.com' really opened my eyes to this being a common problem and not just a few dis-satisfied users on the web. Since Whirlpool does not appear to be addressing this problem (all the bitching people with very few retractions can't be wrong), I can not justify the purchase of your product. Looking towards the Maytag products I see no advantage there either.

Best wishes in your attempt to win back customers, but once people walk this is usually an expensive and loosing battle,

Craig"

Ooh, snap!

Many thanks to Craig for providing this information. I must confess I am unfamiliar with the washplate issue, and am somewhat chagrined that I learned this second hand by way of an associate at Best Buy (of all places). I'll check into it and try to get more info.

On a side note, Craig told me in his most recent that he dropped the dough on the Samsung 448 set from Lowes. As soon as I get some feedback from him, I will post it.