Electric vehicles are all the rage, so to show I AM WITH THE PROGRAM we bought one. Or at least, we bought an electric lawn mower. Just to see how it would go.
For a while, it went fine.
The new 40-volt electric Ryobi 20-inch walk-behind mower worked great, as long as it worked. There is no worrying about whether the gas engine will start; there is no air filter to clog, no gasoline to get stale during the winter, no starter cord to yank on. Just slide in a freshly charged battery and push a button.
Easy!
The feature that allows you to fold up the handle and stow it in the garage is a real selling point. But also, the feature that allows you to fold up the handle and stow it in the garage is a real pain point.
Did I repeat myself a little, there?
Once the machine got worn in, the handle began to wobble. Not much, but just enough that the clever little spring-loaded catch (that keeps the handle upright when in use) was defeated. The left side of the handle bars collapsed, making the machine an awkward, lop-sided affair. As long as you mow in a straight line, and never have to change direction, it works fine. Sort of.
Once you have to turn around (such as is required on every swath), the awkward, lop-sided thing takes over.
No problem. This is America in the 21st Century, and Home Depot is here to help. Just take it back and get a new one. Because we had purchased it in September, that meant we had used it about three times in the Fall, at the end of the season, before stowing it for the winter.
Then spring came and mowing was in vogue again. Which was too much for the beast.
I loaded it up, took it to Home Depot with the receipt, and let the Customer Service team explain the warranty was only for 90 days. It had expired just before Christmas. But not to worry, because Ryobi, the manufacturer, had a 3 year warranty. Just go to their website, find the closest dealer, and let them handle it.
I logged onto the Ryobi website and found the locations of the two closest Authorized Service Centers. A.J. Lawn & Garden, 15 miles away, answered the phone and said they no longer handled Ryobi warranty work, due to the large quantity of Ryobi returns. The man at the second-closest center, 90 miles away, laughed shortly, said basically the same thing, and hung up the phone, chuckling.
The next day, I called Ryobi again and listened to the voice response unit tell me there were no service centers within 100 miles. The system had been updated overnight.
I logged onto the Ryobi site, found the button for Customer Service Chat and opened a new conversation with the AI rep.
That was a treat. In the following, I have changed the names and locations of the commercial entities, to avoid both lawsuits and fire bombings.
ME: Need warranty service on a 40v lawn mower. My zip is 67017. Your automated system says “there are no service centers within 100 miles.” Please help me with warranty. The handle on the mower is broken. The mower is less than 1 year old.
RY: Hello, thank you for contacting RYOBI, I am your RYOBI Virtual Assistant. How can we help you today? A) Order status. B) Service Centers.
ME: B
RY: I think you want Riding Mowers, is that correct?
ME: No. 40v walk behind mower.
RY: My mistake. Tell me again what you would like to do.
ME: Need warranty service on 40v walk behind mower.
RY: Sorry. Tell me again what you would like to do.
ME: Warranty service on mower.
RY: Sorry. Tell me again what you would like to do.
ME: Need warranty service.
RY: Sorry. Tell me again what you would like to do.
ME: [all caps] WARRANTY!!! [3 exclamation points]
RY: Sorry, an error occurred. Thank you for contacting RYOBI Support!
ME: Need warranty support for riding mower.
RY: Hello, thank you for contacting RYOBI, I am your RYOBI Virtual Assistant. How can we help you today? A) Order status. B) Service Centers.
ME: B
RY: I think you want Riding Mowers, is that correct?
ME: Umm, yes.
RY: What is your zip code?
ME: 67017
RY: We have found the two closest Authorized Service Locations for zip code 67017. Always contact the service location before visiting to confirm your drop off. If you have a battery operated tool, you will need to take a battery and charger for testing purposes.
Your first loc is A.J. Lawn & Garden [city, address, phone nbr] (Maybe this part had not been updated, after all.)
Your second loc is Greenlawn Mechanical (city, address, phone nbr, please DO NOT CALL to ask if we accept deliveries]
Would you like to return to the Main Menu?
ME: No
RY: Please let us know how we did by choosing 1-5. 1-Very satisfied. 5-Very dissatisfied.
ME: 5
RY: Thank you for contacting RYOBI Support! Goodbye!
I placed a call to Greenlawn Mechanical, now having been promoted to the second-closest center, NOT to ask if they would accept a delivery (because their note said “DO NOT CALL to ask”) but to ask if they would perform work on the handle on the walk behind mower. I had been referred to them for riding mowers, not walk behind.
Greenlawn’s phone number rang to an answering machine, so I left a polite, detailed message with my callback number. I never heard back.
Was that faint laughter in the background during the recording, or was it my imagination?
Eventually, I found a Ryobi number for a living Customer Service operator, called it and left a request with the answering machine for a callback. In less than two hours I received a return call. The agent was well informed and polite. He emailed me a shipping label to send the mower to the fourth-closest site 200 miles away.
The work will have to be done during the height of mowing season.
I hesitate to call the Fourth Closest to see if they will actually fix the broken handle. We’ll just ship it off and see what happens. In the meantime, we will break out the old gas mower, install a clean air filter with fresh gas and oil, and resume mowing operations.
Hopefully before the City sends me hate mail about my untidy grass.
Have a good weekend!
I Would NEVER Complain About a Customer Service Incident