Dealing with Trail Appliances

[corporatejay]

Hey gang,

So, I bought a new house and we are required to purchase our appliances from trail.

I went last night just to have a look and noticed they don't actually put the prices on their products but rather put the MSRP.

When I asked the salesperson she said "oh our prices are fixed, they are about 100 dollars lower than the tag". Which to me is still way too high, since MSRP's are notoriously high.

This all seems a little shady to me, it seems as though I'm expected to bargain my way down to a fair deal, which is absolutely ridiculous. Has anyone dealt with them before?

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Hey gang,

So, I bought a new house and we are required to purchase our appliances from trail.

I went last night just to have a look and noticed they don't actually put the prices on their products but rather put the MSRP.

When I asked the salesperson she said "oh our prices are fixed, they are about 100 dollars lower than the tag". Which to me is still way too high, since MSRP's are notoriously high.

This all seems a little shady to me, it seems as though I'm expected to bargain my way down to a fair deal, which is absolutely ridiculous. Has anyone dealt with them before?

Talk to Jiggy_12. He works there.

[Madman]

Originally Posted by kermitology

Talk to Jiggy_12. He works there.

I'll bite my tongue as much as I can then.

My wife and I have built 4 new houses in the last 6 years and are building another right now. The first 4 have all dealt with Trail and we have never had a good experience with them. Between the salespeople, the prices, the delivery and service, each purchase has always been a complete let down.

Our last home builder, (and current one again), actually got fed up with Trail's crap and dropped them in favour of Coast. It will be a major relief to deal with another retailer and someone who cares a little bit more about their clients.

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by Madman

I'll bite my tongue as much as I can then.

My wife and I have built 4 new houses in the last 6 years and are building another right now. The first 4 have all dealt with Trail and we have never had a good experience with them. Between the salespeople, the prices, the delivery and service, each purchase has always been a complete let down.

Our last home builder, (and current one again), actually got fed up with Trail's crap and dropped them in favour of Coast. It will be a major relief to deal with another retailer and someone who cares a little bit more about their clients.

You'll find bad apples everywhere. The whole industry right now is a bit of a mess. I'd be surprised if you found Greener Grass at Coast, but good luck nonetheless. I have heard so many horror stories about other companies, far worse things than what happens at Trail.

There is a reason they have been in business since 1974, and are continuing to expand. People do come back to us.

Sorry if you had bad luck, its too bad. It seems sometimes when we screw something up with someone, they will have bad luck again on the next purchase. PM me if you have any specific questions or anything like that.

[Jiggy_12]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Hey gang,

So, I bought a new house and we are required to purchase our appliances from trail.

I went last night just to have a look and noticed they don't actually put the prices on their products but rather put the MSRP.

When I asked the salesperson she said "oh our prices are fixed, they are about 100 dollars lower than the tag". Which to me is still way too high, since MSRP's are notoriously high.

This all seems a little shady to me, it seems as though I'm expected to bargain my way down to a fair deal, which is absolutely ridiculous. Has anyone dealt with them before?

Yes, a lot of product is tagged at MSRP. But if you check some websites (Sears, Futureshop etc.) they also list most product at MRSP value. A company has every right to sell something at that price or lower. We also say right on the tags that our price may not be reflected by the MSRP. Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

I re-equipped my kitchen last year with about $10K going to Trail. Unfortunately, yes, it's all haggle dealing and I'm still not convinced I got that great a deal.

Thing is, they're really the only game in town if you're after certain brands. Coast just didn't carry some of the manufacturers we wanted so that ended that. Trail also owns a few other places (Calgary Home Appliance Gallery, so it's tough to find some good competition. Wasn't impressed with Coast's selection at all. Can't beat their showroom for 1 stop shopping either.

I will give credit to Trail on a couple things though. The delivery guys were two of the most miserable guys when they pulled up and saw my diabolical townhouse entryway staircase, which involves 2 90 degree turns, limited headroom, and a steep slope. They did some serious damage to the wall moving my old 22.5 cf fridge out. I just took pictures, sent them to the salesman who cc'ed the GM, and they granted me a $450 credit over the phone without a fuss. Great service there.

My 1.1yr old microwave died - Dropped it off on a Saturday, got a phone call by Wednesday to pickup - again, quite impressed with service.

Finally - checkout Trail's "scratch and dent / demo" pile. I saved $300 by getting a Bosch cooktop that had some really minor scratches from the grill cage. There's some great deals in that section.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

I will give credit to Trail on a couple things though. The delivery guys were two of the most miserable guys when they pulled up and saw my diabolical townhouse entryway staircase, which involves 2 90 degree turns, limited headroom, and a steep slope. They did some serious damage to the wall moving my old 22.5 cf fridge out. I just took pictures, sent them to the salesman who cc'ed the GM, and they granted me a $450 credit over the phone without a fuss. Great service there.

I've never seen a pair of delivery guys more unenthusiastic then when they had to remove my parents old school slide out double stove. That thing was a monster. Luckily they didn't have to go too far to get it out of the house.