Bray and Barff

Over the years, when the Curmudgeon has needed appliance repairs, we've turned to Bray and Scarff, a Washington D.C. institution, which has generally been prompt and reliable (but not inexpensive) in getting the job done.

Not this time. Our dishwasher broke down about a month ago. Typical of modern appliances, it wasn't anything mechanical--it was the electronic control panel. Ok, so we called B & S. As per their standard policy, they sent out a mechanic who diagnosed the problem, said he'd need to order a part, and then would come back in a few days for the repair.

Fair enough, but that's not how it's worked out.

It started out ok: B & S said they'd call with an estimate after looking into the part, then get authorization to proceed. They did that part reasonably quickly. They left us a message. We called back the same day and said "go ahead and order the part."

Then it began to fall apart.

A week later, B & S called again: "Do you want us to order the part?" %$#*&@!! We already called and said to. Oh, sorry, it didn't get into "our system." So now we've lost a solid week.

So then they call and say the part's in, but they can't get a mechanic out with the part for another five days. The key day was supposed to be today, but lo and behold, the mechanic called in sick today.

So we called to reschedule. Over a period of 45 minutes, we got placed on hold for 25 minutes, then got cut off FIVE times while in various states of hold, then finally got through. We were told we couldn't be rescheduled for nearly another week. When we pressed, we were told that our part was on the sick mechanic's truck and he wouldn't be in until next week (evidently he wasn't sick--he had a car accident). Our efforts to get someone to retrieve the part and come on out here were not well-received.

Will B & S actually show up next Monday, fix our dishwasher and rescue the Curmudgeon's chapped hands? We'll see.

If anyone has a good suggestion on an alternative repair shop for home appliances, we're all ears!