Customer service or lip service?

On May 20, 1997 I purchased a stove in Medan from Modena (PT Indomo Prima), the Jakarta-based sole distributor of this Italian made product. Upon delivery and installation, we checked and verified that all burners (four hot plates, oven and grill) were in working condition.

After the stove was installed, I examined the instruction manual to find Celsius conversion temperatures for the numbers on the stove's regulator dial. They were not to be found in any literature from Modena, so I telephoned their office and was told the conversions for the numbers one to eight over the telephone.

We used the numbers to bake a cake according to a cookbook recipe, at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. The cake started burning after 20 minutes, indicating the oven temperature was too hot, and it ended up being a total failure.

The next morning I paged the salesman and he promptly returned my call. He gave me the other conversion numbers. But the salesman called back 30 minutes later telling me to forget the last numbers and gave me new conversion numbers. I told him that all I had now was a bunch of useless numbers, and would they please send a repairman to my house to verify the actual temperatures against the control knob settings.

The manager telephoned to inform me they had no such equipment. He said they had never encountered any problems like that before. I said the first piece of technical equipment that every oven repairman should carry was a thermometer. This would confirm that the oven was working satisfactorily. They said that if I purchased an oven thermometer, they would use it to check my stove. I declined their offer, saying I didn't conduct business in such a manner.

I asked for the Jakarta phone number and name of his supervisor. I told the staff I would return the product if they refunded my money, but my words fell on deaf ears.

On May 24, I telephoned the company and explained to him step by step what had transpired. He listened without comment, took my name and phone number, said he would talk to his manager, and get back to me. But he never did.

One hour later, the Medan office called to say they would send a technician to my house. The technician was a Modena employee according to his badge, but he still was not carrying a thermometer. When I asked him what procedure he would use to test the oven, he didn't seem to have any idea or answer, and asked if he could use the phone to call his office. Afterward, he showed me a new list of numbers they had given him for the conversion of the dial numbers to oven temperatures. He soon left, and I haven't heard from him since.

I am confused, angry and definitely not a satisfied customer. Once a business receives payment for the product, it seems the customer is no longer important.

I am still waiting for Modena to check my oven to verify the correct conversion of the numbers into degrees Celsius.

ROBERT C. MILLER

Medan, North Sumatra