Maytag guy wouldn't have left you on hold, but that was then

Too many companies seem to place no value on their customers' time.

Maytag Corp. on Feb. 1 said it was recalling 2.3 million dishwashers because of a potential fire hazard. The company, which received 135 reports of fires, urged affected customers to stop using their machines, disconnect the power, and contact Maytag to discuss the appropriate repair.

But many customers discovered that Maytag wasn't equipped to take their calls. There weren't enough operators to handle calls and the company's automated voice recognition system couldn't distinguish between a "B" and a "D" as customers read off their dishwasher serial numbers.

"It just seemed like they were ill-prepared," said Linda Armerding of Ipswich, who said she called at least six times trying to get through and at one point spent a half-hour on hold.

Ilana Hardesty of Watertown said she tried repeatedly to use Maytag's voice recognition system without any luck. "It wasn't understanding what I was saying, and when it didn't, it hung up on me," she said.

What stunned Hardesty the most was how hard it was to get answers out of Maytag on a problem that was potentially life-threatening. "They didn't make it easy," she said. "I hope it's not true, but I really believe that companies make it this difficult because they assume you'll just give up."

Officials at Maytag, now a division of Whirlpool Corp., declined to provide details on the problems they had responding to customers other than to say that the company's "system-performance issues" have been largely resolved.

Scott Wolfson , a spokesman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which worked with Maytag on the recall, said he could provide few details. He said the agency almost immediately started fielding calls from consumers who were having problems getting through to Maytag.

"We don't want consumers dropping out of the recall because of frustration," he said.

The recall affects Maytag and Jenn-Air dishwashers sold at department and appliance stores between July 1997 and June 2001 at prices ranging from $370 to $800. The dishwashers have liquid rinse-aid dispensers that could leak onto internal wiring and cause a fire.

Maytag is offering a free in-home repair, a special cap that would prevent the rinse-aid dispenser from being used, or $75 toward a new dishwasher.

Armerding chose the permanent cap option because she does not use her rinse-aid dispenser. The cap is being mailed to her.

Hardesty chose the repair option, which is scheduled for Tuesday at 8 a.m., but she says she was told the repair person could arrive anytime between then and noon.

Not exactly convenient.

St. Paul Travelers Cos. Inc. says it was trying to save its customers time by automatically including a $25 charge for identity theft coverage in their home insurance premiums unless they opted out.

The Travelers says it sent letters last year to customers telling them the $25 fee would be included in this year's premiums unless they called or sent a note back saying they didn't want it.

"We felt that customers did want this coverage, and we wanted to make it as easy as possible for them," said Travelers spokeswoman Jennifer Wislocki . She declined to say how many customers received the identity theft coverage and how many opted out.

The coverage reimburses for costs associated with clearing a policyholder's name and repairing damaged credit. Covered expenses include lost wages up to $1,000 a week for five weeks, attorney fees, and long-distance phone charges. The coverage also helps policyholders place fraud alerts with credit reporting agencies and get daily credit monitoring.

But customers who didn't want the coverage say the opt-out approach ended up costing them time unnecessarily.

John Birtwell of Walpole, who handles insurance matters for his 87-year-old mother, said neither he nor his mother remember seeing the Travelers letter and didn't discover the charge until the premium bill arrived. He called his agent to cancel the coverage.

Birtwell said he would prefer that companies ask first if he wants to buy something instead of just charging him for it. He said his mother has no use for identity theft coverage, in part because she doesn't even own a credit card.

"They put it in there figuring, like most things, people lead busy lives and weren't going to pick it up," he said.

I signed up for service from XM Satellite Radio Inc. last year and recently tried to cancel my subscription. XM didn't make it easy.

Like most companies, XM doesn't highlight the cancellation option on its website, so I called the toll-free number. After giving my information to a customer service representative, I was transferred to another line and placed on hold with no indication how long I would have to wait.

I waited five minutes, then had to get ready for work. I carried the phone with me as I did the dishes and selected my clothes. I even took the phone into the bathroom while I showered, but I was still stuck on hold when I got out.

By the time I was dressed, 20 minutes had elapsed. I hung up and called XM back. I gave my information again, explained my earlier long wait, and was transferred to someone in Canada who said she couldn't cancel my subscription. She transferred me to someone else, who took my information again and then canceled my subscription. What should have taken less than five minutes ended up taking nearly 30.

XM spokeswoman Carolyn Turner apologized for the inconvenience and said my experience was "not the norm."

Bruce Mohl can be reached at mohl@globe.com.