Built-In Distributors

After the initial sale, good luck getting questions answered or phone calls returned. These guys obviously don’t care about repeat business. However, the outside installer they use, Steve, is great to work with.

After shopping around the American models at the usual places, I was delighted to land at BID and find a green manufactured, longer life, low energy Liebherr fridge to fit my small space in my townhouse and my green purchasing ethics. Its also a tall, bright and gorgeous fridge with dual cooling to keep my produce and frozen goods in top notch shape. Louis really helped me understand the options and the value of the products without being pushy and I have not regretted my purchase.
When I went in I immediately asked them about the bad reviews on this site. Louis explained that folks get frustrated when there is a repair issue that cannot be addressed or a delay in getting repair service and I recalled that was indeed what the bad reviews were about. The irony here is that in fact BID cannot control any of that — service calls are provided by other repair firms as directed by the manufacturer. The difference is that while Sears or Costco or anywhere else you would by a fridge does not at all engage or help out when what you bought there need repairs (its all you, the manufacturer and repair company) BID does stay involved and try to help.
Just a few months after my fridge came home I was hearing a rattling sound so I stopped into BID and they facilitated the warranty call reporting for me so that the service company (RO Appliance from San Jose) called and set up an appointment. They showed up within 3 days and found the minor issue and repaired it satisfactorily and with friendly service. Better yet the Service Manager from BID who I recall is named Mike called twice to make sure that RO had followed up and set an appointment. After the service was complete Mike called a few days to check in to ensure I was satisfied with the result and the repair was holding. Louis informed me that this is standard practice for them and if the local repair firms can’t address an issue BID stays involved with the manufacturer to see what else can be done. I actually have never received service support help like this on any warranty issue ever. Thanks Mike!
In sum — love the product, love the people, appreciate the extra mile.

We care about buying locally and went to B.I.D. Alan listened carefully to what we were looking for in a new fridge — basics, energy-​efficient, no bells and whistles — and had great recommendations. We found something within our price range and it ought to arrive in a week.

Couldn’t have been better. We bought our appliances for our kitchen remodel here back in March 2015. Alan was a great sales person. He listened to the specifics of what we were looking for and guided us toward several models of each appliance that we were looking for. He gave us the pros and cons of each model and did so in a way that was professional and yet very personable. Prices were competitive, delivery was free. Delivery was made on the exact date and time requested. We have been using our new appliances for 2 months now and love them.

I’m updating to 2 stars because they sent me a check to partially compensate for the screw-​up, but it’s not the full amount, and the treatment was still pretty bad. But trying to be fair.

I wish I had read the reviews on here before walking into this store. I had the same experience as the other reviewers that said they are wonderful until they get your credit card and make the sale. After that everything goes downhill. I spent $ 9000 here. The appliances were backordered 2 to 3 weeks. Fine. Called twice to check on if they came in as I had install dates schedule to 2 weeks and 3 weeks. Never returned either of my phone calls. Finally I get somebody on the phone and am told it will be backordered another week. Fine. Schedule another install date and pay for remainder of deposit. My install guys didn’t show up because they said that they were told the merchandise wasn’t paid for and one of the appliances didn’t come in.
The lack of communication is extremely frustrating. and they come across like you’re inconveniencing them.
The worst customer service I’ve ever experienced. I wish I bought elsewhere.

This is an update from previous review:
I thought I would like this place, being it was local & had some good products. We were in the market for a certain type of washer & dryer; they had it, but then they wash their hands with us…
Now we are looking for a certain size refrigerator, with those features my wife can’t seem to live without. She sees that certain brand that we’ve been researching, advertised at BID Appliance. She makes the call & the guy can’t be bothered, even though it is 8−9−14, Saturday at 12:30 pm. I guess they don’t want the sale? We are going there to look at them & will go elsewhere to buy. Judging by their attitude, we can go in to look, without being bothered. I am pushing for using a COSTCO carried brand, because they have a very good customer service. I am through using BID, except to compare brands. They don’t need my pennies.

Picture your 10 year old fridge breaking and it’s probably not worth fixing it. Now picture ordering a new one and being told it will be in next week. Okay, you can live out of a cooler for a week. Inconvenient but that’s reasonable.
Next week rolls around and it still isn’t in. Just a few more days. Next week. Okay.
A few more days pass. The day of the scheduled delivery, no one shows, no call, so you call and you are told two more weeks. That’s what BID did. How’s that acceptable or reasonable? How many times should a customer reasonably tolerate being strung along and for how long?
Twice exceeded the tolerance level of the situation. The order was cancelled through the credit card dispute process, Home Depot was called, paid for the same exact model of fridge for $ 100 less, delivery estimate only a few days, arrived from HD exactly when they said it would.
The worst part. we’ve ordered from BID in the past with a good experience. I’m not sure what’s changed or why the service has gone downhill so dramatically. It’s sad that they no longer value their customers.
If you need an appliance any time soon, this place may not be a good fit for you.

DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING FROM THIS PLACE! We purchased a refrigerator for $ 2500. It arrived with a broken part after purchasing it in October of 2013. We FINALLY had the part fixed after five visits from their «certified repairman» in April 2014. On top of it, our «stainless steel» refrigerator has rusted on both the freezer door and refrigerator door (side-​by-​side). In essence, we were directed by BID to contact the distributor and then the manufacturer, who then redirected us to BID. They did nothing to help us but told us to «keep pressing the issue». We have had to set aside four-​hour and eight-​hour time slots for repairs with no help at all from BID. At this point we have lost money because of our purchase — who can take all of that time off of work?
Overpriced, unhelpful, inept in every sense of the word. They care about their commission, not the customer. If you want to waste your time and money and would like to compile an arsenal of material in order to have your product fixed and defend your case after just weeks of purchase, don’t shop here. We are now less than six months away from our limited warranty expiring. The manufacturer will then charge us $ 99 for a visit, plus $ 199 per hour thereafter. The eight hour day would cost us over $ 1,600. Product was defective from the beginning and the problem should have been remedied by BID by them going to the distributor and manufacturer, not having the customer do it. BID stands for BUY IF you’re DYING to waste your time and money.

These guys sold us a faulty floor model and now we are stuck with a refrigerator that has broken doors. Louie promised to help us get it serviced and we never heard from him again. Terrible disappointment, don’t expect any service from these guys after the point of sale.

Well, I hope to never use them again. Mostly lousy customer service after the purchase is done. I bought two appliances and had issues with both (to be fair and clear, the problems were not the fault of BID but they were defective products). With the first issue, they really didn’t care and didn’t want to hear about it. In fact they were rude and defended the product. The second issue they were helpful and scheduled a warranty repair with a local repair shop. With the third issue, they just never returned my call (I left a simple, «please call I bought an appliance in need of repair’ message on their answering machine, during business hours, asking for them to call back. Never was called. I’m done with them. UPDATE-​I did get a call back from Alan, after 5 days. Alan is the most helpful fellow in the shop, so if you do choose to go there, ask for him. If he’s busy, good luck! I will still work with Alan if I need something from them, but still will likely look at appliances elsewhere.

I wholeheartedly agree with the many bad reviews here. This place has great service until the purchase is made and then terrible service after that. We bought a very expensive stove here and had problems with it right from the start. They did NOTHING to help us out. Fortunately, after many calls to the manufacturer, we reached the CEO who apparently cared about their company reputation. It only took a year, but we finally have a good stove from BID.

To be fair I have to write an update. I phoned the credit card company and within ½ hour I received three phone calls from BID. By the end of the day I had received five phone calls which included an appointment to fix the problem. So to be fair I’m fine. I’m not sure why I had to get angry to get results or even a returned phone call. I’m upgrading my rating for this company from one star to… three minus or maybe two plus.

We bought a Asko dishwasher for about $ 750. We’ve just given up on it. The overflow sensor kept breaking and getting a repairman to come in and fix if was a huge problem. No one fixes these things except for one of the worst places. They charge $ 200 just to walk in the door. BID was no help either. We’re replacing it with a Kenmore.

Horribly frustrating company to work with.
Tried to order two washer/​dryers, got quotes, then they only ordered one and claimed the other one wasn’t even available for purchase for another two months. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s rude, disingenuous telephone tough guys who think your business is a given just because you’ve bought stuff from them before.
Went to the evil big box chain store who I try to avoid, but they had the model I needed in stock, and for over $ 100 less, complete with free delivery and installation. BID doesn’t even install washer/​dryers — just dropped it off, and had to pay someone else to hook up the gas.
Good riddance, useless middlemen.

Finally got the stove delivered and it came broken, on the back of their installer’s truck. The worst experience ever!!!
I really wish Unilocal would post all the bad reviews as BID flags each one for filtering giving customers the wrong idea that it is a decent company to deal with, funny thing is they have 2 good reviews and 5 bad filtered ones yet it looks like they get a 5 star rating… hhhhmmmm very fishy…

Just a couple of glitches, but not a huge problem. They did make it right when Rohl wanted to charge me $ 171.00 restocking fee. (Buyer beware)
Louis was so helpful and Alan was a great constant.
Thank you BID

We purchased 3 built in appliances at this store. We were originally looking to convert our electric stovetop to gas and the salesman gave us an impressive demonstration of the Thermador induction stovetop which we purchased. It didn’t work properly from the moment of installation. When we called the store they just referred us to the local Thermador disignated repair shop. (Mr. Appliance who I would also not recommend) We went through a lengthy process of evaluation, missed repair appointments, ordering of parts, unsuccessful repairs that went on for over 2 months. We eventually had to remove the appliance ourselves. Built in Distributors was very unhelpful. We were basically on our own. At one point about 3 weeks after purchase we asked them to take the charge off our credit card for this one appliance (the other two Kenmore appliances were great) until we had a working stovetop. The salesman I talked to said «that’s not happening». Not once did they say «sorry this 2K appliance isn’t working or sorry for the inconvienience» I had to put a stop payment on my credit card. I used a campstove on my deck for more than 2 months until I finally got a gas stovetop that is fantastic. I would never use this store again. They get a 0 out of 10 for customer service.

Built-​in Distributors has the most impressive salesman I have encountered in a very long time. He was friendly, pleasant, knowledgeable and extremely helpful. The store also stocks a reasonable selection of major appliances. Next time I am in the market for a new major household appliance, I will be sure to visit this store.