Okay, that might be a little hyperbolic but I can’t use it without setting half of the food on fire while the other half is still frozen.
What happened you ask?
The little doohicky broke that spins the plate. Now the plate won’t spin.
So I did what any rational person would do and I forgot about it for a few days. In fact I was willing to live with it the way it was because I have tried to get things repaired before and it always ends up badly. I contemplated just going to Target and buying a new microwave because honestly that would be easier and less time consuming than trying to find the replacement part for the little doohicky.
And then I set something on fire because only one part of the food was getting blasted with radiation.
Okay, that was a little hyperbolic too, nothing started on fire but it’s getting really annoying to have to open the door every three seconds and manually spin the plate.
Because the microwave is a Samsung I Googled “Samsung Replacement Parts” and was given Samsungparts.com as the place most likely to have what I was looking for. If you click on the link you will see that Samsungparts.com is an authorized dealer of Samsung parts. That’s important because I don’t want any generic replacement parts and I don’t want Amana parts in my Samsung.
I enter my model number into the little form and it comes up with nothing. I tried the keyword search but there were too many doohickies to choose from so I picked up the phone and called Customer Service.
Two words have never been so misleading.
After waiting on hold forever I was patched through to Peggy. Actually I wasn’t but it seemed that way. A woman who was clearly not interested in job security or else the mother in law of the CEO answered my call. I explained my problem, that the plate wouldn’t spin because the little doohicky had broken.
“Do you mean the motor?” She asked.
“No, the little thingy that makes the plate spin” I clarified.
“Oh, you need a coupler,” she said rather flatly. “What is your address?”
Score!!!
I’m thinking she is just going to send me a replacement part.
Awesome.
I give her my address and hear her punching her keyboard.
“That will be $11.97 with shipping and handling”
Dang.
I’m not going to spend $11.97 on a piece of plastic the size of a quarter. I will go to a local appliance store or find a generic version of it on the web. I am not going to be taken advantage of. Except I don’t know the part number because I couldn’t look it up on their website. So I ask what the part number is.
“We can’t tell you that.” is her response.
She will not tell me the part number, can you believe this? It’s not like I can make bombs with this piece of plastic, it serves one purpose and one purpose only and it doesn’t even serve that purpose too well.
I don’t even bother to argue with her, I tell her thanks and hang up the phone because I am tired of arguing with companies like Samsung that obviously don’t give a shit about their customers.
I’m not finished with this yet. I will find the part number and I will replace this little doohicky coupler thingy and I will not pay $11.97 for it. I will burn my food until then and eat it proudly because I am not getting ripped off by the man, or Samsung.
Bastards.
I don’t know why I get all worked up about these kinds of things. Clearly I need to be taking a luxury vacation overseas or something so I don’t get all worked up but when I have to replace a piece of plastic for $11.97 overseas vacations are suddenly out of the question. Okay, maybe not suddenly, it isn’t as if they were ever in the question, but you know what I mean.
Are we going to stand for this treatment by companies who just want us to buy their products and throw them away when one little piece fails and then go buy a brand new one? I don’t think so. This is America, shit like that doesn’t happen and if Samsung things they have me by the short hairs they have another thing (or is it ‘think’, I always wonder about that and then mumble it in case I am using the wrong word) coming. We will not stand for crappy customer service any longer.
Who is with me?
The publicist thinks “customer service” is an oxymoron.
I think you should learn to eat like I do – hay, grain and apples.
Seems like we’re both having quality issues. Good luck finding your replacement part (or a new microwave).
oodozo found me the part and it has already been ordered. The power of the internet and blogosphere should not be questioned.
Hey — that’s great news! I would have just spent the $11.97 to avoid any additional aggravation, but good for you! My microwave is a GE and is about 20 years old now. I’m told radiation is probably leaking out of it like a fucking sieve, but I haven’t started glowing yet.
Nice!! there’s a direct buy ad up right now! Look they sell Samsung!!!
Great. I can’t click those ads.
It was Direct Buy anyway. You don’t want to go there. Did you ever see the episode of South Park where they got to go on the free ski weekend at the timeshare? It’s like that, if you go to the presentation, and you don’t sign up today, they will never give you another opportunity. You get to look at a couple of sample cabinets, but none of the books to order from. It’s rediculous and very expensive, more than a time share in Aspen.
are those ads really worth the blog space? debating on weather to add some.
I am proud to say that I am getting my second payout in just under three years!!!!
You have to watch out for those doohickys. They can cause such trouble. As for customer service? There wasn’t a bit of customer service going on in that phone call. What a shame in these tough economic times.
Have a terrific day and weekend. 🙂
Exactly how is that little doohicky tingum broken? (I couldn’t tell from the photo). And are you sure it isn’t the rotating motor? Twelve bucks for the part (and I am assuming that includes shipping & handling), isn’t too bad. Post your model number – I’m pretty good at sourcing parts.
Gawd – I just had to order a panel for my diswasher because the flimsy touch-pad contact got smoked. Since you can’t order just the flimsy piece, you have to order the whole frakken panel. It’s about $120, plus duty and delivery.
It is indeed broken. The piece slips over a thingy that turns the from the motor. The piece can’t hold onto the other piece because it snapped in half. The model number is mv830wa but I Googled my ass off and couldn’t find anything.
I have a cheap dishwasher with touch pads too, but the dishwasher didn’t cost much more than $120 so I think I might be inclined to just get one that actually cleans the dishes without using the dog as the rinse cycle first.
I found this one:
http://www.repairclinic.com/PartDetail/Glass-Tray-Coupler-or-Support-Roller/1148795
It looks like the part you need.
We paid over $400.00 for the dishwasher – hey, it isn’t cheap living down here.
😉
Awesome, I just ordered the part! Thank you so much. How did you find it?
We found that site to be most reliable with those stupid little parts you need from now and then. We also Google parts from whatever manufacturer – you can’t realy rely upon the model number or the part number, and some sites are cheaper than others. Sometimes it’s quite a search, other times you can luck out and find what you need almost immediately.
And you are so welcome. I’m always glad to help out.
😉
I don’t have a microwave. You cook in yours?
I don’t really cook in it but I do reheat things all the time. Microwave popcorn and coffee probably get more play than anything else but it is used all the time. I thaw a lot of stuff in it too.
I cook in mine all the time. I’m a Pampered Chef whore, among other things, and the deep covered baker makes the best hamburger for tacos, and I can roast a whole chicken in about half an hour, and it’s not rubbery or gross.
Shut Up!!
You really cook a whole chicken in the microwave and it ISN’T rubbery? This
is due to pampered chef? Tell me more.
The baker is stonewear with a lid, and somehow it magically traps the moisture in and the chicken comes out moist and juicy. The skin on the top isn’t crisp like roasting in an oven, but it is pretty amazing. I’ve cooked a roast and boneless pork ribs the same way, and every time they turn out great. Really to afford the pan you have to have a party to get it for free, they just marked it up to $85.00. I love to cook taco burger in it because it doesn’t splatter everywhere, it’s great for ground sausage too.
Ps I’m not a pampered chef consultant…. I just really LOVE the products
I’ve resisted getting one because I don’t like the sound of it for some reason. Alex wanted one, but since I’m in charge I told him no frigging way.
How do you live without a microwave? I am constantly asking myself how I lived through the 70s without one. You are a relic, my dear. Living on the edge, too.
I just don’t know what I would use one for. Really. Alex wants one for popcorn or something. Let’s just go to the movies and eat popcorn. I don’t like popcorn in the first place. And coffee? If it’s not fresh, I don’t want it. I am a very good cook though, and I enjoy cooling. Relic? A relic? Kathy, that’s harsh!
You’re not a relic the new microwave is not to have one. A few people I know got rid of them because they really aren’t good for you. I have researched how they work and I understand how they kill anything resembling a nutrient, but it’s just so easy I won’t give it up.
Madge, I just have never understood it, but the whole thing scares me. I like stuff I make from scratch. I don’t use processed stuff usually, and my mom was the queen of Swanson TV dinners. No wonder I was a skinny kid! (No longer an issue I assure you!)
I think I paid $25 for my microwave, second hand, about 15 years ago. It’s a Danby Junior. Considering 95% of my cooking is done in the microwave, I am amazed it is still working.
This was actually my mom’s microwave, though I did buy it, and after she moved I took it because it was new. I had another one that was my sister in law’s which she gave to me when she moved because the house she was moving to had a built in. I blew that one up about six months ago when I tried to disinfect a sponge and it caught on fire. Currently it is in the garage with my couch and rug that had to be pitched because of the basement flooding. The one I had before all the musical microwaves began was brand new but massive and wouldn’t fit in my tiny kitchen so I gave it to my mom’s housekeeper who had a larger kitchen than I did.
The next time you flood, take the microwave, couch and rug and add it to the sandbags to shore up the house and block out the ravaging waters. Unless it was your drain that backed up that caused the flood and then it won’t help much. But too bad the sponge caught fire because you could have used that to soak up the water.
I’ve forgotten what I was going to say now that I can finally comment!
I think the word you want is think, at least I think it is 😉
Why couldn’t you comment?
Your page wouldn’t stop loading, and Disqus wouldn’t activate. I refreshed a few times, but still no joy, so I closed it and came back some time later, and the page was fine.
We had one of them there fancy microwaves in the house when we moved in. It’s a wall unit and above the stove. I must use the stove for frying and boiling too much because it fried the microwave with the spinning plate after a year of living here. If you turn it on, it starts smoking in about 30 seconds and then the power in half the house goes out. It’s still there because otherwise there’d be a big hole in the wall. We have another microwave next to it that doesn’t have the spinny plate so I have to spin them myself, usually half way through. I’m actually only heating stuff up though. I don’t “cook” in it.
Glad you found and ordered your part.
Yep…. you should try ordering parts from GE…. $50 for that lil plastic shelf piece that goes on the refridgerator door! I super glued and taped that sucker back together! And $30 for the lil metal door hinge piece…. I bout died… and I got my butt outside and determined to find the one was lost when we moved…. there was no way I was paying that! Love those quality GE products…. NOT!
That is insane. Super Glue does wonders and I have been Super Gluing my cup holder in my truck for the last ten years ( thought i have to do it every month it seems) there is no way I am paying $50 for a piece of plastic.
The doohicky in our work microwave is stupid. Doesn’t spin at all, or when it does, it freaks out and screeches like a freight train. I’m sticking with burning my food on one side and leaving it raw on the other. I can’t take the screeching.
Girl, I’ll send you the $11.97 if it makes your microwaving life easier.
I already ordered the part and I saved $3! It should be here by next May.
I have one more spare microwave but it isn’t digital. I have to turn the
dial for the amount of time and there are no settings for defrost or popcorn
so it’s worthless to me. Plus, it’s in Alex’s room and he uses it to heat up
things or burn popcorn (he is in the basement and it has a full kitchen in
it even though the stove is not hooked up to any gas at the moment. As soon
as he goes off to college though I am redoing that room/kitchen).
Hold the phone. Was your microwave REALLY that clean before you took a picture?!?!
Clean, you think that it’s clean? Did you embiggen the picture? It’s got crud all over it.
“Thing?” “Think?” Works for me either way. It is interesting that the ad next to this comment box is for appliances…including Samsung. Oh. Because you live too close and could smack me if I don’t agree…I’m with you on this! 🙂
I would never smack you Jack. I don’t smack anyone. I think about sometimes but to do it is something entirely different because that would mean I would have to leave the house and find you. Too much work.
Tweet about it. That might get some Samsung attention.
Good idea, it isn’t enough to just write a post anymore, tweeting gets the action, or at least Ashton Kutcher’s attention.
Wow. That’s lame, I can’t believe the customer service rep at Samsung couldn’t just give you the part number. How frustrating.
I KNOW! How lame is that?
LAME!
Ha. Great rant! I’m thinging, it must be the red hair. Gotta be the red hair! LOL Who would get so worked up over a little microwave spinner thinky.
You already ordered the part, so my advice is worthless now. But I was going to suggest you open the micro door every ten seconds and spin the plate a quarter turn.
You’d get worked up too if you had to manually spin the plate to reheat day old cold pizza and warm your coffee. And Microwave Popcorn isn’t even possible if the thing doesn’t spin. It’s not the hair but it probably turns into something bigger than it really is.
Sounds like murder was the only alternative. I can’t believe the hell Samsung put you through for one plastic part and that customer service (I use the word lightly) wouldn’t give you the part number. It must be from an old family recipe.
I don’t get it either. It certainly isn’t customer service and I doubt their profits would suffer if they simply replaced the part. What a concept, replacing broken parts.
Happy Birthday Beautiful!! I think the Devil created all non-school holidays and vacations. I’d like to know what the hell he was thinking. Anyways, I miss blogging. I have to take my blog in a new direction though, and still trying to decide what I want to do with it. Or if I want to start completely over. I just don’t know.
Hey! It’s been a while. Sorry to hear about this problems of blog direction, that stinks but hopefully you will figure it out soon. You could always write about the devil and the stupid things he does like school vacations.
I’m guessing you didn’t get a doohickey for your birthday…
No, but I ordered the part and should have it soon.
That stinks!!!!! But…Happy Birthday, anyway!!!!!!!!
Thank you! The new part is on it’s way so it shouldn’t stink for too much longer.
Are you a Capricorn like me? Damn, we are wunnerful people. Happy Birthday Jen!!!
Thanks Ginger,
I think I am, they just changed it so now it says I am a Sagitarious. I
can’t spell Sagittarious, it took me years to learn how to spell Capricorn.
.
We bought a Danby countertop microwave and promptly broke the glass plate or turntable. Called out local appliance service who have found parts for nearly every appliance we have ever owned, and were told that Danby doesn’t supply those. I suggested that microwave plates are irreplaceable but oh no, they are all different. Actually ours had the same little doohickey as the Samsung. I found a couple on eBay, but they were the wrong size. Any suggestions? we may just go on with it – a regular dinner plates rotates, but I am concerned about the fire issue…
I’ve no idea but. The replacement part I got is a little off too but it still works. It just doesn’t sit flush so the plate can wobble a bit. Good luck.