Buying a Hitachi appliance has turned out to be one great mistake. Most of our home appliances are from Samsung but in 2014 when we needed on more AC we went for Hitachi. That was mostly based on some initial feedback from friends and family. Had I done some search through online forums and specially this page, my decision would have been different.
I purchased a 1.2 ton Ace model with a 5 star rating. Hitachi machines carry a premium pricing and on top of that 5 star rating; total price of the machines was Rs.37,800.
After the installation was done, as far I remember, there was no customary welcome call from the Hitachi Customer Care for a demonstration; that is something we surely receive from Samsung however small the product is.
One anomaly which we noted from the beginning, and still, is that the cooling effect of this AC is nothing compared to what we used to and still get with the Samsung AC. However I had discounted on that as the Samsung AC was a 1.5 ton model. The servicing of the AC was done on a periodic basis by the dealer from whom the machine was purchased.
Sometime around September, 20115 the outdoor unit of the AC started generating a peculiar sound. The sound was as if some free part was moving inside and was very distinct from what we get from a running compressor. I called the customer care number of Hitachi Care and was greeted with an automated voice which registered by service request. But thereafter no one contacted from the service centre or call centre to carry out the job.
In the mean time winter also set in and the need of AC got reduced. Because of other engagements we thought of getting the issue rectified and machine serviced at the onset of summer.
In March I again registered an automated service request and understood that the automated service request generation method is useless; no one works upon that request. So again I called the call centre, spoke to the customer care representative and registered a complaint (16031203661) on 12th March.
Few days later the service engineer visited to examine the machine and informed that the motor has got damaged and it is needed to replace the motor along with the fan blade since the fan blade could not be detached from the motor.The service engineer charged Rs. 500 for this much 'service' and took down an order of motor with fan blade; the engineer told us that it would take around 7-8 days to get the motor replaced.(Why would 7-8 days to replace a motor in a metropolitan city !!!)
First thing it is suprising how come the motor got damaged within just 2 years, whereas my Samsung AC purchased in 2009 is still running strong apart from a minor capacitor replacement required once.
But after this my ordeal started.After the initial waiting period was over, I started following up through call centre and also the local service centre directly. But no one could provide a confirmed date when the replacement would be available.
That was also the period when the temperature was consistently above 40 degree and the heat was scorching. So when we needed the AC most it was hanging there useless.
Every time I called the call centre, they informed that 'string' / 'strongest' reminder was sent but there was no resultant action. They even provided some local service center contact numbers; most of the time no one would pick the call there and even if someone did they did not had any clue when the spare parts would arrive. Multiple service request numbers were also generated by customer care as one after the other got expired (16031203661, 16042603998, 16033106065...).
Fed up and finding no other way I contacted a local mechanic who was able to provide a replacement. The local mechanic charged Rs. 300 and I found no difference between his technical expertise and that of the authorised service engineer from Hitachi who charged Rs. 500.
One and half weeks after that I got a call from the local service center that the replacement motor has arrived.I told them that I had already got it replaced and then got the following sms.
So overall a very very bad after sales experience with Hitachi Home Appliances. Will not be a returning customer for Hitachi nor recommend Hitachi appliances to any one.
I purchased a 1.2 ton Ace model with a 5 star rating. Hitachi machines carry a premium pricing and on top of that 5 star rating; total price of the machines was Rs.37,800.
After the installation was done, as far I remember, there was no customary welcome call from the Hitachi Customer Care for a demonstration; that is something we surely receive from Samsung however small the product is.
One anomaly which we noted from the beginning, and still, is that the cooling effect of this AC is nothing compared to what we used to and still get with the Samsung AC. However I had discounted on that as the Samsung AC was a 1.5 ton model. The servicing of the AC was done on a periodic basis by the dealer from whom the machine was purchased.
Sometime around September, 20115 the outdoor unit of the AC started generating a peculiar sound. The sound was as if some free part was moving inside and was very distinct from what we get from a running compressor. I called the customer care number of Hitachi Care and was greeted with an automated voice which registered by service request. But thereafter no one contacted from the service centre or call centre to carry out the job.
In the mean time winter also set in and the need of AC got reduced. Because of other engagements we thought of getting the issue rectified and machine serviced at the onset of summer.
In March I again registered an automated service request and understood that the automated service request generation method is useless; no one works upon that request. So again I called the call centre, spoke to the customer care representative and registered a complaint (16031203661) on 12th March.
Few days later the service engineer visited to examine the machine and informed that the motor has got damaged and it is needed to replace the motor along with the fan blade since the fan blade could not be detached from the motor.The service engineer charged Rs. 500 for this much 'service' and took down an order of motor with fan blade; the engineer told us that it would take around 7-8 days to get the motor replaced.(Why would 7-8 days to replace a motor in a metropolitan city !!!)
First thing it is suprising how come the motor got damaged within just 2 years, whereas my Samsung AC purchased in 2009 is still running strong apart from a minor capacitor replacement required once.
But after this my ordeal started.After the initial waiting period was over, I started following up through call centre and also the local service centre directly. But no one could provide a confirmed date when the replacement would be available.
That was also the period when the temperature was consistently above 40 degree and the heat was scorching. So when we needed the AC most it was hanging there useless.
Every time I called the call centre, they informed that 'string' / 'strongest' reminder was sent but there was no resultant action. They even provided some local service center contact numbers; most of the time no one would pick the call there and even if someone did they did not had any clue when the spare parts would arrive. Multiple service request numbers were also generated by customer care as one after the other got expired (16031203661, 16042603998, 16033106065...).
Fed up and finding no other way I contacted a local mechanic who was able to provide a replacement. The local mechanic charged Rs. 300 and I found no difference between his technical expertise and that of the authorised service engineer from Hitachi who charged Rs. 500.
One and half weeks after that I got a call from the local service center that the replacement motor has arrived.I told them that I had already got it replaced and then got the following sms.
So overall a very very bad after sales experience with Hitachi Home Appliances. Will not be a returning customer for Hitachi nor recommend Hitachi appliances to any one.
