Mr. Lonely gets a new face

Appliance maker Maytag introduced its new repairman in early April.

Clay Jackson (left), a 33-year-old from Richmond, Va., won the role after a nationwide search that drew more than 2,000 contestants. Unlike his blue-uniform-clad predecessors, Jackson is not a professional actor, though the real-estate agent did some acting during and after college. He is the fourth person to play the part since the character’s 1967 debut and follows in the footsteps of Jesse White (1967–88), Gordon Jump (1988–2003), and Hardy Rawls (2003–2007).

The new casting heralds a change from the familiar lonely repairman, that mope of a guy trapped in an existential nightmare anxiously awaiting a service call that never comes. The new Maytag repairman is “energetic, young-at-heart and outgoing while still being dependable and reliable,” said Jeff Davidoff, Maytag vice president for brand marketing and communications, in a release. Print and TV ads featuring Jackson as the revamped repairman will start appearing in May.

The new-age appliance guru might be getting a few repair calls before then. Our May 2007 special report on brand reliability found Maytag had comparatively high repair records for its front-loading washers and refrigerators. Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently recalled 2.3 million Maytag (and Jenn-Air) dishwashers and 250,000 Maytag front-loading washers.—Helen A.S. Popkin

Comments

[MBF]

I'm deeply grateful to Consumer Reports for publishing news of the Maytag dishwasher recall, but good luck to consumers who expect service from the company. "Mr. Lonely," Maytag's public face, has apparently been beseiged by customers like me who can't get a straight response out of Maytag for love or money.

I typed in the numbers that identified my unit as one of the affected models and got a notice assuring me that help was on the way. When I called to confirm, the agent said that the necessary part(s) would ship within a week to ten days. When I called at the ten day mark, another company representative assured me that I would receive the part(s) within 48 hours.

Needless to say, I'm still waiting. According to the record, no part has been shipped as of today, and there is no assurance that a part will ship any time soon. I keep asking for help, but Maytag seems lost in false promises, inefficiency, a useless tracking system, and a botched recall.

Local repair outfits in my state say that I'm unlikely to hear from Maytag until I'm about eight weeks out. Maytag apparently refuses to deal with them and won't let local outlets stock the replacement parts.

This looks like a classic case of hopeless customer relations and a company willing to sacrifice brand loyalty, future purchases, and relationships built up over many decades. One of the Maytag agents I talked to admitted that there have been many irate calls. If Maytag can't pull itself together on this recall, the Maytag phones will stop ringing altogether and Mr. Lonely will be out of business for good.