Apr 06, 2007

All rhetoric aside about how megastores like Costco are putting the Mom and Pop shops out of business, I really do love Costco.

Recently I bought an Ironman Aeros Elliptical machine to aid in my quest for some kind of body weight normalcy.  After doing a lot of research on what was was out there I settled on a model from Costco largely because of their fabulous return policy.  If you are not familiar with that policy, its very simple – if you don’t like something, bring it back.  No questions asked.

Much to my dismay, after about 15 weeks of use, the product broke.  Honestly, it was a joy to use, but one of the wheels that ride along the back tracks simply snapped right off.  I would have expected this on a normal quality elliptical, but I was really surprised considering that I specifically bought this model because it was made to hold someone my size and larger.  Maybe I just got a bad unit, or maybe Ironman just sells junk – either way, my machine was toast.

Crap, now what??  I have to return it.  I started dreading the experience, but then I rememberd that I bought it at Costco for this exact situation.  So, I simply took off the handles and the console and loaded it up into my wife’s van and drove to Costco.  In roughly 15 minutes, 2 guys had helped me unload the sucker and I was walking out the door with $1,100+ cash, in my hand.  Not a single hiccup.  All they asked was what broke.  Remember, this is over 3 months later!  Nothing about, go to the manufacturer for service or we’ll replace it, etc.  They just gave me my money back.  $1,100 plus dollars!!  That’s really great service, and that’s why I love Costco.

I would have preferred a unit that worked, but I can’t blame them for that.  Now I’m on a quest for a new Elliptical machine and I’m quite bummed that I can’t buy it at Costco!