Sunday, May 13, 2018

Infinity Celebrity Massage Chair - Update

I decided to write up a summary of my experience with my Infinity Celebrity Massage Chair.  I want to start off by saying that the purchase of this chair was not on a whim but something I had thought about for a long time.  The cost of this model chair is $7999, not a purchase to be taken lightly for sure.

While attending our local Stock Show on January 9, 2018 I saw a display of massage chairs so I decided to check them out.  The salesman was very polite and helpful, showing me all the features and options of the chairs.  Although I was very interested, the  nearly $8000 price tag was still a little overwhelming.  The salesman told me that he would sell me one of the floor models sitting there at a marked decrease in price, $2000 worth!  After being assured that the warranty on one of these chairs would still apply as if it were brand new, and that if there were any issues with the chair he would take care of it, I agreed to go ahead with the purchase.

I took delivery of my chair on 1/24/18.  The three delivery guys were very polite and assembled my chair very quickly.  They turned it on and ran through a couple of tests to make sure it was functioning then left me to my purchase.




I immediately went to the Infinity website and registered my chair for the warranty, thank goodness I did.

To start with, I absolutely loved this chair.  My back, neck, shoulders and feet never felt better and I was even sleeping better after using it.

The only thing I noticed when using the auto programs that the left side arm airbag did not feel like it was inflating as much as the one on the right side.  I increased the air pressure but when the left side was firm enough the right side was very firm and way too painful.  I tried to contact the salesman but did not get a reply.  I then called Infinity and spoke with the service department.  The person on the phone suggested that I loosen the left arm and check for pinched air hoses.  After assuring me that my looking at the hoses would not void any type of warranty I proceeded.  I was unable to see any issue with the hoses so the technician said he was going to ship me some replacement hoses and airbags and send out a technician.

I received the box of parts (3 air hoses, 2 airbags, and a valve/manifold part).  I got a call from the technician to make arrangements for repair.  He arrived 2/22/18.  He looked at the chair and commented that he had never seen one like it - oh great. 




 He worked on the chair for over 4 hours but only succeeded in replacing 3 air hoses.  He did not know how to replace the air bags or how to access where the valve manifold part went.  After replacing the hoses nothing changed in how the chair functioned.  When this technician left he took with him the box of parts and said he was going to return them for me - unsure if he ever did this.

Another call to the service department.  The technician told me he was going to send a replacement arm for the chair and that would fix the problem.  He also said they would send a different technician to do the replacement since the first person did not have knowledge of the chair.

I received the replacement arm on 3/22/18 and a few days later a new technician arrived to do the replacement.  This was done very quickly but made no change in the left arm inflation issue.

  

The service department said they were going to send another part - a main circuit board and that it would be send overnight.  The part arrived and they technician came back a few days later to do the replacement.

This made no difference in the way the airbag in the arm inflated.  Again the service department sent more replacement parts.  After the repairman left I decided to use the chair, which I had been able to do up to this point - minus the under inflating left arm airbag.  When I tried to use the chair I found that the chair was stuck in body sensing mode - this is what happens at the beginning of any use as the chair basically measures the user for height, weight, etc.  This is at the end of March 2018 - so the chair is not usable at this point.

I also attempted calling the Mattress Firm salesman but was unable to reach him and the main customer service person told me I would have to speak directly with the salesman.  

The next shipment of parts came and the technician scheduled a visit.  He called shortly after he was to arrive and told me he was sick.  I agreed to reschedule for a few days later.  I waited for the technician to arrive but he never called and never showed up.  I called the service department the next day and was told that the technician had a family issue and would not be coming back to do the job.  So here I am with another box full of parts.



Technician # 3 was sent to replace the main board, again, two smaller control boards, another valve/manifold part (which was never replaced from the first visit), and some more air lines.  All the boards were replaced but still nothing was better.  He decided not to replace the valve/manifold part.  

Now the service department decided to send replacement wiring.  Technician # 3 back again to replace the wiring.



During the wiring replacement the interior movement of the chair caught the wiring and broke off the ground cable.  Time to send more parts....

I tried calling Mattress Firm again and told them I had not been able to reach the salesman that originally sold me the chair.  I was assured that someone would be contacting me.  Shortly after I hung up the original salesman called me.  I explained what I had been dealing with and he said he was going to speak with management and get back with me.  I have never heard back since.

The latest shipment of parts included 2 wiring pieces, a small computer board, and another main board.


Technician # 2 was scheduled to come out on Saturday 5/12/18 at 10am.  I received a call at 10am from him stating that his daycare provider had not come so he would have to reschedule for 5/13/18 at 9am.  I received a call at 10:50am from the repairman stating he would be arriving in 30 minutes.

Today 5/13/18:  Arrival of repairman at approximately 11:30am.  After removing all the covers and inspecting the inner workings of the chair, he decided that the previous technician had plugged in 2 of the wires backwards which may have blown out one of the smaller boards.  Board replacement and broken wire replacement resulted in the chair beginning to function again, Yay!  

The repairman reassembled the chair and tested it.  It seemed to be working but not completely as it should.  He stated that he was going to recommend to the manufacturer that they send a replacement chair.

After he left I decided to try the chair.  Although the rollers were working and the chair seemed back to its original mostly functioning state, something still seems off.  There is a lot of clunking and odd noises inside.  The automatic programs that I was used to are not doing the same things as before.  The neck massage part is now located at the top and just above my head.  Some of the rolling is very faint but some is extremely hard and painful.

Update*  After going through several auto programs I've figured out that everything is running backwards.  That's why sometimes it hurts and others it's very light.  At the end of all the programs the rolling mechanism returns to the top and turns off.  Now it is going to the bottom and turning off.  Apparently something is plugged in backwards or the program part is damaged.  Ugh!!!

So this is where my story now sits.  From purchase in January (3 repairmen, at least 6 shipments of parts, 10 scheduled visits with 3 no shows) to now 4 months later, I still do not have what I wanted and paid a great deal of money for.  I do not feel that it is unreasonable after all this time to request either a replacement unit or a refund for defective product.

If there is anyone out there that can offer any help or solutions, please comment below.

After everything that has happened, Infinity has agreed to replace my defective chair.  I am expecting delivery of the replacement some time in the next couple of weeks - at least before the end of May.  Hopefully all will go well and I will be able to finally enjoy my massage chair.

*UPDATE*
June 4, 2018 I received my replacement chair and had the defective one taken away.  The new chair seems to be working properly and I am quite pleased.  I really think that Infinity should re-think their repair practices, and possibly do some training with the people they are counting on to perform the repairs - just my opinion.


#Infinity #MassageChair #MattressFirm #FurnitureFirm #InfinityCelebrity #UnhappyCustomer