GE's Jeffrey Immelt Says "No Thanks" to $12 Million and Bonus

Poor scheduling service

Our GE SS Profile refrigerator with freezer on the bottom is only 1 !/2 years old. We've already had to have a service call on the "board" in the back of the refrigerator. Now for the past week, there has been another issue... a very loud noise coming from the icemaker. When my husband called the 800 number out of Atlanta for scheduling service, he was denied service. Then he asked to talk to the manager. He told the manager the ice maker was making a very loud continuous noise and was again denied service because...it was still producing "some" ice cubes. The refrigerator was over $2,000 and we bought the extended warranty...but no service.

Later in the day, my husband told me to schedule service on line...which I did. The tech, Nick, came this morning and replaced the whole inside of the ice maker because there was a piece that had broken off. Nick is the best person GE has for trouble shooting. Too bad you don't let people schedule their service calls through the techs...they're the ones who are better able to figure out if it warrants a service call or not!!!

Our friends on Friday and Sat. evenings asked what that clunking sound was...it was that loud and continuous!

By hiring a company to reject service calls is poor business/service and it doesn't speak well for the company!

Joni Lindgren of IL @ May 12, 2009 11:57:21 AM

This letter is to Jeffrey Immelt at GE.

First I'd like to express my disappointment about GE products. I have had GE answering machines and cordless phones. They stopped working in less than a year, whereas other brands (such as Sony, AT&T, etc.) would keep working for years. I currently have a GE cordless phone, I have to shake it or keeping clicking on and off many times to get it to work (the battery is good).

On 02/11/09, I sent a brand new GE digital answering machine, Model #29871 to Thomson, Inc. in El Paso, TX for replacement. It did not take incoming messages, and it was a brand-new machine. I want to ask GE to not make cheap products that break or don't work. Why would you want to do that to ruin your long established reputation? You have these cheap products made overseas, and the middlemen take away all your profits. By the time the end users, the consumers, buy them, they get a piece of junk or lemon.

Believe me, I want GE to succeed, for I own GE stocks. This is the reason I'm writing to you to voice my disappointment in your products. At the same time, I want to encourage you to make better products to restore consumer confidence. You used to make good products, but not anymore. But you can shape up and rebuild, for your reputation and balance sheet are on the line.

I'm waiting for Thomson, Inc. to return to me a good GE digital answering machine. It cost me $10 to mail it on the $20 product. But I did it for a principle. GE management probably figures that consumers would discard the piece of junk, for it would not be worth it to pay 50% of the cost of the product to ship it to Thomson, Inc. I recently ran into a couple of rip-off reports about Thomson, Inc. Thomson, Inc. did not return goods to consumers or attempt to contact them after having received their defective products. If this happens to me, I will have no choice but to turn to public agencies for help.

Sincerely,

Linda

Linda of CA @ Mar 05, 2009 15:04:04 PM

I just bought the stock.

I believe in GE. But, I must add...a 53 year old CEO with degrees from Harvard and Dartmouth..just learned how to buy an Amtrak ticket? Ask Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger if they are so detached as to not know how to accomplish that small a task that my 11 year old can handle.

The elitism so prevalent on Wall Street contributes to the debacle we now face. And Mr. Immelt, I trust your company..I hope you are the shepherd who will lead your flock out of these depths. Start with the common sense angle..and when you are at your next colleague meeting..share some logic and reality with your elitist albeit bright friends.

Clearly, the world has too many Jamie Dimons and way too few Charlie Mungers.

Wendy Jorgensen

Wendy Jorgensen Tarvin of NJ @ Feb 21, 2009 19:46:05 PM

CEO should have been terminated years ago

Mr. Immelt has not shown leadership; he has shown followship - as has his board. a bunch of corporate pirates that have not improved the performance one bit since Immelt took over. and why do the institutionals not push back on this company??? makes one madoff (wonder). at least Immelt showed the briefest glimpse that his butt is on the line by not accepting a bonus and/or performance award. too little too late. with the most recent round of layoffs focusing on numbers versus performance, maybe his (and more of the redundant mgmt) should have been cut to save more of the rank and file positions, imho. shareholders have been hamstrung by institutionals on this company for years - have they finally put the screws on immelt? there are certainly more competent leaders for this firm than the current bunch. retirees and future retirees need to push harder for this ouster.

J Bradley of NH @ Feb 18, 2009 11:16:46 AM

Immelt Must Go.

It is not enough. Immelt is responsible for the sole meltdown of GE. He is responsible for the lost of employee retirement holdings and all other financial losses due to his jackass schemes. But he had help from The Board of Non Directors. Beat the drums, blow the horns loud and louder IMMELT MUST GO. IMMELT MUST GO.

harvey glotz of PA @ Feb 18, 2009 11:09:33 AM

Immelt

Window Dressing or not, letting GE keep $12 million of his contractualy earned money is a generous gesture and shows that Immelt is empathetic toward shareholders and thier personal losses.

jr of DC @ Feb 18, 2009 11:02:48 AM

Immelt

I have no faith in Mr. Immelt. All of the bonus & Amtrak stuff are window dressing. He should be terminated by GE's board & shown the door.

J.P. Robinson of NJ @ Feb 18, 2009 10:47:06 AM