Frigidaire / manufacturer's defect

In September of 2008, I bought a Frigidaire cooktop. After using it several times I took the drip pans off to clean them and noticed that the paint underneath had chipped. I then noticed that the drip pans on the bottom had not been finished in the manufacturing process. We went back to the store and looked at the store model and the drip pans and the finish were the same on both sides. The book that came with the cooktop says to clean it with soap and water and a paper towel. But since it was never finished properly it is hard to get food off of it. The burner grates also have the paint coming off because they weren't finished right. Even on the bottom of one of the drip pans you can see four fingerprints where someone in the manufacturing process grabbed the unfinished drip pan.

I contacted the company and they said it was a cosmetic issue and is not covered. I disagreed because it is a flaw in the manufacturing process not something I did to the unit. They gave me a list of three appliance repair companies and said that if I called ONE of them and they came out and agreed that it was a manufacturer's issue that they would replace the cooktop. So I took time off from work and had a repairman come out. He totally agreed with me and said it was a flaw in the manufacturing process and that the drip pans and the rest of the unit had not been finished correctly. He said he would replace it, but then called Frigidaire to report what he found and a technical person said it was cosmetic and not covered. The repairman said he couldn't do anything for me. I then called Frigidaire customer care, which is a joke, and was told to get a second opinion. I find it funny that they don't believe the first appliance repair company that they sent me to. I didn't pick this repair company, they did. I said that I now have to take time off from work AGAIN to have a second repair company come out to tell me the same thing and then what, Frigidaire will dispute that too.

I can't believe that Frigidaire won't back up the manufacturing of its products. I think they are trying to give me the run around so I'll just give up. Not going to happen. This is a manufacturer's defect, said so by the repair company not just me, and not a cosmetic issue. I called the second repair company and told them what happened and they couldn't believe that Frigidaire wouldn't believe the repair company. Customer service, where has it gone? I bought what I thought was a great brand name and now I think Frigidaire's brand is flawed as badly as its merchandise. Beware if you buy a Frigidaire product, get ready to go down this long and frustrating road.