Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We bought this vacuum in March, and we've been very happy with it. Why only one star? Because of the horrible Panasonic warranty service... The power switch on the handle stopped working after 6 months. No big deal - it's still on warranty, right? Well, we called Panasonic, and the closest warranty repair center is 120 miles away, near Philadelphia (we are in Wash. D.C. area). Our only options were to send it there by mail and pay the shipping in both directions or to drive to Philadelphia and back two times (to drop off and then to pick up). When we asked Panasonic to simply send us the replacement part (the hose with the handle, where the power switch is located), they refused and said that it can only be replaced by an authorized technician. We tried to argue that when the vacuum originally arrived from Amazon, that very part came disassembled, and if we were "authorized" to put it together then, we should be allowed to do the same with a replacement. No cigar. They refused to listen. A request to talk to a supervisor was denied too. The guy on the phone said that none of the supervisors were in the office that day. It was Saturday, but still a bit hard to believe that no supervisors were there. Will try to call them again during the week. Between this level of "service" and the fact that a major metropolitan area such as D.C. doesn't have an authorized Panasonic vacuum repair center (plenty of dealers who sell them though), we found the experience very frustrating...