An Encounter with KitchenAid Customer Service

When an appliance breaks down, it can be a gamble as to whether it is worth dealing with customer service. Simply buying a new one can often be less complicated. I've had my share of disappointing appliance purchases, especially the ones that decide to wait til the day after the warranty is expired to break down.

In spite of my appliance skepticism, I was thrilled to have received the KitchenAid Slow Cooker as a gift earlier this year. I used it several times over about six weeks with no problems at all. The cooker was easy to use even though it did not come with an owner's manual or any other paperwork due to it having been a demo at the store.

Unfortunately, my happiness was short-lived. One afternoon as the cooker simmered my corned beef, a loud "pop" brought me running into the kitchen with a sinking feeling. Sure enough, after cleaning out the crock, there it was - a crack that traveled almost all the way around the bottom of the ceramic pot. I was surprised and disappointed. As the owner of several other well-behaved KitchenAid appliances, I was accustomed to this brand being of high quality.

A visit to the KitchenAid website yielded the phone number for their customer service line. I dialed hoping the queue was short. In just a few moments I was speaking with a polite representative who listened to my story of crockery woe. I was a bit unsure what response I would get, since my cooker's history was not as clear as I would have liked - because it was purchased as a demo model, I had no registration paperwork for it. After taking my information the representative uttered a magical sentence: "I would like to send you a new slow cooker". Great - but what's the catch, I wondered? He went on to explain that all I needed to do was pack up the old cooker into the box in which the new appliance was sent, place it on my porch and it would be picked up and sent back to KitchenAid at their expense. It couldn't have been simpler.

The new cooker arrived less than a week after my call. I followed the instructions regarding the return of the broken appliance, appreciating that the packaging was simple and easy to put back into the shipping box. Although I had been informed it could take up to two weeks for the old cooker to be picked up, I was surprised to get a call only two days after the new appliance arrived - pickup was scheduled for that day. The exchange took place smoothly. There was no catch after all. I was very impressed with KitchenAid's customer service. I recommend the company to anyone thinking of purchasing a new kitchen appliance.