Last December, I posted about a problem I had with a blender I purchased. It broke within the warranty period, and the manufacturer, CUISINART, made me pay $10 to ship it to a local(!) facility. They returned the blender and said nothing was wrong with it. that, despite the fact I could hold the blade with my fingers and start the motor without losing a digit.
I blogged about that on my business blog here and here.
After this unsatisfactory response, I contacted the BBB of New Jersey, where the parent company of Cuisinart is located. Through BBB, I was promised a refund of the shipping and handling charges and a replacement blender. I wrote about that here.
Back in March, I sent the original blender back to Cuisinart, expecting the replacement blender and a check. Neither of them ever arrived. Recently, I contacted the BBB of New Jersey for a follow-up. They contacted Cuisinart and did not receive a response. Here is my correspondence from the BBB-NJ that arrived this morning.
Dear Richard Novy :
This message is in regard to your complaint submitted on 1/28/2013 11:44:56 AM against Cuisinart. Your complaint was assigned ID 9397167.
Recently, we received additional comments submitted by you and requested an updated response from Cuisinart. As we haven’t received further feedback from the company, we have closed this case as “unresolved” and it will appear as such in the business’s BBB Reliability Report.
Please let us know if the company has been in contact with you directly to resolve your concerns.
If you have any further questions, please contact us as soon as you can. For more information about the BBB’s services related to complaint handling, please visit www.trenton.bbb.org. Thank you for your interest in an ethical marketplace.
Regards,
Dispute Resolution Team Service Representative
Until today, I did not reveal the name of the company as all of this could have been simple mistakes. The fact that Cuisinart sent a UPS guy to my home to collect the blender and then reneged on their promises, keeping both my money and my blender, tells me this company had no intention of satisfying the customer.
I originally purchased a Cuisinart brand blender because of the strength of the company’s reputation. As far as I’m concerned, that reputation is worthless. Unethical actions and complete disdain for their customer says everything I need to know about Cuisinart.
Not only will I never again purchase another Cuisinart product, but I am also posting my story here so you can make your own decision in that regard. I’m also still considering the option of making Cuisinart defend a lawsuit in an Arizona small claims court, just to make a point.
Little gets me upset as much as a corporation looking upon their customers with contempt.
