Java4Diva's dashboard

The last week of April 2009, my roommate and I bought a Black & Decker coffeemaker; the first week of May, I wrote the following letter to Black & Decker, via the website contact form provided in the product literature:

============== Original Message to Black & Decker ==============

[Nota bene: We have already registered the B&D 8-cup Thermal Coffeemaker (DE790B) we purchased April 2009 at Target.]

To Whom It May Concern:

Although we are mostly pleased with the product's features and operation, the "thermal" carafe -- the principal reason we purchased the coffeemaker -- is extremely disappointing.

We bought your coffeemaker to replace our old Keurig: it had a simple glass carafe and, after making coffee, we had to transfer the coffee to a thermal carafe to keep it hot without diminishing its quality. When making our final product selection, we wanted to be able to eliminate this "brew-&-transfer" step by purchasing a coffeemaker that brewed directly into a thermal serving carafe.

Your "thermal" carafe's ability to keep coffee hot is an abysmal disappointment; it is "thermal" in name only. If we brew a 6-cup pot of coffee directly into your carafe, an hour later, the coffee has cooled appreciably and distastefully. However, if we brew a 6-cup pot of coffee directly into your carafe, then transfer the coffee into our old standby serving carafe (a Starbucks carafe, by the way), the coffee is still hot and tasty TWO hours later.

This is our second dismaying purchase of a product from your company: it is doubtful we will ever purchase or recommend a Black & Decker household appliance again. (We also own a B&D Dustbuster; a mere six months after its purchase, and despite scrupulous care and maintenance on our part, it barely operates for longer than five minutes, even with a full day's charge. As for the vacuum's suction ability, a child with a straw has greater suction power.)

We hope you will take our comments under the most serious consideration. Even at a sale price of thirty-five dollars, we regret the money spent for the 8-cup Thermal Coffeemaker. As "java-nistas" who brew 4-5 pots of coffee a day and who look forward to a superior cup of coffee, it is irritating that the money we spend on buying excellent coffee beans to brew are wasted by the poor "thermal" qualities of your carafe.

============== Black & Decker's Response ==============

Thank you for contacting Consumer Services. We value you as a customer and appreciate your patronage.

Our products are built to high industry standards and function as designed. However, we are constantly striving for better quality and ways to improve our products. In this endeavor, our Engineering and Quality Control team are regularly informed of consumer feedback regarding any difficulty encountered during the use of our products.

We have forwarded your comments and suggestion to our Engineering and Quality Control team.

In regards to your inquiry about the Dust Buster unit we ask that you please contact our Powertools Department at (800) 544-6986 for further assistance.

If we can be of any further assistance, we ask that you please contact our Consumer Service Department at 1-800-231-9786. Our hours of operation are Monday thru Friday from 8:30am ET to 8:00pm ET. You can also elect to e-mail us at applicaconsumeraffairs@fox-internatio..., or you can go to http://www.prodprotect.com and fill out a contact form. A representative will be happy to assist you.

Applica Consumer Service

applicaconsumeraffairs@fox-internatio...

N.B. - After Black & Decker's rote, lackluster response, we returned the coffeemaker to Target. Thanks to a special offer Gevalia made us for ordering by phone, we purchased their 8-Cup Thermal Coffeemaker for a few dollars more than the Black & Decker, and along with it, received two boxes of their coffee. We have no complaints whatsoever about the Gevalia or its truly thermal carafe.

As for the eight-month-old Dust Buster, we sold it at a garage sale last week for $2.00 (down from our original asking price of $5), but we still had the better end of the bargain. With part of the proceeds from our garage sale, we bought an Electrolux Pronto 2-for1 (an upright carpet and floor sweeper with detachable hand vacuum). Perhaps it is glorified by comparison with the B & D, but it has surprised us with its charge capacity, vacuum strength, and versatility.

Also: we used the Consumer Guide for cursory research on household appliances (find it here:http://products.howstuffworks.com/). Although it is extremely useful for side-by-side comparisons of similar products and raised our awareness of product features and/or functions we didn't know about, their test results didn't always match our experience. They highly praise the exact B & D Dust Buster we owned and were lukewarm in their opinion of the Electrolux.

Ultimately, then, this post should have been labeled as "Give Praise". Because Black & Decker failed to step up to the plate, we were obligated to find products that performed as promised, made by responsive manufacturers. Thank you, Black & Decker.