Courtesy Can't Make Up for Poor Products or Bad Policy

Two years ago my wife bought me a super cool top-of-the-line all-in-one coffee grinder and coffee maker. She'd scrounged and scrimped for almost a year to spring for the pricey CoffeeTherm 455 by Capresso. The grinder and coffee maker work like a charm and make great coffee. 

A year after I bought it, however, the LED display began to give out. I couldn't read the time or any of the settings. It rendered the programming useless and forced me to always brew my daily setting of six cups. If I had company over, I couldn't brew a full pot because I couldn't see the settings on the display.

I called Capresso.

First, they asked me to unplug it for two hours and then plug it back in. It still didn't work, so they told me to send it in. A few weeks later, I got it back working like new. It was a pain, but it I had it back and working again.

Well, it was working again for about a year.

Like clockwork, the same thing began to happen 12 months later. I wondered if I had a lemon, but my friend Kyle said he had the same model and his has done the same thing three years in row. I called Capresso again and went through the unplug it for two hours routine. It still didn't work. This time, however, Capresso told me that it would now cost me $85.00 plus shipping to get it fixed again.

So, let me get this straight. I pay top dollar for a quality coffee maker, but it appears Capresso put a faulty LED display in the unit. Based on the experience of me and my friend, I can expect the LED to go out every 12 months. My almost $400 coffee maker will now cost me another $85 a year to keep replacing the LED display. If my coffee maker has a life span of 10 years I can plan on having invested well over $1000.00 in my morning cup of joe.

The Customer Service Reps at Capresso were kind, courteous and empathetic when I called, but no amount of courtesy can make up for faulty manufacturing and short-sighted corporate policy. I wonder if Capresso is listening.