Mixer Madness

For your reading pleasure, and to further sully the KichenAid name, I thought I would share with you the content of the on-line chat I had with KA on Saturday. My original statement is not included, but I basically just explained what happened and asked what I should do. Here's the chat:


Please wait for your KitchenAid Personal Assistant to respond.
You are now chatting with 'Lenné'
Lenné: Hello and welcome to KitchenAid Live Chat. My name is Lenne'. I will be assisting you today.
Lenné: One moment while I review your question.
Lenné: I am sorry to hear that your unit is not working. May I have your model and serial number?
Charlotte: KSM150PSMC
Charlotte: WU1607525
Lenné: When was your date of purchase?
Charlotte: August 13th 2007
Lenné: I can locate a service center for you. What state are you in?
Charlotte: Tennessee
Lenné: TN "Knoxville
Lenné: Located in E Tennessee, Lenné: 143 mi S of Lexington, KY" Hobart Sales & Service 2626 E Magnolia Ave 37914 865-523-8410
Lenné: TN Nashville Marbut's Appliance Service Center 6207A Charlotte Ave 37209 615-329-4079
Charlotte: Anything closer to 37686?
Charlotte: johnson City?
Lenné: Unfortunately those are the only ones available.
Charlotte: And there's not warranty for any of this?
Lenné: The warranty is one year from the date of purchase.
Charlotte: Well, it isn't realistic for me to drive to Knoxville or to Nashville for a repair. There's nothing else you will do for me?
Lenné: As an additional option, we offer Factory Repair Service through our Greenville, OH factory.
Lenné: Our factory repair Stand Mixer shipping kit is $32.00. This kit includes a letter of instruction, packing materials, shipping box, and a pre-paid shipping label. The kit also includes the cost to return the unit to you.
Lenné: After the factory receives your unit, a trained technician will diagnose the problem and contact you with an estimate for repair. You may decide at that time if you would like us to proceed with the repair.
Lenné: To purchase a Factory Shipping Kit, please feel free to contact either the KitchenAid Customer Satisfaction Center at 800.541.6390
Lenné: I would also recommend checking your local phone listings for small appliance repair shops.
Lenné: Thank you for chatting with us today.
Lenné: Have a great weekend!
Charlotte: I'll have to think that over. I have to say, as much as I have heard great things about these mixers and your company, I am not at all impressed that my $300 mixer died in less than 2 years and this is the best you can offer.
Lenné: Goodbye.
Lenné: I apologize for the inconvenience, however the warranty is 1 year from the date of purchase.
Lenné: Thank you for chatting with us today.
Lenné: Have a nice day!
Lenné: Goodbye.
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.


Do you see where she asked if there was anything else she could help me with? If I had any other questions? No. Of course you didn't. It must have slipped her mind in her zeal to disconnect our chat.

I pasted the content of this chat into another email to KA, explaining my situation, and advised them that they might want to consider avoiding written correspondence with customers if this is the best they can do. I went on to explain how disappointed I was that "the greatest mixer in the world" crapped out in less than 2 years, and how equally disappointed I was that the "world class customer service" I had heard so much about amounted to a questionably sincere apology and a disconnect. I quoted some customer reviews for them (which I found on Saturday when looking at other brands), which basically said I'm not the first person whose mixer died in the 2-year zone and I'm far from the first person to get no love from the KA folks.

I got a very long, very polite email from KA today, saying in a longer and more round-about way that the warranty was for one year and to violate that for me wouldn't be fair to their other customers (ummm, what?) They also said to beware online reviews, which are mostly written by hacks with an axe to grind (Cook's Illustrated has an axe to grind?) I would paste it, but it's really long. I got tired reading it. (Maybe that was their plan all along.)

So, still no love. I took the mixer to a work friend who is an electronics repair whiz. He's going to look at it and tell me what it needs. If he can fix it, great. If not, I'll be buying a Cuisinart.