Home and Kitchen Reviews

for the first few months it was an excellent product, but it soon becomes obvious that the parts are so poorly made that they disintegrate, leaving the product dangerous to use, and when sourcing spare parts, it proves very difficult, so far waiting 3 1/2 months and still no further forward.

before buying the nu wave oven, I decided to try the (non-800) "customer service" line for the Hearthware Products people.. I called them 10 min. ago and I'm still waiting for someone to get on the line to answer my pre-sales question--just a constant recording of a young lady that can't pronounce the word "representative". OK, I'm hanging up and going elsewhere right...about...now...

THIS ADDITIONAL COMMENT ADDED ONLY 3 WEEKS LATER:

I'm adding this additional comment because I've noticed how quickly there were an almost immediate 5 "unhelpful" comments in such a short time. When I asked a long-time reviewer on Amazon about this, he replied: "you can bet that the Hearthware people got most of the people in the front office to go online about this."

That may well be the case. Unlike my other negative review of the book about the person who painted the poor skin colors who perhaps got some of her friends online to try to cancel that one, the fact is that I called not once but twice to Heartware and languished on the "customer service" line each time. In one review, it's just my opinion that the lady couldn't paint skin tones very well, while in the other it is a stone fact that I sat on the line for a long time both times with nobody picking up. I almost always call customer service before buying a product. Especially computers.

It seems pretty stupid anyway all this cutthroat, Machiavellian action behind the scenes. But when one considers the amount of bucks involved as a result of increased or decreased sales of a product like a convection oven, it makes more sense to have the office get involved. Sales=jobs.

What's next? Of course a "reviewer" who may or may not be legitimate coming on here and saying something to the effect of: "well, I called them and they answered right away and were very helpful, etc." Whatever. What happened to me (twice) was what happened. Caveat emptor.

This oven prepares any meat fast and preserves a lot of flavor. I am sure other reviewers have already stated about that (and its ease of use), and I don't intend to echo them. However, I decided to write a review in response to the review titled "customer service?" below.

The thing is, what he writes in the first half of his review is true (probably not the second half regarding unhelpful ratings though). I was not able to reach them by phone. Or by "general" email foe that matter. I know the email didn't work either because I ordered one directly and suddenly I had to move, so I was trying to update my shipping address, and it did not go through - apparently they sent it to my old address.

However, it is too early to decide that they do not have customer service. When they shipped the oven, one of their customer service person sent me a notification by email from his personal corporate account. And with this address I could communicate with him. This proved to be very important because the oven that was sent to my old address got lost (or stolen).

I had a bad impression about their customer service from the phone and general email incidents. So I felt hopeless when I decided to try to contact that person. And that was quite a while later (at least about a month because I was trying to find the original package in vain). Guess what?? They sent me another unit with no charge, even the shipping was free. I received it two days after I sent the email.

So, it is true you cannot reach them with their general phone number or email. However if you get a hold of someone down there (and you will once you order one) their service is quite good.

And the product is fantastic. I guess I will rate one-star short of perfect 5-star for the phone issue, but you will be missing out if you let that scare you away from this product.

I bought this product because the box says "no more ice chunks." There is even an "icebreaker" setting. I wanted a way to make slushies. However, the manual says you are to use the "icy drink" setting when crushing ice. I am not sure if or when a person is supposed to use the "icebreaker" setting!
Also, the whole ice crushing process requires many steps and more than a blender. First, you have to pour water in before you can crush the ice. Once you press the "icy drink" setting, you pour out the excess water into a collander.
Even after all that, there are chunks in the ice. No slushie for me!
I gave this product just 1 star because I hate misleading advertising. I will now have to take time out of my crammed schedule to return this product.

Just a note - I was expecting the "Thermal Jar" to be glass & it is actually plastic. Haven't used the blender yet & am debating sending it back as my last blender had a plastic jar & didn't hold up very well. Will post an update if I decide to keep it.

This is the Best Blender I have ever used. It grinds Indian style batter real good. It grabs and churns the mixture quickly. I am using it for the past 5 months, and there has been no problems with it. The jar is plastic and easy to handle and clean.

This pizzelle maker is as great as you would hope it would be, and then some. Super fast, and it keeps itself so clean, you don't have to worry about clean up. This 3 inch size is perfect for snacking on, and they're easier to keep whole. Try it, you'll love it!
-Christine

I thought I couldn't live without my Cuisinart or Kitchen Aide - this product goes on the same list!!! This was the easiest, best performing kitchen "gizmo" I have ever had. A must for entertaining and holiday baking - simple, easy - no mess! Gone are the days with the "one at a time" with the gas burner!! Love it, love it!!!

We recently purchased this cart and recommend it to others. Instead of three bins spread over the garage floor, the cart has the footprint of a single bin and our recycling is now consolidated into one location. Our city's three differently-sized recycling bins fit perfectly on the hooks. The bins rest at a slight angle, so it's easy to add materials to the bins throughout the week. The entire cart wheels to the curb where we can easily remove and stack the bins for collection. The cart construction is solid, though the machining of the axle pieces could be sturdier. All-in-all, this was a great purchase, and we'd do it again.

This small fan is quite powerful but extremely loud. As far as moving air, it's great. But, it's sound is distracting even on the lowest of four speeds and on high it dominates the room. Also, the remote should include the oscillate function. Had I been aware of the loudness of the unit I would have looked for a quieter fan.

I am confused by the other reviews. The fan makes some noise when on, but is not noticably loud by any means. It is small in size, but is a powerhouse. Our living room is very large - over 400 sq. ft. - and this fan moves the air around it and does a great job cooling it down quickly. I'm buying a second one for the bedroom.

I love this fan. it is perfect. I don't know what the others are talking about, but this fan is quieter than any fan I have ever heard. And it efficiency is inpeccable

There is indeed space for 17! bottles in this cooler, but three of them need to be eiswein! I doubt this will hold 17 .75 liter bottles; I might get one more eiswein in it for 18 bottles. It took some figuring how to do it, but 17 will fit. I haven't had the cooler long enough to note its efficiency, but it seems durable enough. For the price, it seems to be a good purchase.

This reasonably priced, sturdy refrigerator seems to be doing the job it advertised. A great value for this discounted price, it is also an attractive item for your kitchen, bar or pantry. I don't know if they had Houdini doing the counting, though...I cannot possibly imagine how one could configure it into holding SEVENTEEN (!) bottles of wine!

I am a quilter and was looking for a good hot iron and lots of steam. I also hate the auto- shut off. Well I thought I had found it. The perfect iron for my needs. Well after only one days use it is put away for someone else to use I was very disapointed in the iron it spits water and boy do I mean spit my ironing board cover was wet. My fabric continued to to roll under the iron, the surface is not smooth and seems to grap the fabric. Not what I was looking for at all I would not recommend this iron.

The iron is performing well in its role, and is very easy to use from the control standpoint. Some of my staff mention that it is a bit heavier than the modern design counterparts. They also mention that they like the clear plastic reservoirs of the more modern units as they can see the water level. However the iron appears to be well constructed and very sturdy. Time will tell if it holds up to leaking reservoirs, stained sole plates and worn out heating units of many of the other brands that we have used over the past years. From a price perspective it was a very good deal.

I bought this iron after a visit to my in-laws house. My mother-in-law had this ancient iron and I was actually scared to use it but it did a fast and fabulous job. The weight of the iron helped press all the wrinkles out. My mom-in-law said she could not find this iron anywhere to replace her old one and refused to buy one of the newer more flimsy models.I finally found this one and bought one for myself and after LOVING it, I bought one for my mom-in-law too! She loves it too because not only is it heavy it is also has a steaming feature that works great.