No customer service

I don't know about you, but if I buy something and there's a problem, I want to know that the company provides quality customer service. The juicer is fine as long as you don't have to deal with L'equip's customer service. What follows is my experience and the terse response from L'equip.

From: Pamela Green
To: custserv@lequip.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 9:24 PM
Subject: My mini juicer experience

Hello:

After much research, I recently purchased a mini pulp ejector juicer on-line. I received it and got to work.

After making several batches of juice over a couple of days, I noticed that the juicer leaked juice all over the counter every time I used it. I called the the office in PA and spoke with a woman who said she had "never" heard of anyone having that problem.

First of all I find that inconceivable unless L'equip has only made five juicers and I was the unfortunate consumer to get the one that leaked.

After telling me all of the things your company doesn't do in connection with a faulty juicer, (like reimburse for shipping if indeed there was a problem), I decided that it was unreasonable to accept a faulty juicer that was less than one week old.

On July 2, I packed it up, shipped it to PA and insured the thing for $90. Fifteen dollars and fifty-five cents later, my mini juicer that has a six year warranty is heading for repair of a problem the woman had "never" heard of before.

I received my juicer today. There was no correspondence saying that there was indeed a problem and these are the measures we put in place so you can juice away and not worry about leakage. Nothing. Not even a little hand written note saying, 'Wow, I had "never" seen it before, but the unit you purchased and has a six year warranty did in fact leak.'

Realizing I was going to get no information about just what happened to the juicer while in PA, I started removing the bubble and five hundred plastic peanuts used to ship the juicer safely back to NH.

Once I got the bubble wrap off, I discovered that some Einstein in shipping wrapped the plastic unit with clear mailing tape to secure the pulp basket to the motor base. After the tape was removed, a thick solid strip of adhesive was left on the juicer..

Now, I was really not happy. I called the 717 number again and spoke with Jennifer and asked if they had forgotten to put in the note explaining what was wrong or what was done to my unit. She told me "we don't do that."

So I asked what, if anything had been done and she explained that the faucet from the juice bowl leaked and they put on a different juice bowl, tested it and then mailed it back.

I then asked if she had any idea how to get the adhesive off that was now left on my unit after I removed the tape. She said the unit was packed in bubble wrap. I said it was but someone first secured the pulp basket to the rest of the unit with mailing tape.

Jennifer asked if I had tried hot water, I replied it hadn't worked. And it was always my understanding that motors shouldn't be immersed in hot water, even if attempting to remove adhesive that someone thoughtlessly put on the plastic.

I just want to get this straight. I purchased a new L'equip pulp ejector juicer model 110.5 via the Internet that has a six year warranty. It arrives, I start making juice, which is very tasty, but notice a significant amount of waste dripping along the sides of the unit rather than into my glass.

Knowing that this can't be right, I called the company and was told all of the things the company doesn't do with regard to faulty, less-than-one-week-old juicers that have six year warranties. It is returned to me with no explanation and the pristine juicer I returned for repair to the tune of $15.55 that was not in anyway my fault, now has sticky yuck all over it -- most of which I was able to remove after 45 minutes of rubbing the line of adhesive with Goo Gone and it still isn't completely off.

Is this really how your company conducts business? Does the company think the consumer is too stupid to read an explanation of what was wrong and what was done to correct the problem? Does your company think it is acceptable to return a brand new unit to a customer who has had it less than a week with adhesive gunk all around it? And does the company believe that the customer should bear the total cost of shipping an item back when it was a) less than a week old and b) there was a manufacturing problem at your end that created this situation in the first place?

Although the juicer is good, I am not pleased with how this situation was handled.

I look forward to a prompt response.

Very truly yours, Pam Green

Hello,
Thanks for choosing L'Equip, I am sorry that you disagree with our companies policy on customer service. It is clearly stated on the warranty registration card that if you have a problem you must send the unit in for service at your expense, the problem will be fixed and the unit will be shipped back to you at our expense.
Healthfully,
John Forry