The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly...

I bought this B&D bottom-loading water dispenser two weeks ago.

THE GOOD: It was exactly what I was looking for--great stainless steel and black look, the convenience of a bottom loading unit means no more lifting 5gallon bottles, cold/hot water spigot, and an attractive LCD screen that duals as a night light in the kitchen. For the first week, it was the best thing going.

THE BAD: After one week the realization that I had a lemon hit me when the hot water spigot stopped pouring water. This is a major problem, because we bought it needing the hot water as a convenience for my infant's nighttime bottle. But, after getting it on sale at Target for $159, I was willing to go through a little hassle with customer service to get the unit going again.

The UGLY: After spending 30-45 minutes on hold, the customer service rep had us open the top lid to access the resevoir and pour water inside. This seemed to fix the issue and we replaced the top cover and went to bed happy.

Well, the next day it stopped working again and we realized that was because the top resevoir had simply gone dry and the pump wasn't getting new water up to it to feed the spigot.

This time we decided to return it to Target for a new one. Well, turns out that we threw out the box after believing the unit to be fixed so Target couldn't even do an exchange.

Another call to B&D customer service, another long wait time. Rep tells us she can't refund or replace the unit, but that a manager will call us.

Several days go by with no returned call. Another call, another long wait. Rep tells us the same thing, but that we should call Target to confirm they can't take it back. At this point, I go online to review sites like Amazon (which I should have done first) and it turns out many people have had the same issues with this unit and B&D has failed to fix the problem.

We call Target and they again tell us they cannot return/exchange it without the box so we call B&D again. Another long wait, and the rep tells us that someone will call soon. My wife angrily explains that if she doesn't get a call back within the hour, she's placing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Miraculously, the rep says "hold on" and within 10 seconds the manager who kept avoiding us gets on the phone.

She says they will refund the purchase price of the unit. I'm waiting and will update this report if they do not send it. Long story short, this could have really been a wonderful appliance, but shoddy worksmanship and even worse customer service completely ruined the experience.

My advice: Steer clear of this product.

[Saturday, November 29, 2008]

Needs Replacement Part Every 6 Weeks

We bought this because it looks nicer than a top-loading cooler, and it worked well, until the plastic cap that seals the water bottle broke. Mine broke after three months (a few days after the date at which I could still return it to the store). I called costumer service for a replacement and they tell me this cap is only supposed to last 6 weeks on average. They will send a free one while under warranty (two years) after which you'll have to pay $2.75 for every cap. They won't send out more than one while under warranty unless I pay for it, so basically I am supposed to call them every six weeks to request a new one, and then wait for a 3-5 days without a functioning cooler for it to arrive. Who needs this kind of hassle? Not me, I would have bought a top loader if I knew beforehand.

[Thursday, November 27, 2008]

Good water dispenser

I just bought this unit. I have to admit this unit is well built and works very nice. I hope that it will stay this way for long time. It does come with 2 years of limited warranty y the way. Great thing about this unit is water is very easily replaced since it is bottom loading and you could set your own water temperature for hot and cold. And yes, it does keep water hot and cold as how you have set this unit. Overall, it is worth the money I paid for. I would recommend this unit.

[Saturday, November 08, 2008]

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