Cuisinart Customer Service: USA vs. Canada

You may recall my love for my Cuisinart Keurig Brewing Station. I heart it... seriously. But lately, it has been acting up on me. The dreaded DESCALE signal has come on at least 5 times in the last 3 months. The machine is not running right... and since its has a fantastic three year warranty (most Keurigs only have a year), I decided to call the Customer Service number in the back of the owner's manual and see about what could be done.

The first number I called, I got through to an agent after two keypad entries on the phone. A lovely agent greeted me and asked about the reason for my call. I explained the troubles I have been having and she confirmed in a rather upbeat tone that the machine was not functioning properly. She asked for the model # and the serial #, and said they would ship me out a new one immediately and when I received it, I had to ship them my current unit.

I thought ... this is too good to be true, but AWESOME!

The lovely agent asked for my name and address... but when asked for my STATE, I said ONTARIO, and she said 'oh, your from Canada?'. She then proceeded to give me the Canadian number for Cuisinart and said that it would save me on the headache of having to ship my machine to the USA. So I took the Canadian number down, we said our goodbyes, and I immediately dialed Cuisinart Canada Customer Service.

After selecting the language, and then listening to a recording three times over by a someone with a very heavy accent, I pressed zero and was transfer to a holding pattern for 10 minutes. When someone did finally get to my call, she was a low-talker. You know the kind I mean ... super soft voice as if she didn't want to disturb a hibernating house fly.

Anyways, I proceeded to tell her my spiel about when I purchased it, the descale issue, and the fact that the machine is not functioning properly. She then asked me did I have proof of purchase. I informed her, yes. She asked for my serial # and model # and told me that someone from Cuisinart would have to look at it as it sounds like the unit may not be working right. (Genius). She told me to mail in the unit to a specific address that she rhymed off and in 10 business days, someone would get back to me.

There was silence on my end for a good 20 seconds as I began to process the differences from the call I just had with Cuisinart USA. So I then tried to clarify with Agent Canada the process.

Me: "So, your telling me, I have to ship you my unit and be without my Keurig for a minimum of TEN DAYS"
Agent Canada: Yes (faintly) you are correct (softly),

Me: And in the meantime, I am just without it (read: without coffee, sanity, my soulmate)?
Agent Canada: Ahem.

Me: And after 10 days what?
Agent Canada: Someone will contact you to let you know what the next steps are.

Me: Wow.
Me: You know your US partners were all set to ship me a new one, without so much as asking for receipt. No questions asked.
Agent Canada: Uh-huh. That's the US.

Yes, that is the US... they get the importance of COFFEE to their customers. They understand that k-cups and world peace are pretty much one in the same. They know that taking a product away from a customer is wrong, and they recognize the inconvenience a bold move like this would have on the coffee drinking population.

USA Cuisinart gets it. Canada Cuisinart does not.

I don't understand how two different countries can have such different approaches when its the same issue to the same product.

Agent Canada got a little snarky, (but still a low-voice) when I barked again about having to go without the unit for so long. But the bottom line remains, if I want my unit fixed I have to send it away to get repaired with no guarantee of even getting a new one and no guarantee on the time line.

Lovely... just lovely.

You can bet if I can't brew my own k-cups for ten whole days... there is going to be hell to pay for someone at some point during that dark period.

You've been warned!

Dupuis Ford Lincoln, I'm not happy with you!

I had a 'fun' customer service experience that I thought I'd share... just to get it off my chest.  As you know we recently purchased a new vehicle, as our lease on our Ford Escape was up. It was a three year lease, and we've never leased before, so we were trying it out.  Turns out, leasing isn't for us... we drive too many kilometers in a year to fit into a lease, and if I weren't on maternity leave twice in the three years we had the vehicle, we would have had to pay a pretty penny for extra mileage.  Luckily, I've been confined to the house for the last six months, so we were just under the mileage allocation at its maturity date.

So... to cut to the chase, we leased our Escape for Dupuis Ford Lincoln in Casselman.  When the deal went down, Dupuis screwed up royally... between the salesman and the finance manager wires were crossed and we ended up owing the bank $600 on the spot, because Dupuis got the numbers wrong, and after the papers were signed, it was our problem.  Fast-forward three years... and they are still using the same approach - not our problem, your problem.

Three months ago... we stopped in at Dupuis Ford and asked them about changing our winter tires back to our original all-seasons, which we knew two of the four tires had low tread on them.  The service manager told us that all we needed was four good tires that matched, with the same speed and rating as the original tires on the Escape (when we received it).  He said we would be taking a chance leaving on the winter tires when the warmer weather came around, but they were probably our best bet as we'd have to pay a replacement fee if the other tires were not good. In addition to this advice, I also went online and reviewed Ford leasing's documentation about the tires, and concluded the same thing, as no where does it specify that winter tires are not considered acceptable tires.

So... we took his advice and left the winter tires on.  The day we go to turn back the Escape and pick up our new non-Ford vehicle, we find out that we are being charged $125 per tire (totaling $500 + GST) for having winter tires on the Escape.  Apparently if we had turned back the vehicle before April 15th, winter tires would have been acceptable, but on May 30th, its a $500 charge. 

When you break it down... its almost understandable that they don't want winter tires on a vehicle in the summer... however, when we did our homework on the options, and we were given misinformation from a trusted source, this outrages me.  It also makes me mad that the winter tires that are on the Escape are in fantastic shape... and while they charged us for them, they still can re-sell them andndouble their money.  I mean... honestly! What we should have done is roll up on Dupuis' lot and then take our tires and run, leaving them with just the rims! The charge would have been worth it then!

I talked Dupuis and they told us that its up to Ford Credit if they want to reverse the charge or 'figure something out' with them, but upon calling Ford Credit, we got the reverse approach - its Dupuis who can make the adjustments.  Given that we learned about the charge 2 hours before we were to pick up our new vehicle, it left little time to figure out a solution (which we tired to find a set of used all-season tires to put on it, but to no avail).  We had already disposed of our all-season tires on the advice of Dupuis' service manager, but according to Ford Credit, we should have been talking to the leasing manager.  I explained that the service manager is our main point of contact for Dupuis Ford and has been for three years - but she corrected me in saying that it was a stupid move as I should have been asking my questions to the 'leasing manager' - who frankly I didn't even know exisited, but turns out, he's also the 'finance manager' (who originally screwed up the deal three years ago).  I'm annoyed because when we asked the service manager he didn't pipe up and say 'oh that's not my area, you have to speak to the LEASING manager'.  No ... he answered the question, like he has been asked it 50 times before.  I apologize for believing a manager of Dupuis Ford on an issue related to a Ford vehicle that we purchased at... Dupuis Ford.

All this to say... I tweeted about my frustration and someone from Ford Customer Service offered to look into the issue for me. I was happy about this, but even after all his efforts, he couldn't do anything as he was based in the states, and this is a Canadian issue. However, he did forward my tweet and the background to Ford Canada Customer Service and they phoned me... to tell me (in summary) its a sales issue and customer service can't intervene in a credit matter because, get this, Ford Customer Service is not Ford Credit AND, technically I'm not considered a client of Ford Customer Serivce, because Dupuis Ford is their client and I'm only a client of Dupuis. Oh ... and Dupuis really isn't Ford, their an independent broker who sells Ford vehicles.

Clear... as MUD! They're CUSTOMER SERVICE for Ford Canada right, but I'm pretty sure Charmaine, ID #4503, told me I'm not considered a customer, even though I leased a Ford Escape, from who I thought was a Ford Company, and I've paid Ford Credit every month for 3 years.

After speaking with Charmaine from Ford Customer Service, she advised me that she would 'make a note' of my frustration and forward it to Dupuis Ford, but that I needed to speak with Ford Credit and Dupuis if I wanted anything done about the charge. I did call Ford Credit as I wanted to know who I owed the $500 to? Ford Credit or Dupuis Ford?  The agent I spoke with, Candice, was actually very factual, and informative, telling me that Dupuis got their money for the sale three years ago, and any outstanding charge was owed to Ford Credit.

That pretty much explains Dupuis' lack of interest in my problem... as they've been paid for the sale and beyond that they could care less about my frustrations. The Ford Credit agent did argue with me quite a bit, but in the end she knocked off $70 from the charge for, as she says, 'trusting the service manager's word'.

$70 is better than nothing, yes... but the whole back and forth with Ford Credit, Ford Customer Service, Dupuis Ford car dealership was pret.ty. crazy, and at the end of the day I still owe a car payment worth of money on a perfectly good vehicle, that was turned back with practically brand new winter tires on it.

I am done with Dupuis ... done with their 'its not our problem' approach... and the now proven stereotype that car salespeople are only nice to you until they get your money.

I still do heart my Ford Escape and love the Ford product, but if we ever do drive a Ford again, it won't be from Dupuis 'independent broker who sells Ford vehicles' in Casselman.