There's a part of me that cannot believe we're going to do this again. Six years ago, my husband remodeled our kitchen in California. It turned out so well and improved the value of our home, and we then decided to sell it and relocate to Colorado.
A year ago, we got the bug to do it again. It's not that our kitchen is awful; it's that it's inefficient and it needs an update.
While the actual work is a lot of work, the planning and decision-making on the front end is not exactly simple. After months and months of research and going back and forth and looking at more refrigerators than I knew existed, we finally made the decision on the appliances. And recently, we completely changed our minds based on one thing: customer service. It was that bad.
Today I want to nominate three more companies for the Everyday Cheapskate Hall of Fame. I have written about these companies and their products and personally dealt with their customer service. Each one gets my highest praise, first for the products and then for the excellent customer service.
BREVILLE
I own several Breville products, and my favorite is my Breville Smart Oven. I love it and do not want to live without it. I use it multiple times a day. My latest encounter with Breville customer service was about a few weeks ago, when the oven fan that operates the convection option up and died. I went online and filled out a customer service ticket with all of my detailed information. Within days, I heard back with the news that my oven was out of warranty and had been for nearly a year. The message went on to say that the company was willing to replace the oven with a refurbished unit of the same model at no cost to me. Wow, are you kidding me? No charge? A refurbished oven with a new warranty? I was thrilled. My new refurbished oven arrived yesterday. It looks brand-new in every way! It even has a new owners manual and accessories all sealed in plastic.
EUFY
You know how much I love my Eufy HomeVac Cordless Stick Vacs because I can't stop talking about them. I have two and use them every day of my life. I've given this product as a gift to much-delighted recipients. It's as close to perfect as anything I own. I won't go on and on here, but I could. What I will tell you is that EufyHome has excellent customer service. With so many of my readers now owning a Eufy HomeVac, I get a lot of feedback. Out of thousands, two have reported that theirs had problems. After contacting customer service, both received brand-new vacs in the mail as replacements. Wow! Two more stunned readers you would never find.
NOK-OUT
How many ways can we say how much we love Nok-Out? Nok-Out is an odor eliminator, and there are lots of odors in my world that I want to eliminate. But it's more than that. It kills bacteria and viruses as well. It is nontoxic and completely safe to use around kids and pets. I could go on and on about Nok-Out, too. But let me move on to the customer service. It's like none other. Ted and Lou, owners of Nok-Out, are not only available by phone or email but will also take their time to help, instruct and educate you on how to use Nok-Out to its fullest advantage. I have yet to receive one complaint from anyone anywhere about their customer service.
With that, I'll close by saying to Breville, EufyHome and Nok-Out, "Congratulations, and keep up the good work."
For details and contact information for each of these three outstanding companies, go to https://www.everydaycheapskate.com/?s=customer+service.
Mary invites questions, comments and tips at [email protected], or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.
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