Complaint Review: Cuisinart - Nationwide

When I first got the Cuisinart GreenGourmet 10" skillet last December, it was great!  But after about 4 months, it developed a sticky spot.  That spot quickly spread, and within 2 weeks I was the proud owner of a nickel's worth of scrap metal.  Nothing can be cooked in this pan now without sticking, no matter how much oil is used.

And looking around at product reviews on Amazon, I noticed the same pattern -- works great at first, but quickly becomes useless.

Here is my experience trying to get a response from Conair (which apparently now owns Cuisinart):

June 17: I email customer service (CS) describing the problem and asking "What can I do about this?"

June 18: CS writes back and tells me to season the pan.  Despite the fact that anodized ceramic cannot be seasoned, I do as instructed.

June 19: I respond to CS informing them that the seasoning made no difference, and attach photos of the pan showing the results of attempting to cook an egg.  I say I'd like to have the pan exchanged for another of a different type that won't have this problem.

June 20: CS replies, requesting that I send them a photo of the bottom of the pan with the model number visible.  (Note that I'd already given them the model number in the original email.)

June 20: I take a picture of the bottom of the pan and send it to them.

June 23: CS replies with a set of 6 questions they want me to answer regarding how I use and care for the pan.

June 23: I reply to CS with answers to all their questions -- including (for the 3rd time) the model number, which was requested yet again.

June 24: CS writes back, telling  me "We have 2 options available to you. We would need you to let us know which option you would like, at which point we will provide you a service number and directions on how to proceed."  These options are to either send photos of the pan or mail in the pan.  I am instructed not to send photos attached to my reply if I do choose option 1.  They also request my shipping address.

June 24: I reply to CS, telling them it's not worth shipping a $40 pan, so I'll take option #1, and reminding them that I have already submitted photos of the pan which I was told would be kept on file.

June 26: CS writes back "We are in need of your address and daytime phone number. Once we receive this information we can provide you with a Service Notification number and instructions on the replacement process."

June 26: I respond with my address and phone number.

June 26: CS responds with this (the email in its entirety): "Please include all previous correspondence when writing to us more than once under the same subject heading E-mails that have been responded to must be deleted on a daily basis in order to make room for new incoming mail. We apologize, without the prior communication; it will be difficult to fully and properly assist you."

Now, I should mention at this point that all previous correspondence was included in the emails, because that's how my email preferences are set.  In fact, I can see the entire email train below the message they sent.  And note that they are deleting their own copies of correspondence on an open complaint, then demanding that the customer take responsibility for essentially maintaining their paperwork for them!  (Their claim of a need to conserve server space is bogus, btw -- email files are very small, and it takes no more space to store several individual emails than it does to store one enormous email with the exact same text and headers in it as the set of small emails.)  This was the beginning of the stonewalling....

June 30: Having heard nothing from CS, despite giving them everything they've asked for, I respond again to their last email: "OK.  So we're going with the first option.  What do you want me to do now?  Thanks"

July 2: CS re-sends the June 26 email text, as well as a second request for my address and phone number.

July 2: I respond, telling them that previous correspondence has been included, giving them my shipping information a second time, reminding them that I have chosen the option of submitting photos rather than mailing in the pan, and telling them "I now need you to tell me what to do now so that we may complete this transaction.  Do you want me to send the photos now?  If so, to whom?  Send me instructions that will move this ticket down the line toward completion."

July 2: CS responds, informing me that "we are missing your original correspondence, which stated the issue with your cookware."

July 2: I respond with a repeat of the problem with the cookware, as well as an account of the results of their suggestion to season the pan, a cut-and-paste of my answers to the 6 questions they sent me, a reminder of which option I have chosen, another attachment of the photo of the bottom of the pan, and a request to "please tell me what the next step is in this process so we can solve this problem and close this ticket."

July 5: CS writes back, asking me for the model number located on the bottom of the pan.

July 5: Realizing that this has turned into a shell game which has no reasonable prospect of ever ending, I send an email basically telling them what they can do with it.

Personally, I will never buy ANY Cuisinart or Conair product again.  Ever.