Vinotemp Customer Service Issues -- Help Please

WINE TALK
21

Costco might take it back, but they might not have a replacement.

1 Like
22

Update: just received a phone call from Amanda at Vinotemp offering to overnight me a brand new cooling unit with a 5 year warranty free of charge.
I appreciated the offer but rejected it because whoā€™s to say their customer service will improve in the years to come???
This whole ordeal has left a real sour taste in my mouth and I will NOT buy another product from Vinotemp. [cry.gif]
Happy Labor Day !!!
Lou

PS: She also said sheā€™ll refund the $388.25 to my CC today. [head-bang.gif]

23

Lou,

You sad story rings a lot of familiar bells to me. I own 2 new Vinotemp units [VINO-600EC 1500 BTU] plus a used after-market unit. I have dealt with Yvette numerous times [great struggle to reach her as she does not return calls] and came away dissatisfied every time. Their employees never seem to share information and you have to start over with each person you deal with; servicemen arrive [barely speaking English] and have the wrong paperwork, etc.
Their last ripoff: They have to come out to my place to get my unit under warranty for service. Instead of asking for a loaner I purchase one of their reconditioned units [which they use for loaners] and ask them to bring it to me when they pick up my warranty unit. They bring the unit and then charge me $88 for freight on the unit I bought. I complain and point out that they had to make the trip to my house anyway to get the unit under warranty. Their justification for the freight charge? ā€œPolicyā€ That alone tells you what kind of company they are.
I wish I had not bought Vinotemp.

Paul

24

Paul,
Thanks for chiming in and hopefully all these nightmare stories will serve as as wake up call for Vinotemp to get their act together and do whatever it takes to improve their terrible customer service.
Itā€™s truly amazing that some companies think they can treat customers like crap and get away with it.
That said, Iā€™m really lucky I bought this unit from Costco as they stand behind their products 100% and will make me whole.
Just wish I didnā€™t have to go through all this hassleā€¦
All the best,
Lou [cheers.gif]

25

Final Update:
Costco has agreed to take the Vinotemp back and theyā€™ve asked a trucking company (Bekins) to come by my house next week and haul it away.
Iā€™ve just placed an order for a Lecache unit (#5200) which will be delivered in approx 2 weeks.
Thank you all for the great advice! [thankyou.gif]
Lou

26

Lou

You will be very happy with the Le Cache. I canā€™t find anyone who has had a negative experience with them and you truly get what you pay for . Did you get the Contemporary model or the European? Color?

Ben is a great guy and he had the patience of a Saint. My buying cycle was 8 months of hunting. He was very patient and understanding.

I would recommend putting in a separate thermostat somewhere in the middle (towards the back) of the unit with an external wireless readout. I would adjust the thermostat on the Cellarpro unit according to the desired temp. on the read out. PM me if you have any questions about the unit, most likely I have been there done that :slight_smile:

27

Iā€™ve been to their warehouse in Southern California. We planned to purchase a small fridge under $200 from their scratch & dent inventory for my mother in-law. Easy purchase? No. What a train wreck that place is. The manner/attitude of the employees is horrible. Either all of them are patently unhappy people, or they simply hate their jobs.

Regardless, what should have been a simple transaction took about 45 minutes to an hour. Just pathetic service. They would just walk away and disappear for periods of time.

I knew going into the place that their service was bad, but they fully under-exceeded my expectations.

Based the piles of accounts of reliability and service issues, I likely wouldnā€™t have purchased a larger full-price fridge from them before my visit, but after seeing their staff in action, I will never return, even for a cheap scratch & dent. Their scatch & dent inventory was very, very spotty, but we did find a fairly decent looking 24-bottle unit that likely wonā€™t leave us exposed to any loss if the cooling unit fails.

28

Hi Alan,
I got the Le Cache A5200 Classic cherry finish and solid wood doors.
Cheers :slight_smile: [cheers.gif]
Lou

29

Andrew,
Thanks for posting! pileon
Thatā€™s exactly why I decided to turn down Vinotempā€™s offer for a brand new cooling unit and asked Costco to take the whole thing back.
What if the new cooling unit they send me fails again in a year or two?
Just the thought of having to deal with their awful customer service again made this a very easy decision.
I spent more than double for the Le Cache cellar but at least I know they stand behind their products and will make things right if a problem arises.
Lou

30

Eurocave.

31

= BIG $$$$.

32

Negotiate.

On a separate topic, one Bob Hudak once told a story on eBob, about getting a wine delivery meant for another Bob Hudak. Are you that ā€œotherā€ Bob Hudak?

33

+1

34

God, I wish. Rick Hudak here.
On another note, I just blew a deal on a new Vintage Keeper 500 bottle unit for $300, so I am looking.

35

Louā€¦you seemed to have figured it out before my post, but I thought Iā€™d add my experience. The whole experience at the warehouse was equally depressing and annoying. I could not imagine spending several hundred to a thousand at that operation. We only stayed because we found a 24-bottle fridge for something like $175. In general, itā€™s tough to find a fridge that size for that price, and we had traveled about 45 minutes to get there.

If they could annoy me this much over such a ridiculously simple transaction, I could only imagine the possibilities.

36

I ordered a 600E from Vinotemp in 1999. Things went swimmingly, until rack failure about 2-1/2 yrs later. They offered me a new replacement rack of the same design; I would only have to pay for shipping. I explained to them I was very worried about the design - especially the integrity of the aluminum uprights, and told them I wasnā€™t sure I wanted to take a chance on this happening again. They said they obviously couldnā€™t guarantee that it wouldnā€™t happen again, but said the rack design was sound, and it was very unlikely. I still wasnā€™t convinced, and expressed a desire to upgrade to the all-redwood design that Iā€™d wanted initially. They agreed to do so for a nominal charge. They said they needed to build the rack, and I should expect a call in about 7-10 days.

Fortunately, things worked out - though I am still waiting for the other shoe to fallā€¦in the form of what is the inevitable cooler failure.

http://www.grape-nutz.com/cellar/cellars4.html

37

I have been going through my own version of Vinotemp personal hell for the past four months which probably warrants a separate post.

I have a 500EC unit purchased from Costco. The cooling unit crapped out. With the goal of severing ties with Vinotemp, I was wondering if anyone has tried to replace a Vinotemp cooling unit with a Le Cache cooling unit. Online the dimensions appear almost identical for the Vinotemp winemate 2500cd vs. the Le Cache Cellarpro 1800. The control box looks to be the same as well.

Has anyone tried this? Le Caches offers a five year warranty on parts and labor and is located nearby. Vinotemp offers a much more limited warranty and, to be kind, at best are extremely difficult to deal with as set forth in this thread.

38

Just as a bystander to this whole thread, Iā€™d like to say that this is pretty amazing, re: Costco. I assume that their generosity would not extend to products beyond their warranty, but stillā€¦

39

This is disheartening. Iā€™ve been looking at a Vinotemp 600 for the basementā€¦ [cry.gif]

Cheers!

  • Frank
40

Mike, why donā€™t you call Costco.com customer service at (800) 774-2678 and try to return the damn thing.
Iā€™m so glad they refunded me in full and I was able to get a brand new Lecache which I absolutely love.
The Le Cache is incredibly well built, very quiet and they stand behind their products 100%.
As others have also pointed out, Vinotemp customers service sucks and it wonā€™t get any better.
Whatever you decide to do, Good Luck !!!