Feeling A Bit Befuddled

Roughly three months ago, Pokey & I took the plunge and invested into a more expensive coffee pot.  We generally kill the little $20 pots within 3 months so we have deemed them as 'disposable'.  We, or should I say "I", didn't take this purchase lightly either.  Hours were spent researching all the different brands, bells and whistles to make sure that we purchased the perfect pot - because with the amount of money we were planning on spending, this pot was not going to die any time soon... or so we thought.

The time to make our purchase was upon us and there was more investigating to find the lowest price on the perfect pot.  Once that was located, we, or should I say "I", drove in to town and made the purchase.  Walking out of the store, I was filled with delight and trepidation - I had never spent so much money on a simple coffee pot before - oh but wait, this wasn't just a simple pot, was it.  It had a thermal decanter.  It did not have a heating element, as none was needed.  It had a cleaning cycle.  It was pretty.  It was the Rolls Royce of coffee pots and it was going to live on forever in my kitchen... or so we thought.

The first month we are in the honeymoon phase with our coffee pot.  It kept coffee warm up to 5 hours in that nifty little decanter.  It brewed a 10-cup pot in record speed.  It was still pretty.  Oh yes, we were so in love... until it came time to run the cleaning cycle.  We, or should I say "I", followed the cleaning instructions perfectly with anal retentive precision.  This was, after all, the Rolls Royce of coffee pots.  During the cleaning cycle, when it was supposed to pause for thirty minutes and then finish up, my coffee pot protested with a loud noise that could wake the dead.  It was a teeth shattering, high pitched, nonstop, ear-piercing tone that would be an excellent spy torture device to learn secret plans.  Immediately, I unplugged the coffee pot and called the manufacturer.  How could this be - it's only been a month and I followed all the directions for every aspect of operation.  I was so heartbroken.

The manufacturer was kind and understanding.  They sent us a replacement coffee pot within the week and while it may have looked identical - our love affair was jaded.  No more adoration was felt for the beauty of the machine, the nectar of the gods that it brewed or the speed at which it performed.  Oh no, instead, all of the normal feelings of love were replaced with dread for when the month was up and we would have to clean it.  Would it do the same thing?  Will we, or should I say "I", be on the floor in submission, spilling any and every secret plan that I could conjure up?  The answer came today... and the answer was a tearful yes.

I was prepared this time.  I did what I was taught - prepared for the worst, prayed for the best... but apparently I didn't pray hard enough.  So with phone in hand, I called the manufacturer.  While the customer service experience was wonderful - honestly, it was top notch fabulousness incarnate - the end result has me feeling a bit befuddled.  You see, the original pot was valued at $80 and this replacement one is only $75.  The original one was thermal without a heating element and this replacement one is glass and has a heating element.  Granted, the original one was only 10-cup and this one is 12-cup... but the original one was pretty - this one is not.

Replaced without any hassle.  Superior customer service representatives.  Inferior replacement product second time around.  Yeah, I'm a bit muddled with this.. we'll see how it goes in six to eight business days when it arrives.