My Cool and Serve Tray Disaster: What Now?

[vgibsonrn]

Not a great ending to my show today..As I cleaned out my new cool and serve tray I dropped one of the inside trays veg's, dressing and all in the floor. The tray is now cracked and unusable....What should I do now..Will home office replace it, or will I just have to suck it up and use the server with only one tray

 

[PamperedchefDaly]

Call HO, and explain what happened. Depending on whom you speak to, they might replace it, or possibly a replacement part is available. It doesn't hurt to try!

 

[vgibsonrn]

Hope to do that monday morning....Oh well, maybe they will replace at least the tray...I just can't use it like I wanted to tommorrow..

 

[raebates]

Until you get that tray replaced, use it without the cracked tray. There are so many usage variations, I'm sure you can think of a way to make it work.

 

[ChefCKHall]

Happened to me too. Did a show with an all tile floor. It got bumped and the tray cracked. First time at a show too......

Will also be calling HO tomorrow!

 

[BlueMoon]

I love my tile floors, but I hate them too. Anything I drop is going to break, there is simply no question about it. As it is headed for the floor I am already trying to accept it.
....and I'm pretty clumsy, soooo....
So sorry this happened to you.
Marghi

 

[Melissa78]

I apologize ahead of time for sounding like Debbie Downer but...by asking HO to replace it, isn't that the reason everyone had a beef about them being more strict with stoneware and other returns? There is no where in the guarantee that says "we guarantee it won't break when you drop it". If that was the case, then stoneware should be replaceable for any reason and cookware that has been mis-used/put in dishwasher by user error should also go back.

Legitimate returns get questioned because the return policy is not followed.

I am not holier than thou and am willing to bend and 'tweak' things but it was dropped. It does suck and I'd be horribly upset since they're not cheap but I sit here thinking, Why should PC absorb the cost of the return when it was not a manufacturing defect?

Again, my apologies for sounding like the beotch here but I get very frustrated when legit returns are questioned and this right here is why that happens. Individual apples ruin the bushel. I guess the 11yrs of retail still lives within me.

 

[pampchefsarah]

Melissa, I thought the same thing. However, there are two reasons the call to HO should be made:
1) As a Consultant with a BRAND NEW Product (not just new to her, but new to the catalog), she should be able to get a replacement (at least the part) so she can show the product at her shows, and
2) HO needs to be aware how easily these items break, and that component is then unusable. If they are expecting better quality, they have to be made aware of the defect. If they are already aware how easily it breaks, they need to realize the importance of being able to offer replacement parts.

 

[Melissa78]

I'll agree with you on replacement parts being offered no question there! However, I do believe others were suggesting calling have HO to replace it. I do believe Lenox say's their China is of high quality too but when dropped its certainly going to break unless possibly dropped on carpet (and I'm doubt the plastic wasn't dropped on carpet). Before anyone says, you cannot compare plastic to a piece of china/crystal, when accidentally dropped on a hard surface, the liklihood of the same outcome is great. The tray is made of a very hard plastic which honestly, as soon as I opened mine I knew was easy to crack. I picture the snaps on the lid 'snapping' off in the blink of an eye. Just from use at one backyard picnic mine has several scratches in it due to the hard plastic used.

 

[vgibsonrn]

Thank you PamperchefSarah...I will be glad to pay for a replacement tray, if there is such a thing...and I agree that HO needs to know how fragile they are...I'm not trying to rip them off..was just upset about my wonderful new product and not being able to EVER use it as it should be used. At least when this is over when a client breaks their's I will know what to tell them and what to do about the problem

 

[ChefCKHall]

Hello, HO offered me a one time adjustment to replace the Cool n Serve. She did mention replacement parts are not available and did not know if they would be by September's new replacement form.

Take good care of them ladies!

 

[shelly.nurse]

I am sorry, but I think that if you buy something plastic, you should not have to treat it with kid gloves. Yes, my daughter broke my large bar pan that was so seasoned it was black by setting it on the stove and turning on the wrong burner by mistake. That was our fault, so I did not do a replacement (although still within the 3 years). However, if, with the first use, I had something plastic and it broke from a fall of what I assume was no higher than counter height, I would be very upset that it was so flimsy, and I would be leary of selling it to my customers.

I think you should call for a replacement IMHO.

 

[krahema]

I am sorry, but I think that if you buy something plastic, you should not have to treat it with kid gloves. Yes, my daughter broke my large bar pan that was so seasoned it was black by setting it on the stove and turning on the wrong burner by mistake. That was our fault, so I did not do a replacement (although still within the 3 years). However, if, with the first use, I had something plastic and it broke from a fall of what I assume was no higher than counter height, I would be very upset that it was so flimsy, and I would be leary of selling it to my customers.

I think you should call for a replacement IMHO.

I'm leaning towards this thought process. There are too many of us have problems with the C&S breaking. Now imagine at this rate, as customers start receiving them, the calls we & home office are going to be getting and the disappointment the customers are going to have when we explain that unfortunately there are no replacement parts available until at least the end of summer.

I was thinking about it last night, as I was showing my Salad Spinner at a show, I don't know why it couldn't have been made of a more durable plastic, similar to the Spinner. That is one thing I always point out about the Salad Spinner - the cheap one I purchased I Walmart cracked when I dropped it in my sink, but my PC Spinner is made of a much more durable plastic, which seems to be more "crack-resistant".

I'm guessing if it was made of the same material, it would add a significant amount of weight (and possibly cost) to the item, so maybe that is the reasoning, but I guess what I'm trying to point out is that we do offer other clear plastic items that are more durable (heck - even the collar for the Food Chopper is made of more durable plastic than the C&S).

 

[esavvymom]

That's the problem with having different manufacturers of the products. The one who makes the Spinner likely is NOT the vendor for the new C&S tray. Hopefully, as they find out about issues in the field, they'll make improvements quickly.

 

[JamieLois]

My Cool & Serve Tray arrived with a crack in one of the trays. They have sent me a new one and I have to send the old one back. As someone else stated replacement parts are not available at this time. After reading this I am wondering how good this product really is and is it worth the money?!?! Especially if it gets scratched during normal use the first time. As Melissa 78 said "Just from use at one backyard picnic mine has several scratches in it due to the hard plastic used." It's a great design, not too sure about the material used.

 

[vgibsonrn]

Just received my replacement Cool and Serve today...HO was very nice when I called Monday about breaking one of my trays. I, like a lot of you wonder if it's really worth pushing sale on this item if it is going to be sooooo breakable. I don't like the idea of having a lot of my clients calling me complaining that they have broken something on their servers, and me having to make excuses why PC doesn't have replacement parts yet and that I can't replace their broken tray or one of the other breakable parts.... There by causing the client to either have to buy a new Cool and Serve or just forget it...making a very unhappy customer and consultant

 

[Chefgirl2]

HO needs to know this is a problem. If you don't call they won't know the C & S can easily break and scratch. Call! It is a $42 item. Acryllic is plastic and plastic should be durable. Call! HO would rather replace 10,000 C & S's than 350,000 C & S's. Call!

 

[AJPratt]

I agree with Elaine. Its better to give HO as much feedback as possible on this so they can prepare accordingly. If HO offers to replace it, that's great. But, this could wind up being a tough one when customers start buying them.

 

[babywings76]

I sold 3 last night. Now you have me worried. I don't want to alarm customers, but I'm wondering if there's a way to do Out of the Box calls and give them some sort of tip on using it to avoid potential problems. Or do I treat it like any other product and say what I normally say for any product. (read U&C, call me if it's there's a problem in the first 30 days, after that call HO, etc.)