We upgraded to the new Nespresso Vertuo machine in November last year and were immediately won over by the quality of the coffee - we also drink a lot in Sydney cafes (or did) - and much larger quantities in some brews.
But recently (March this year) the machine started leaking and we called the helpline. The woman on the line told me to use the descaler. Since we only use filtered water and I had recently descaled, I said I didn’t think that would work but she insisted so I tried. It didn’t work
Then she said to try resetting the maching to factory settings. No joy.
Then she said the machine would be picked up for repair the next day. There was no replacement machine loan available in Australia (although there is in other territories). I said machines that new should not be breaking down. She said it was within Nespresso’s “acceptable parameters” for repairs and I would not be getting a new machine. I told her it wasn’t within my “acceptable parameters” nor would it be in Fair Trading’s. One hour later, a TNT courier was at my door. Well done for prompt service, no points for knowing when the machine would be picked up.
The helpline person told me we would be kept fully informed about the progress of the machine but the repair would take 5 to 10 working days. That was Thursday March 12th. By the next Tuesday, I had heard nothing so I called up. They told me the machine had only just arrived at the repairer. I said the repairer was a 15 minute drive away so where had it been in the intervening five days?
Again I was told it would take 5 to 10 days for the machine to be repaired.
Today, Monday 23rd I got a call from the third “customer support” person telling me that the machine would be ready within 5 to 10 working days, meaning the end of next week. I explained that the machine had actually arrived at the repairers on Friday the 13th (unlucky for some) at the latest and the end of next week would be three weeks or 15 working days.
Silence.
Then I said: “This is just a courtesy call, isn’t it. You don’t actually know if the machine has been repaired, do you?”
Nespresso: “It takes 5 to 10 working days …”
Me: “Now you’re just telling me numbers of days.”
Nespresso: “We don’t like to send machines straight back to the customer without several days testing to make sure it doesn’t break down again.”
Me: “OK, but you can’t say if anyone has even looked at the machine, can you?”
Nespresso: “As I said, it takes 5 to 10 days …”
Me: “Have they started repairing it?”
Silence
Me: “You don’t know, do you?”
Nespresso: “I … um … haven’t received that report, no.”
Me: “So you are just calling me up to make me think everything is OK, but you don’t really know.”
Nespresso: “Sometimes they don’t always tell us.”
Me: “Call me back when my coffee machine is fixed. And, by the way, this is pretty poor show for a nearly-new machine.”
End of conversation. Nespresso customer service person goes off asking herself how she ever got into a job fielding complaints from coffee-deprived customers.
Meanwhile, all my favourite cafes have been closed.
I have to say, the coffee is really good and in decent quantities, and the machines are quiet. But their repair people and their customer service staff really need to get their act together.
Hi Jimmy. Welcome to the forum community. Sorry to hear about your coffee machine.
While I sympathise with you, they were right that a leak is a minor fault under the ACL unless it would have stopped you buying the product had you know about it.
The service does sound to be disorganised. I don’t know about the Nespresso machines, but a lot of companies have servicing done by 3rd party repair firms. Perhaps this is the case, and the information just isn’t flowing back to the Nestlé company.
If you are unhappy, I suggest you ask for the manager at Nestlé and talk to them explaining what you have written here.
Don’t worry, I have done. But the problem is that you are dealing with someone who is reading off a script andunfortunately for both of us, the script has faulty information. It’s called “constructive engagement”. You empathise with the customer, but whether or not you can actually do anything depends on the company. I actually like the product but I’m disappointed with the response to a problem that should not exist.
I have been down that path with Nespresso twice with a different machine. They gave me the run around, first trying to say I didn’t descale it then saw that my purchasing record said otherwise and then with their “descale it now” routine when I had already followed the troubleshooting instructions in the manual. Because my machine was out of warranty they tried to dodge liability but I reminded them that a machine of that cost had a longer expected lifespan than the warranty period and if I knew it would develop a leak, I would not have purchased it.
Anyway, I just started ringing them every day to escalate the issue. They have failed in their own time to rectify. You can insist on speaking to the supervisor and that route. I also got the name and number of the repairer and rang them to get the story. Always interesting to hear their side of the story.
When our machine dies, I’m looking at a different fully automatic bean machine.
I surely will never buy a product like a coffee machine. If i did ill get a different brand.
