You beat me to the punch.
I had a similarly fantastic experience with Gourmet Settings this Spring. A few spoons in one set (I had bought two boxes of four place settings) had discolored, and I inquired if there was any way to replace them. They asked me a few questions (basically determining batch/time info as best they could) Apologized that the batch of steel was probably to blame, and within 3 weeks sent me two whole new sets (8 place settings!) These haven't discolored, and the quality is just fantastic.
They are quite stylish, with a nice heft and balance... now with the fantastic service, I'll likely look into them when hunting gifts or recommend them to friends and family in the market for new flatware.
So much love for GS.

a bit OT, but there's a place that will let you buy replacement pieces for flatware/silverware/dinnerware/glasware - Replacements, LTD: [www.replacementsltd.com]

they will also buy pieces, so if you've lost/broken much of a dinnerware set, or just really hate it, you can sell stuff to them

the problem with that is that they usually ask WAY too much for their stuff...they wanted $140 for the teapot to my grandmother's china set from the 70's that I was able to get off ebay for $35.

@dahlink_natasha: I assume you are talking about replacements ltd. That has been my experience with them. The want 2x what the actual manufactures site wants for pieces to my grandmothers set that was manufactured from 1960-1980. What they want is crazy, as this is not a very fancy set that should be overly expensive, just something my grandmother thought was pretty. Only reason I'd consider buying pieces to replace broken ones is that I enjoy because it reminds me of all the wonderful dinners I ate at her house.

Bought big GS set at Costco -- an awesome deal & top notch quality too.

Jane at customer service is a sharp employee. I get the sense that she feels good about acting as the representative for her company. I applaud her pride in what she is doing, but what kind of woman gets excited about spoons?

@Scott Stasio: I don't think it's the spoons, it's the service. To be on the receiving end of such service blows one away (in this day and age, anyway - we are reading The Consumerist, after all), and to be the one to provide it surely makes one feel good.

@gStein: And if anyone's in the area, they're having their annual sidewalk sale from the 26th to the 28th of this month, too. Up to 75% off, which could end in some good bargains.

Wow, this is kind of weird, I was looking at picking up a new set of stuff for the kitchen, never even heard of this company (i was looking at the typical generic brands you get at Sears etc). I think I will check them out.

Ok, when I'm back to being employed again, I will go back to their site and get some new stuff. A 5-minute check of their site and I like the twist design.

Thanks for info.

Thanks for the tip! We've had this one for almost four years now (the 45-piece with serving set) and it is perfect. Matte enough to hide fingerprints and heavy enough to feel swanky. The teaspoons are staring to stain from tea (duh), but I'm sure that a little steel polish will get those out (and if they don't, I'll know whom to call).

Now that I know that they stand behind their product with excellent customer service, I feel great about having given them my business and sending more their way!

BTW, for the kids in Canada, they sell the 45-pc Stand By set that I have (8 place settings and a 5-pc hostess serving set) at Canadian Tire for $99.99 CAD (the reviewer who says that they tarnish and rust must be on crack) and the 20-pc (4 place settings, no serving set) is on sale on the GS site for $24.99 USD (the deal is for Canadian customers only).

@Scott Stasio: I used to work behind the customer service desk at a well-known housewares store. Honestly, it gave me warm fuzzies to field customer problems and solve them. It's fun to make people happy, especially when they don't really believe in the "system" anymore.

@gStein: My Mom uses replacements, LTD...the only complaint she has is that what she paid for an entire set back in the day only gets her a cup/saucer combo these days :P

Silly parents

@Fujikopez:

It has always been my experience that, when dealing with front-line customer service, nice customers get nice service, and crappy customers get crap service.

Inevitably, though, when dealing with management, crappy customers get far better customer service than nice customers, which explains why a lot of customers simply jump straight to the "asshole" part of the conversation when they know they're going to want a manager anyway.

@RvLeshrac:

That's what annoyed me about about being a cashier at a grocery store. Someone would come in wanting to buy 30 items with a "limit of 6", I would say no, they would throw a hissy fit and call a manager, the manager would allow it, and the customer would then look at me with this smug grin for the rest of the transaction.

If I were to email this company I think I would begin with "Might I inquire as to your spoooooons?"

@Scott Stasio: I like spooooooons. I like to touch them.

@gStein: Yep, I'm a fan.

They discontinued my silver like TWO MONTHS after my wedding, so I'm completing bit by bit through Replacements.

My father was able to use them to finish my grandmother's 60-year-old wedding china when my mother inherited it. (Grandma only had 8 place settings, and mom prefers 12, and there were no soup bowls.) Kept him busy for several Christmasses. :)

So they have extremely recent stuff as well as much older stuff!

They made me really bitter one time, though it wasn't their fault. I got a box of random dishes from my grandmother's kitchen when she died, including an unusual teapot with a broken handle and two teacups. I looked them up on Replacements and the cups were worth $40 each, very common, but the teapot, which is hardly ever found intact, is worth almost $700. EXCEPT MINE HAS THE BROKEN HANDLE. Stupid teapot.

@unobservant: There are so many Canadian jokes waiting to be made about buying your silverware at a tire store ....

(I know, it looks like a Farm & Fleet. But it's still funny.)

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!):
Don't sweat the broken teapot unless you actually got a buying price list from them. What they buy it for is nowhere what they sell it for. Get the current buy list for your pattern. Last time I checked for my pattern they were offering to buy at $0.15 per dinner plate and sell at $14.99. I had some rare pieces in my set as well, $70 gravy boat = $5 buy price from Replacements. I made more on a Goodwill donation tax break.

@dmann99: That was the buy price. :)

@Scazza: They can often be found at TJ Maxx stores (Homegoods and Marshall's) for well under $40 per 4 place setting box. They will often have multiple boxes of the same or similar patterns. Some of them would actually be pretty cool to mix and match.
Homegoods is where I got mine, and GS customer service didn't care a fig that I got them from a discounter. Hooray! :D

@gStein: I have a conflicted opinion towards Replacements, LTD. I am all for making money, and they really do have one of, if not THE most comprehensive catalogues available. But what they appraise a set for is leagues away from the selling price of the pieces.

Case in point, I am a rabid trekkie. And I so wanted a set of two dinner dishes from Star Trek, specifically NCC-2000, the Excalibut, the ship Sulu piloted in several of the movies. These were not colorful painted collectors plates, but rather the military-looking dinnerware featured in the movies. Pfaltzgraff issued them, as a limited set. At the time, Mom thought twenty-five bucks for dishes was crazy, and so the holidays came and went. My yearning, however, did not.

Flash forward 16 years. I saved and saved money, hoping to afford (and find!) some plates to get my culinary geek on. Replacements wanted US$150 per plate. Which I could in no way afford.

I found two on Eba for thirty dollars apiece, in great condition, and have enjoyed them a LOT. Because nerdy is how I roll.

Replacements, LTD also appraised Mom's wedding china. I did the same Let's just say the results were VERY different. It was like going back to 1985 to buy gasoline, then selling it here in 2009.

Bravo to them for making a buck. But elbow work can really pay off for the consumer, here.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): Oh gurl it's a religious experience for any genetic male. The smell of tires/rubber/auto supply pervades the place.

But you can walk out with tires, car mats, placemats, an air conditioner, duct-work, a microwave oven, a portable stereo, HDMI cable for the TV and, of course, flatware.

I used to live down the street from one and would go there when I was bored just to look at stuff. "Gee, it's a 5-way, bifurcated, combo saw and philips head screwdriver. I don't have one of these!"

@winstonthorne: i like rusty spoons.

If you do not show me where the spoons are, then I must leave, but first I would like to caress this rusty kettle. Goodbye.

That's fantastic service!

I have Gourmet Settings cutlery as well, from Costco - I believe this set:
[www.costco.ca]

Great stuff. It was a bit strange getting used to it, as it was much larger and heavier than my last set of cutlery, but now the old cutlery feels flimsy and awkward to use.

@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): We registered there when we got engaged, despite the fact that neither of us is particularly handy nor car-obsessed, because they had a ton of kitchen appliances and stuff we needed. It's really a genius move on their part, though: "Honey, do we HAVE to go to Canadian Tire for that stupid spark... OMG DEBBIE TRAVIS MICROSUEDE PANELS *drool*"

The one at Bay and Dundas in Toronto now sells faux Barca loungers, too.

@Scazza: Target used to sell certain lines of Gourmet Settings. I believe that's where mine came from many years ago. Costco carries a style or two as well. They're certainly better than "typical generic" flatware in quality, heft AND style.