what they probably meant is that for the first 30 days you bring it back to where you bought it, not send it back to them...;.)

@drduran: That's what I thought too. They don't want to deal with the warranty if it's possible for you to make it the store's problem instead, and there's a system in place that disallows them from giving help before the 30 day point.

@chocobo: A lot of stores won't do that anymore though. They won't accept a defect at all if possible and tell you to go right to manufacture's warranty. I think it's ridiculous, but I could have sworn that's the policy Target now has posted behind their return counter. Of course, I'm going there less now because of that.

I've had good experiences with Keurig. I have a B60 brewer that has seen four years of service. The part that holds the kcups in broke recently and I called Keurig, with the expectation that I would have to pay to replace the part. They sent me a new one free of charge.

Unless its walmart. They send all merch back to mfg for a full credit and have hurt alot of companies with a to liberal return policy in the past. Alot of stuff has a large print notice DO NOT RETURN THIS TO THE STORE CALL 1800-xxx-xxxx

@Alessar: Yup, Target won't even take it back if defective, not for cash. You have to trade it for another item of equal or lower value in the same department. If product is discontinued, SOL.

I had a water chamber that either broke right away or came broken on my new Keurig. I contacted Costco (where I had purchased it online) through their website and a real person contacted me and facilitated Keurig overnighting me a brand-new part.

BTW... I absolutely love this coffeemaker and highly recommend it.

I love the movie, yay 80's tunes! I was singing along too.

PS I love that Amy Grant song too at the start.

@frodolives35: I ignore those. If its defective, badly designed, or missing parts, it goes back to the store where I bought it. I'm not spending my time calling the manufacturer during their call center hours, wading through their VRU, and scheduling a pickup and a delivery -- keeping a non-functioning thing in my living room all the while.

On the Keurig front, I recently bought one to replace my beloved Saeco Vienna Deluxe, which was stolen in a burglary. (Bastards.) The Vienna isn't available any more, and I gritted my teeth and plonked down $750 for the Saeco Giro, which I found to be a totally inadequate replacement for the Vienna. So I cleaned it up, took it back to BB&B, and said that the design is terrible and I hated it. They took it back (kudos to BB&B) and I spent $150 on the fancy Keurig (which had the largest water resevoir) and have been completely satisfied with it. I'd still rather have my Vienna (bastards), but for no-mess coffee at a moment's notice, the Keurig is great.

@frodolives35: Actually, that's false. While Walmart takes pretty much anything back, each supplier that they deal with has their own criteria of when and if they issue full credit.

Some do, some don't, some require a minimum dollar amount before you can make a claim, and some will take anything back automatically.

I think that companies actually have the big "Do not Return to Store" notices more because that way they have a hope of retaining the customer. If a customer returns something, they're likely to lose the customer. If they can provide good customer service, they'll manage to keep the customer, who will tell people about the good customer service they got and others will look towards that company for their next purchase.

You'd actually be surprised how much each Walmart store ends up eating because of returns over the course of a year.

@drduran: Agree - that is most likely what was meant. I suspect the originator of the story is leaving that part off.

I'm not saying that's very good service, just agreeing that that's probably what it is.

For those looking for amazing coffee (if you don't go into cardiac arrest at the price), check out Jura Capresso fully automatic coffee machines. All their models, even the least expensive, have the same guts, and make really amazing coffee. You don't have to buy pods, you use whatever whole bean coffee you like. Costco often has the best price on the machines.

Just take the thing back. It is broken in less than a month. Why do you feel any obligation to help them force you to keep defective merchandise.

If you bought it directly from them have them cross ship you a new one. Why are you trying to fix something that is only a month old?

It is not your problem, it is their problem.

Most companies don't expect to handle the warranties on their products in the first 30 days, and they expect the retailer to exchange it at that point.

But, most of them will tell you to take it to the retailer at the point, instead of telling you wait a day for them to be able to help you.

My guess is that you were speaking to someone new, who called someone on a power trip who didn't want to fully explain to the new person what the correct procedure was for those within the first 30 days, and just told them no.

@frodolives35: It's sad they put a warning on the box instead of fix the problems with their product.

@Syrenia: That does not always work. Gamestop for example, REFUSES any return of a Rock Band or Guitar Hero full band kit. If your guitar or drums break, you HAVE to go back to the manufacturer, they will NOT return them in store no matter how big a fuss you make.

@Syrenia: Why in the world would you spend 750 bucks on a coffee maker?

I'm not asking in a jackass manner, I'm really just curious. And, OK, astonished. But I'm a cheap bitch.

I actually had the same problem happen with my Keurig "Elite" brewer, though it happened after about 4 months. It took 3 phone calls to their customer service, but finally I found a representative who was willing to listen to what I said and what I'd already done (I made sure to mention I'd called before and what was said on those calls). She shipped a new brewer to me at no cost, 2-day delivery. She's probably the only reason I've stayed with Keurig.

@drduran: Not only do stores not like taking back defective products, most products now come with literature somewhere in the box that states very simply "IF DEFECTIVE, DO NOT RETURN THIS PRODUCT TO THE STORE, CALL 1-800-whatever."

@tungstencoil: FWIW, you don't need to buy pods to use with the Keurigs. There's a $15 filter basket adapter that allows you to use your preferred beans and grind. Available on the shelf most places that sell the Keurigs.

Don't most states have a warranty of implied merchantability law or some such? Wouldn't that make it illegal for retailers to reject a return within the time limit specified by the law?

@TBGBoodler: My trusty old Braun coffeemaker is giving up the ghost after many years of service, so I'm in the market for a new one. I never even heard of Keurig until recently...is it a German brand? 'Cause Germans know how to make good coffee!

@Syrenia: I say you hunt those bastards down ad law down some vigilante justice! You do NOT fuck with someone's coffee.

@zacox: i've seen that and i hate it. because if the store knows it has a frequently returned defective product they are more likely to stop selling it, saving other people from the problematic item. but if they don't know, they could keep selling an item that never works for anyone ever, in blissful ignorance.

@NewsBunny:

I spent quite abit on a Jura auto and love the machine. I've had it for afew years and it's made 1572 shots as of right now. I think the machine has paid for itself and I also don't have to gamble at the coffee shop if the barista is gonna put to much milk in my cap.

C'mon: it's a coffee pod machine. Where the coffee industry has lifted a page out of the ink jet printer playbook and has people making their own "ghetto pods" to compensate.

Keurig is just slowing down the eventual march for all these machines to end up in landfills. So for that, they should take an environmental bow for their customer service Brady Bill.

@Syrenia: "If its defective, badly designed, or missing parts, it goes back to the store where I bought it."

Quite right too. If you don't make life hard for the shop that's selling rubbish they won't have much incentive to stop.

@NewsBunny: The Vienna was much less expensive, and it was actually a gift. But I got addicted to the joy of one-button coffee. I was desperate and let the addiction to lattes on demand get the better of me. But the Giro would have been a disappointment even at $300 so back it went. If it had been as good as the Vienna, I would have been ashamed about spending that much money, but kept it. The amazing thing is that the manager at BB&B said that they sell tons of that model.

@Con Seannery: And it had the really good Meinel beans I brought back from Austria in it, too. Bastards.

@dragonfire81: I should clarify that I expect that the store handle DOA purchases. After that, it's not the store's problem. Does Gamestop at least publish their policy prior to purchase?

@catastrophegirl: There is a good reson why stores do this and many times its under the manufacturers direction to begin with. Stores dont want to take a defective product back that might not be covered under a warranty or defect. if the customer screwed the product up by misuse and the store gives them their money back, the store is SOL on their money and have to deal with the broken product. This happened to me a couple of times when I had a store. One of the items was for over a $1000 and I got dicked by the brand that will remain nameless.

Now I have a craving for White castle.

@Syrenia: $20 Mr Coffee and Dunkin Donuts ground to go with it is all I need :). Though, we in the Navy will drink damn near anything that resembles coffee.

@NewsBunny: A real coffee ''junkie'' will save money in long run. A well made cappuccino sells 4-5$ at good coffee places (not talking about Starbucks here). Take 1 a day, and a 750$ machine will pay for itself. Addictions are expensive.

My parents have one of these and it makes me sad. Every time you drink a cup of coffee, a piece of plastic waste gets dispensed into the environment. When will responsibility trump convenience?

@El_Red: Got it! Just curious. I don't go that postal for coffee.

Now, GIN...

@LandShark: Okay, then let's compare the total amount of plastic in a bunch of those little cups to the total amount in a canister of coffee.

@MooseOfReason: All of the coffee I get comes in bags, so it's much less waste. And I could be wrong, but I think the big plastic containers of coffee people buy can be recycled. I doubt anybody's recycling the little Keurig cups.

@Dustbunny: I think it's a new trend. It only brews individual cups of coffee, so you have to buy special "pods" and can't buy regular coffee. I know people that love them, but I suspect they're a fad that won't last more than a few years.

@chocolate1234: Ummm... you can so use "regular" ground coffee in a Keurig. It comes with a special empty "pod" that you fill with grounds (either commercial or your own) and works fine.

My parents own a Keurig and they use it with a local coffee place's grounds all the time. The use the pre-made pods only rarely when they want flavoured coffee (or tea or hot chocolate).

@LandShark: You don't have to use KCups. You can use the My K cup and fill it with your own ground coffee.

@tungstencoil: I think you are laboring under the false pretenses that cappuccino and espresso is coffee.

Are you sure the customer service agent just meant that the person who could help you wouldn't be in until tomorrow? I'm amazed at how many people who have customer service responsibilities have lousy communications skills.

@Syrenia: Yes, the policy is clearly visible at the register prior to purchase (or at least should be), it also prints out on the receipt. The wording on the receipt used to say that defective new items could be returned within 30 days but after ending up with a contradiction where the band kits were non returnable, it was reworded to "we reserve the right to refuse any return and require that certain items be returned direct to the manufacturer."

@Arketh: "I think that companies actually have the big "Do not Return to Store" notices more because that way they have a hope of retaining the customer."

Not always - The last item I had with a "Do Not Return To Store" policy wanted me to send it back at my expense AND include a check for postage and handling for the replacement.

I returned it to the store and they exchanged it.

Bigger stores with many locations have a lot more negotiating power to insist on refunds. If Walmart or Costco stops carrying a product it could be a big loss of sales for the supplier.

@bobinchicago: The filter option was one reason I went with the Keurig over the other systems. I still have two bags of beans from Austria. Now I just need a grinder...

@remington870_20ga:

can I have one guess...please???

sony?

@chocolate1234: Okay, but I still think it's a double standard to complain about the tiny plastic k-cups being thrown away, yet not saying anything about the big containers of coffee that are thrown away.

What are those bags made of, anyway?

@GeekChicCanuck:

I got a keurig which my dad eventually acquired, and the $15 pod (for brewing your own grinds) works really well, but is the biggest piece of crap. I would give the brewer and brand a 10/10 rating, but the pod is disappointing (be gentile while using it and figure you will go through about 2-3 of them a year

@MooseOfReason: It depends. Some are plastic, some are paper and can be recycled. It's all based on the coffee you're buying.

@GeekChicCanuck: I stand corrected. I didn't know the Keurig's had the empty pod option, as everybody I know that has one only buys the specialty pods.