chrisbruin Senior Member Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Posts: 62 Location: Los Angeles Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Compact CKXE,... Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MDUA, la... Drip: teavana pot, french press Roaster: caffe rosto, popcorn popper,...
Posted Wed May 25, 2011, 9:59am Subject: Dolce Vita Espresso Repair
Don't know if anyone on here has run into this guy (the owner of "Dolce Vita Espresso" - repair, service, installation) but I emailed him about his add on craigslist selling used espresso machines. During our conversation he says that "Quick mills and Andrejas" are junk - I said wow really those seem to be pretty liked machines on the better coffee wesbites ....he told me to forget a silvia and buy a rancilio s27 or at the least a expobar office machine .......obviously spending more money will get you a better machine (I am looking at a used older silvia in the $300 dollar range). He then wanted me to paypal him a payment for his "advice". When I explained that I am looking for a used nice begginer machine to switch over from a superauto and contacted him regarding his add for sales and was not hiring a consultant he sends me some nasty email explaining that he's a professional and everyone on these sites is full of "BS with their PIDS".
Anyway I thought everyone should know what he thinks of the coffee folks on this site before they might consider using his services.
calblacksmith Moderator Joined: 25 Nov 2007 Posts: 5,684 Location: Riverside, Ca, U.S.A. Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: ECM Veneziano A1 Grinder: Many different commercial Vac Pot: 40s era Silex Drip: Milita, Bunn&Curtis... Roaster: Cast iron pan, gas burner
Posted Thu Aug 4, 2011, 6:41am Subject: Re: Dolce Vita Espresso Repair
Well, a PID can help SBDU machines and they have become the standard way to regulate temp on Double boiler machines but the PID does tend to get quite a bit of "air time" and credit where they don't deserve it.
My personal feeling (many feel differently) is that by the time you go through the trouble and expense to add a PID to a starter machine, you would be better off spending more up front and buying a better machine to start with. For example, if you start with a new Sylvia and add a PID to it, for only a little more, you can get a starter HX machine that is easier to use, more consistent and more flexible in just about every way.
A PID has NO value on a HX type machine but the lure of "hi tech" is strong so PID's are installed on machines that would be just as well served with a flashing light disco display on the face plate.
This is not the first time that he has wanted to charge for his "service", nor will I expect it be the last.
In real life, my name is Wayne P.
Feed the newbs, starve the trolls and above all enjoy what you drink!
Alrighty now, this is Matt Schwartz, owner of Dolce Vita Espresso responding belatedly very late to all this. Yes I remember Chris' phone call, he did not identify himself (aha!) and as it seemed to be going into an extended brain-picking direction (mine) I thought it prudent to end the conversation before it went to an unrealistic length. But we now see it was in fact all in fun, a bit of tongue-in-cheek Maxwell Smart subversive "mole" activity to ferret me out as some kind of bogus non-authority on the subject of espresso machines. But I am not bogus. I have 20+ stellar reviews on Google, the only one who even has any. I repair all makes and models of commercial espresso machines, lever machines, home machines from Creminas to Francis Francis to Ascaso, and brewers and grinders as well. My website has a wealth of great honest information. I am not interested in ripping anybody off, charge extremely reasonable fees, and in fact make a meager living off this. My comment on QuickMill and Andreja deserves some clarification. I do not like these particular machines. Quickmill has no experience in building professional large espresso machines and it shows in their small ones. If you put the portafilter into a quickmill machine and tighten it, the entire frame flexes considerably, affecting operation of the lever switch, which I find of concern; not a sign of a solidly build machine. An Isomac or Expobar Office machine does NOT do this because these companies build large solid sturdy machines which is reflected in ANY machine they build. The Andreja Conversion IMHO is a kludge with the pressure regulator hanging off the inside back of the machine and the silicone hoses flopping around inside. As for PID kits, there are many pro and con opinions on these; mine is that they need to be integral to the machine or don't bother. The PID kit for Silvia features a sensor that sits on top of the boiler - no, this is not the way to go. A transducer which sits inside the boiler connecting directly to a more sophisticated temperature sensing/ signalling CPU as in the Rancilio is the only way to go. I'm doing a bit of work barely paying the rent trying to keep the Espresso Sabbath holy, so that's the deal, Chris.
Flex what Flex, I own a QM Andreja and haven't seen any flex when I put the pf in to pull a shot and when I put the right amount of grounds into it and tamp it right I don't need to man handle it into place. :^) Agent 009
he did not identify himself (aha!) and as it seemed to be going into an extended brain-picking direction (mine) I thought it prudent to end the conversation before it went to an unrealistic length. But we now see it was in fact all in fun, a bit of tongue-in-cheek Maxwell Smart subversive "mole" activity to ferret me out as some kind of bogus non-authority on the subject of espresso machines.
chrisbruin Senior Member Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Posts: 62 Location: Los Angeles Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Compact CKXE,... Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MDUA, la... Drip: teavana pot, french press Roaster: caffe rosto, popcorn popper,...
Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 4:47pm Subject: Re: Dolce Vita Espresso Repair
Matt i just saw that you replied or I would have responded sooner. I really have no idea what your talking about. I called you because you had an advertisement saying you had used coffee machines for sale. I wanted to upgrade from a super automatic. I told you my price ranges (around a used Silvia) and you told me to buy a machine that quite a bit more (commercial rancilio). I asked you why you made that recommendation and wanted to understand why you were suggesting that to me.
You were offering your machines for sale and i asked you why I should spend that kind of money instead of the $300 or so I had planned. There was no undercover activity. You were a seller and I was a potential buyer. The conversation was really pretty short (5 mins?). I am not sure how asking you what makes the machines you are selling better than what i was planning on buying makes me some kind of spy.
After that short discussion you then said i needed to pay you for your advice. You advertised for buyers and then suggested I pay you for your "advice" about the machines you were selling. That is pretty ridiculous. When I refused you went on some tirade about how CoffeeGeek people are full of crap and don't know anything.
I got lots and lots of extremely useful info from this site and its contributors. I got nothing but a sales pitch, demand for money and insults from you.
As a member and user of this site, I wanted to warn other people that might come across your business about what i consider unprofessional and shady business practices.
You might be an awesome repair man. I have no knowledge of that but part of running a (successful) service busines includes having some people skills.
Nothing I have said is not factual and I have no ulterior motives. I ended up buying an Astoria Compact CKXE on ebay that had some issues and had you handled the situation differently I am pretty certain I would have called you to repair it. As you can see I was not making anything up....... I was looking to upgrade and you advertised machines for sale.
I am sorry that you are having trouble making ends meet with your repair business but maybe you should look at this like a learning experience of how not to treat people, contribute some of that knowledge to the forums and build a reputation that will get you more clients. I know other vendors contribute and I value their input and in turn patronize their stores.
chrisbruin Senior Member Joined: 27 Jul 2010 Posts: 62 Location: Los Angeles Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Astoria Compact CKXE,... Grinder: Nuova Simonelli MDUA, la... Drip: teavana pot, french press Roaster: caffe rosto, popcorn popper,...
Posted Thu Jun 21, 2012, 4:55pm Subject: Re: Dolce Vita Espresso Repair
I agree. I never even asked about PID.
I ended up buying a Silvia from a coffeegeek member first and liked it until we had a small party and everyone wanted coffee. That was the end of my night and the perfect excuse for me to show the wife why we need a more robust machine. Six months after the Silvia i bought the Astoria compact. It was a mess at first but I learned about the machine and now its amazing. All in I ended up getting the Astoria for about $250 and put about $200 - $300 in parts and a lot of elbow grease.
MattINLA Senior Member Joined: 2 Oct 2009 Posts: 69 Location: Glendale Expertise: Professional
Posted Tue Jun 26, 2012, 3:20pm Subject: Re: Dolce Vita Espresso Repair
Ok MAtt here at Dolce Vita Espresso flailing this issue again. Yes Chris that was a bit overboard me asking you for $$ for information, big deal already that was the only time that ever happened, you were way more demanding of information than most and as I run into a too frequent problem of people picking my brains I need to sometimes cut these conversations short. as I get nothing out of it. Also, I need to repeat that I have DOZENS AND DOZENS of awesome Google reviews that are stellar - and I am the ONLY ONE WHO HAS ANY! HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THOSE? Please go through those carefully, and redigest it all. I do repairs reasonably, that NOBODY else even tackles. I do boiler brazing, marathon descaling procedures on clogged up groupheads nobody will touch. I rebuild lever machine group heads, I do electronic board level repairs, repair of damaged Gicar/Giemme CPU's, I replace motors, pumps, do rebearing of pumps, re-bearing of mazzer grinders! (Try THAT repair one day) I do correct / fastidious crimped electrical repairs, am Marzocco trained, I do complete rebuilds on Silvias, Quickmills whatever you GOT I work on every machine out there. You know who up in Van Nuys is my supplier and consults with me frequently. I SAVE machines. Not only that, but I am highly competent in the FILTRATION aspect of espresso machines and install water softeners and reverse osmosis, filter change-outs etc. PLUS I install and service Bunn, Fetco, etc. I am a pretty good electrician and plumber as well. There are no shady business practices, you judging me on one phone call I had with you is not very fair. I do not show up and demand $300 up front like some techs do, nor do I wrap steam fittings with teflon tape which is stupid and incorrect and which I see EVERYWHERE. Yes let's talk about the bad work out there I see constantly which I am not contributing to. I am truly one of the most honest and cheapest out there. I ALSO sold an Astoria CKXE on Ebay and my buyer loves it. Ok, so YOU need to get your act straight, mine already is.
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 