Posted Sat Feb 16, 2013, 11:54am Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
rjamya Said:
tdifraia,
I am in the same boat as you are, however only thing that is making me think about CuderaII is very short warranty. I understand after glancing at 79 page Cudera thread that lot of people like it but that warranty and return policy is making me think again.
The Cuadra has a one year parts warranty by the manufacturer. We are able to drill down the sales price of the Cuadra by offering a lesser warranty for labor to 90 days. Most manufacturer defects/issues usually occur in the first 90 days.
There have been issues with limescale crippling the bleeder valve, the OPV and the pressurstat. There have been a few issues with the relay building carbon. All these were handled without shipping the machine back to us. In the past 13 months, there have been only 2 cases where a Cuadra machine came back for repair after the 90 days labor warranty expired. There was a third machine a client paid for labor ~$85 in San Fran instead of paying for shipping which would have ran her $150. She also did not have to wait 2 weeks for transport time nor risk any shipping damage.
For those that have a problem after the 90 days, we still support our customers who email and can self-diagnose and self-repair.
As in the example above, it is cheaper to find someone locally then pay the shipping costs and also get quicker turnaround time. In other words, there is a great savings in buying a Cuadra, and even if one had to pay for one repair, one is mot likely to still be ahead.
As a blanket statement for those interested and basing their purchase decision on 2 year warranties.... first and foremost, check with your dealer if they cover the shipping in either direction; second, what are all the exclusions; and third, what specifically is included; and/or fourth, is the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year warranty covered by a third party that the dealer purchased the extendedwarranty from and you are additionally bound by the 3rd party rules and regulations. Do they publicly post the details or bury it 3 levels down? There are companies who do not pay for shipping in either direction for the machine, who do not pay for shipping of the parts in either direction, and/or who do not cover labor in the 2nd year. In other words, many of my competitors have differences about their two year warranty.
Sincerely, Jim Piccinich Business Partner 1st-line Equipment, LLC www.1st-line.com
Dules Senior Member Joined: 26 Jan 2013 Posts: 32 Location: Rochester, MN Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Lever Grinder: Preciso
Posted Sat Feb 16, 2013, 6:06pm Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
I was making this decision at the beginning of the month. I ended up doing a refurbished Expobar office lever machine from WLL. I ,do like the machine alot. It does everything that I would ever ask, solid, and no complaints that way. However; If I would be able to make the decision again I would have ordered the La Nuova Era Cuadra just because I would avoid WLL. Here is why:
I placed my order with a Sales rep over the phone, because I wanted to see if they would package my machine with the preciso. Which they did, but the customer service rep told me my machine would be shipped same day, and I would receive it on the following monday at the latest! ( I ordered it on a wed. am the week before. My machine did not ship for two days, and did not arrive till the following wed. Which would not be a huge deal if that is what I was told. The fact that I was told it would ship same day, and it did not, was not acceptable in my opinion.
When I contacted the customer service at WLL with my issues with this, I got a reply two days later saying that they shipped well within their shipping policy of 48HRs. I did read the policy prior to ordering, and was aware that their policy guaranteed shipping in 48, but when I am told it will ship same day, I expect that the company I just spent $1300 will do what they say they will.
I was not satisfied with that response so I contacted them for their local address so I could file a complaint with their prospective Better Business Bureau I have yet to receive a reply.
Overall I love the machine, but wish I would have ordered the Cuadra. 1st line is active on answering questions on these forums, and that level of customer service is really remarkable. IF I was given the chance I would order from 1st line over WLL in a heart beat, and I wish I had a Cuadra in my kitchen instead of the Expobar. Overall look at the forums on this site and it will be clear that 1st line is committed to their customers, and will address any issues if you should have any!
The point I was trying to make was that every company is different. I was only trying to build awareness, and not to single out on any one company, including 1st-line. Each potential buyer should visit each competitive web site and check each policy as part of her/his decision process. The key is to understand the policies as this also sets expectations and deliverables.
I would love to answer this, but just like every other company, these things change and I will never remember to come back and change this here. In addition, each brand and each level of machine (home vs commercial) at 1st-line are treated differently. Some manufacturers who handle their own warranties have different policies.
Sincerely, Jim Piccinich Business Partner 1st-line Equipment, LLC www.1st-line.com
Posted Sun Feb 17, 2013, 6:56pm Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
Dules Said:
I was making this decision at the beginning of the month. I ended up doing a refurbished Expobar office lever machine from WLL. I ,do like the machine alot. It does everything that I would ever ask, solid, and no complaints that way. However; If I would be able to make the decision again I would have ordered the La Nuova Era Cuadra just because I would avoid WLL. Here is why:
I placed my order with a Sales rep over the phone, because I wanted to see if they would package my machine with the preciso. Which they did, but the customer service rep told me my machine would be shipped same day, and I would receive it on the following monday at the latest! ( I ordered it on a wed. am the week before. My machine did not ship for two days, and did not arrive till the following wed. Which would not be a huge deal if that is what I was told. The fact that I was told it would ship same day, and it did not, was not acceptable in my opinion.
When I contacted the customer service at WLL with my issues with this, I got a reply two days later saying that they shipped well within their shipping policy of 48HRs. I did read the policy prior to ordering, and was aware that their policy guaranteed shipping in 48, but when I am told it will ship same day, I expect that the company I just spent $1300 will do what they say they will.
I was not satisfied with that response so I contacted them for their local address so I could file a complaint with their prospective Better Business Bureau I have yet to receive a reply.
Overall I love the machine, but wish I would have ordered the Cuadra. 1st line is active on answering questions on these forums, and that level of customer service is really remarkable. IF I was given the chance I would order from 1st line over WLL in a heart beat, and I wish I had a Cuadra in my kitchen instead of the Expobar. Overall look at the forums on this site and it will be clear that 1st line is committed to their customers, and will address any issues if you should have any!
At any company, sometimes the left and right do not communicate. I suspect they probably wanted to test your machine before shipping (which is a good practice for refurbs).
Sincerely, Jim Piccinich Business Partner 1st-line Equipment, LLC www.1st-line.com
scanfield Senior Member Joined: 21 Nov 2011 Posts: 170 Location: Texas Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: La Nuovo Era Cuadra Grinder: Baratza Vario
Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 8:10am Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
Don't forget about extended warranties offered by your credit card. Many (most?) credit cards have an extended warranty or accidental damage and theft coverage and in my experience, they are pretty generous and easy to use. It's one of the reasons I use my credit card to purchase everything that I can.
cafeespresso Senior Member Joined: 16 May 2005 Posts: 104 Location: South Florida, USA Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Expobar Office Pulser Grinder: Baratza Vario Roaster: FR 8+, SC/Turbo CO
Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 8:40am Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
I know the OP made his decision...but for people looking on the Epobar office control/pulser line
I had mine for almost 7 years, and it is a solid machine.
I also purchased the BDB, and at the end I returned the BDB. The BDB is a wonderful machine that produced a smoother cup, but my Expobar pulser produced a more flavorful cup.
I never had any issues with my expobar, the only annoying thing is the plastic drip tray, which I have replaced 3 times (cost about $35-40). It tends to crack after some time due to the coffee acids.
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,098 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Mon Feb 18, 2013, 11:26am Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
cafeespresso Said:
I never had any issues with my expobar, the only annoying thing is the plastic drip tray, which I have replaced 3 times (cost about $35-40). It tends to crack after some time due to the coffee acids.
Posted Fri Feb 22, 2013, 10:07am Subject: Re: Office Control vs La Nuova Era Cuadra
Dules Said:
I was making this decision at the beginning of the month. I ended up doing a refurbished Expobar office lever machine from WLL. I ,do like the machine alot. It does everything that I would ever ask, solid, and no complaints that way. However; If I would be able to make the decision again I would have ordered the La Nuova Era Cuadra just because I would avoid WLL. Here is why:
I placed my order with a Sales rep over the phone, because I wanted to see if they would package my machine with the preciso. Which they did, but the customer service rep told me my machine would be shipped same day, and I would receive it on the following monday at the latest! ( I ordered it on a wed. am the week before. My machine did not ship for two days, and did not arrive till the following wed. Which would not be a huge deal if that is what I was told. The fact that I was told it would ship same day, and it did not, was not acceptable in my opinion.
When I contacted the customer service at WLL with my issues with this, I got a reply two days later saying that they shipped well within their shipping policy of 48HRs. I did read the policy prior to ordering, and was aware that their policy guaranteed shipping in 48, but when I am told it will ship same day, I expect that the company I just spent $1300 will do what they say they will.
I was not satisfied with that response so I contacted them for their local address so I could file a complaint with their prospective Better Business Bureau I have yet to receive a reply.
Overall I love the machine, but wish I would have ordered the Cuadra. 1st line is active on answering questions on these forums, and that level of customer service is really remarkable. IF I was given the chance I would order from 1st line over WLL in a heart beat, and I wish I had a Cuadra in my kitchen instead of the Expobar. Overall look at the forums on this site and it will be clear that 1st line is committed to their customers, and will address any issues if you should have any!
As the Customer Service Manager for Whole Latte Love, I think I may be able to offer some more insight into what went on here and make my Inaugural Post at the same time!
First and foremost, I apologize for our inability to meet the deadline promised by the sales rep during your call. As suspected by Jim in his earlier response, all Expobar products passing through our doors are hand-prepped and fully bench tested prior to shipping out. This applies to both refurbished and new machines as to ensure that . From what I was able to research, the salesman you spoke with was fairly new to our staff and was not fully versed in the prep process. I've gone through and roughly re-educated the Sales staff about how to properly handle these types of orders.--that'll be the last of it, I hope.
Finally...Hello coffeegeek! While I'm a relative noob to the coffee world (I spent years believing that badly brewed drip was everything to coffee, then jumped on the espresso train about two years back saw the light), I dove head-first and have made it my goal to fill my brain with everything I can learn about the industry. I've also been sitting on a few long-term project machines that may be of interest to this community. Of course, I'll be sure to post up an announcement once the tinkering has begun.
Andrew Customer Service & Technical Support Manager Whole Latte Love
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