Saeco Aroma Espresso Machine

Well, I was happy with this product for the six months it lasted. After I had used it not even once a day for six months, the steaming wand suddenly broke from its mooring inside the machine. I wrote to Saeco to request a repair order, and they referred me to the distributor, Cafe West.

Cafe West sent me the repair order, which firmly instructed me to pack the machine with great care and lots of padding—so the mailing cost of returning it to the distributor for repair was about $45. It did not take long for them to return the machine to me, and I was careful to prime it again just as instructed in the manual. Alas, the steaming wand had been put back in place, but I could not get the milk to steam as it had before, even after several tries. The wand was leaky even with all its parts checked and in place.

I wrote the distributor to ask what our next step should be, emphasizing to them that I would rather not have the expense of packing the thing off to them again. I was ignored. I wrote to Saeco to ask what they would recommend, and they told me that I would have to take it up with the distributor (Cafe West). I forwarded Saeco's message to Cafe West, and was again ignored.

I feel as if I'd rented a latte maker for six months at $14.50 a week, then had to return it.