Hats off to Dualit!

A couple of years ago we bought a big shiny chrome CVJK13 Dualit kettle.(Did I mention it was very shiny?) It was over a hundred quid which is bloody dear for a kettle but we already had the Dualit shiny chrome 4 slice toaster which had impressed us so the kettle was a natural move.
Last week I noticed a sliver of clear plastic in the bottom of the kettle and upon inspection found that the transparent water level sight inserts had started to craze quite badly and that is where the sliver of plastic had detached from. I took it out of use as not knowing if the inserts were on the point of failing, it seemed dangerous to continue using it.
Bit miffed about this given the kettle cost but as it was two years old and out of warranty, I just gave Dualit a fat mental demerit and bought another kettle(as you do). I decided to send Dualit a email grumble and got a fast reply back asking for a pic of the sight insert on the kettle. I sent this off and they replied back ‘We are sorry to hear that you are unhappy and thanks for the pic. Please pack the old kettle in a box and our courier will swap it for a brand new one on a day of your choosing with our compliments and apology’.
Well, new beastie arrived yesterday as promised and ‘Wow!’ What first-class customer service from Dualit! :biggrin-new:

Excellent :-)

tbh I'm of the opinion it's better to pay more if you get better service and support. I've learnt that buying with the sole aim of getting as cheap a product as possible and to hell with support and longevity ends up costing more in money and time. Be it diy tools, electronics goods, appliances, whatever.

Our dualit toaster is now over 10 years old. Before then we typically got about 3 years out of a toaster before it was in the bin.

Their modern kettles and toasters are not a patch on the older models which were built like tanks.

I had a dualit espresso machine - and after 12 years faithful service it began leaking around the seal where the portafilter goes in

I send them an email asking if they had this rubber seal available for purchase - they did and they offered it for free post in the UK

only thing is I was not in the uk - but they gave the details of the nearest Dualit service shop (about 30 minutes away) and they brought the seal in for me

This is why I buy these types of things from Costco. There's complete transparency. If things break, they are happy to take them back, no questions.

I used to work in the kitchens of various NHS hospitals, nursing homes etc. and they used a lot of Dualit stuff - it withstood hard use very well.

Casa Bugatti need to take a leaf out of Dualit’s book, I made the mistake of buying one of their kettles, I should have bought a Dualit.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bugatti-VER...2?pageNumber=2

We got our Dualit toaster as a wedding present 35 years ago. Still going strong on both counts (even if not quite as shiny as new).

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Originally Posted by alfat33

We got our Dualit toaster as a wedding present 35 years ago. Still going strong on both counts (even if not quite as shiny as new).

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Well you beat me, we have one only 27 years old.

I lent the in-laws a Dualit four-slot toaster. The timer stuck (as they tend to do after a while, £12 or so on Amazon) so they threw out the toaster. First I heard of it was the mother-in-law telling me they'd bought a proper toaster and not that old piece of rubbish that never toasted their bread properly.
The M-I-L spotted I had two of the same Le Creuset non-stick pans and asked if she could have one (her non-stick one at home is knackered because she uses it to boil water, and whisks scrambled eggs in them with a metal fork). No.

We bought a Zwilling knife sharperner a couple of years ago. It recently wasn't sharpening as well as it had, and same story- nice new one in the kitchen draw, and nice sharp knives!

Good bit if kit if you need one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00B042V...430&th=1&psc=1

Also have Dualit toaster, kettle and expresso machine- good kit all of it.

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Originally Posted by alfat33

We got our Dualit toaster as a wedding present 35 years ago. Still going strong on both counts (even if not quite as shiny as new).

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Originally Posted by Mick P

Well you beat me, we have one only 27 years old.

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Ours must be about 25. It's had a new element (just one out of the six I think it has) in that time. Every other kitchen /utility room consumer durable we've had will have been replaced more than a few times.

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Originally Posted by Mick P

Well you beat me, we have one only 27 years old.

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And me - got a kettle and toaster from them for the new house but that was only in 1997.

Do agree the new kettles look more plastic and less durable.


Sent from my iPhone using TZ-UK mobile app

A few years ago my very expensive, shiny, 14 month old Dualit toaster failed, the elements blew which was quite a common problem according to t'internet. I emailed them, they didn't want to know as it was 2 months out of warranty.

Binned the Dualit, vowed never to buy another one of their products and went back to my cheapy plastic Swan branded toaster that's still doing stirling service 17 years after I bought it. I'm glad Dualit's customer service has got better.

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Originally Posted by Thewatchbloke

A few years ago my very expensive, shiny, 14 month old Dualit toaster failed, the elements blew which was quite a common problem according to t'internet. I emailed them, they didn't want to know as it was 2 months out of warranty.

Binned the Dualit, vowed never to buy another one of their products and went back to my cheapy plastic Swan branded toaster that's still doing stirling service 17 years after I bought it. I'm glad Dualit's customer service has got better.

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I’d have pulled them up on that as the guarantee is in addition to your statutory rights. I would have expected ittolast longer than 2 years.

For me Breville, well certainly the lady who dealt with me went out of her way to ensure that the kettle I had was replaced with the same model even though they no longer made or had them in stock. She did offer me the latest and greatest but explained that it was part of a set which also included a toaster. No idea what would have happened had it been out of warranty but left me as a customer being properly served [emoji3]

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Originally Posted by adrianw

Casa Bugatti need to take a leaf out of Dualit’s book, I made the mistake of buying one of their kettles, I should have bought a Dualit.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bugatti-VER...2?pageNumber=2

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Brought mine back to a certain department store in Knightsbridge and got full refund when the b thing decided to pack up a few months out of warranty. I honestly have no idea what is the make of the current one it just works and very fast at it.

Non kitchenware related but Leica sent completely free of charge some replacement rubber eye cups for some binoculars that were bought for me second hand donkeys' years ago. The serial number dated the manufacture to 1974. The chap I spoke to said the warranty was 30 years so only expired in 2004.

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Originally Posted by VDG

Brought mine back to a certain department store in Knightsbridge and got full refund when the b thing decided to pack up a few months out of warranty. I honestly have no idea what is the make of the current one it just works and very fast at it.

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My first one lasted six months, so did the replacement, then John Lewis didn’t want to know, a complete waste of over £200.

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Originally Posted by adrianw

My first one lasted six months, so did the replacement, then John Lewis didn’t want to know, a complete waste of over £200.

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Ah. And there was me thinking to bring them back one of Le Creuset stainless steel frying pans which fuses itself to anything you throw at - meat, veg etc unless it floats in an inch of oil (other two are almost Teflon like, must be something to do with finish/fine polishing), I guess I have to take it on the chin then. :/

My 3 slot dualit is some 25 years old and still going strong. I did have a dualit kettle which wasn't great, replaced with a smeg which also disappointed at the price.

Slightly OT, I have found oakley customer service to be exceptional.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Not kitchen ware but excellent customer service from Sony. My first generation PS4 was having hard drive issues. Telephoned Sony. As I had completed the registration card when I bought the PS4 they sent a courier the next day with a replacement and to collect my PS4.
Always complete the manufacturers registration forms for goods now :)

18 year old student in the 90s. One of my flat mates unveiled he’d gotten himself a breville sandwich toaster for Christmas.

Hussah! We exclaimed anticipating this new found age we had entered being able to turn any cheap leftovers into a tasty and inexpensive mini meal.

Greased that baby up with plenty of cheap margarine , slapped in some slices if your best economy white with whatever ancient and random leftover fragments of cheese in the fridge.

How we danced as our mouths watered to the aromas of hot cheap fat and burning cheese filling the kitchen.

Eventually we tried a screwdriver and hammer to prise the thing open. That still didn’t work. Thing sat welded shut with a cheese toastie cementing it for 3 years before we chucked it. Every so often we’d give it another attempt but it refused to yield to any all attempts by even our strongest guests.

Never had a toastie since.

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Originally Posted by Slamdoor

I’d have pulled them up on that as the guarantee is in addition to your statutory rights. I would have expected ittolast longer than 2 years.

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With some things life's too short, it went in the bin, I haven't bought any Dualit goods since, and more importantly my toast is still done to perfection with my old faithfull. :thumbsup:

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Originally Posted by Snowdon

This is why I buy these types of things from Costco. There's complete transparency. If things break, they are happy to take them back, no questions.

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Currys PCWorld are the same TBH.

Haven't bought a kettle in years - they invariably fail before warranty expires and always get a replacement one (I try and choose one with 2-3 year guarantee).

Was the same with son's Logitech steering wheels.

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Originally Posted by Foxy100

I lent the in-laws a Dualit four-slot toaster. The timer stuck (as they tend to do after a while, £12 or so on Amazon) so they threw out the toaster. First I heard of it was the mother-in-law telling me they'd bought a proper toaster and not that old piece of rubbish that never toasted their bread properly.

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For once, I'm with your mother-in law.

The timer on our 4-slice Dualit has failed twice (once under warranty, once outside). This is a safety hazard, as the toaster doesn't switch off and there are no other safety sensors to stop the toast from catching fire, unless you happen to notice it in time.

On top of this, the toaster makes very uneven toast, and the replacement elements (of which I've had to buy a few) cost more than buying a new cheap, but perfectly serviceable, toaster.

When ours next breaks it will be following your m-i-l's into the bin (or, more likely, put on eBay for some gullible buyer to pay over the odds for a "spares or repair" item just because it says Dualit on it).

For what it's worth, the best toast I ever had was from our Aga, but that's probably a slightly over-the-top purchase just to toast bread, even for the denizens of TZ-UK.

Best toast I had was from grill of my Granny’s gas cooker. Think these less likely to dry out the toast.

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

Best toast I had was from grill of my Granny’s gas cooker. Think these less likely to dry out the toast.

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Having recently started using an old school gas cooker, I'm finding it produces far more uniform and more enjoyable toast than the various toasters I've used previously (none would be Dualit, mind).

Dammit! I wish I’d seen this a few weeks ago. Our 5 year old dualit kettle heating element died, all lights still lit up.

I grumbled about buying quality kit and threw the bloody thing away as the wife doesn’t like me storing broken stuff!

Grumble grumble grumble.

I love Dualit stuff, they honour their products seemingly forever.

Top company, honourable.

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Originally Posted by Carl.1

I love Dualit stuff, they honour their products seemingly forever.

Top company, honourable.

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You obviously haven't read post #14.

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Originally Posted by Thewatchbloke

You obviously haven't read post #14.

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Indeed. When the timer on our 4-slot failed - for the second time - shortly outside the warranty period, Dualit didn't want to know. This was despite it being (1) a common failure and (2) a safety issue.

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Originally Posted by Thewatchbloke

You obviously haven't read post #14.

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Yet owning the products for over 30 years and i have had nothing but help when i needed it and on one toaster zero issues in all that time. I speak only from my experience and think they are superb. For my mums toaster that is older than that they still provided a part i needed, how many other companies can do that.
I would recommend them every time.

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Originally Posted by Incredible Sulk

Ours must be about 25. It's had a new element (just one out of the six I think it has) in that time. Every other kitchen /utility room consumer durable we've had will have been replaced more than a few times.

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Ours is a veritable youngster at 17 years old.

Only issue was, when we first got it my wife asked me how to eject the toast, my response was hit the lever. She took me at myword, hit it quite hard and two slices of toast arced gracefully across the kitchen!

Not had much luck with their kettles though, both expired just out of warranty, I didn’t think to contact Dualit, replaced the first with the Dualit jug kettle and replaced that with a Bosch. This, too, failed just outside warranty so I bought a Morphy Richards from Asda for £20. This is still going strong.

I like any company that still provides all the component parts to the end user of their products.

On that theme i have used Tanaka strimmers brushcutters and hedge trimmers for decades. They outshine Stihl and are superb.