Whole Latte Love
Reviews and Complaints
Poor customer experience, lost a customer
I ordered a French Press coffee maker last week. Upon receiving the item, it wasn't what I had believed it to be.
I contacted customer service and explained to them my problem. I had requested a prepaid label to return the item. The declined even after I had requested a supervisor. Their website site didn't provide an accurate description of the item, or materials used in the press.
I thought it was fair for them to cover shipping back. I would have gladly ordered another item from them.
The salesperson I spoke to didn't seem interested in my concern.
There are plenty of other coffee places to order equipment from. I'd advise to seek others.
Rochester, New York
Terrible support, do not honor warranties, are not helpful for problems.
I am throwing my Gaggia Brera Espresso Machine, purchased September 1, 2017, from Whole Lotta Latte, out today. I have been using it happily since it arrived.
I am not new to espresso machines and have had my own at home for 15 or more years, to provide my one cappuccino each morning. All prior espresso machines have been purchased at Starbucks and they were in the $300-plus price range, as I recall. The Gaggia Brera worked great until I returned from a two-week vacation this week, at which time the "coffee" coming from the machine was like tea. I chatted with Mitch online who recommended I look at the maintenance video online and give the machine a cleaning.
Oh, my gosh, I had no idea I had to be a mechanic to own this machine! I called this morning and chatted with the service manager, who was very pleasant and tried to be helpful. I tried what she said to do which was change the setting on the grinder to as large as possible, which I did, and then, run cups and cups through the machine. I called back to report that my husband and I watched as I was doing this and the beans do not appear to be going down the hopper at all.
So, we believe the clog must be near the hopper, not in the part where the grinds run through. The lady I spoke to the second time was not helpful, and as a matter of fact was rude. After getting off the phone and purportedly speaking to the manager, she said I could send it in at my cost and, then, pay $39 to have it sent back; that this is a "maintenance" problem. Whoa, my purchase indicates I have a one-year warranty.
Really, cappuccino is an enjoyable part of my life, and I certainly do not need my espresso machine to be a "stress" in my life.
I will throw out this machine and buy another one from a reputable company, one that doesn't require extensive "maintenance". Be aware of buying anything from Whole Lotta Latte and from purchasing this machine.
- Customer service response
Preferred solution: Full refund
Customers are treated as criminals
Whole latte love made an error and shipped me the wrong machine. They didn't believe me - to rule out that I was some kind of scammer I had to send them a picture.
Then instead of sending me the right machine, they want me to send back the wrong one first. Yuck.
{{redacted}}
Shady business. Never again.
Based on my experience with them and what i read on this site makes me believe they don't even sell new products. I believe everything must be open boxes, demos, returned machines or anything else except new stuff, they buy from manufacturer or somewhere else and then they sell as new even if they claim its new.
I bought a Profitec Pro500 3 months ago. Came with the warming tray bended(they replaced that after calling them), the machine had water marks all over and even some rust inside which they claim is from bench tests they perform before shipping expensive equipment. then some hairline scratches on the face of the machine. My email to them remains unanswered as of today regarding the hair lines scratches on the face of the machine(3 months after) Even the packaging was all damaged and the protective film on the machine was removed.
My felling: used *** machine Then i bought a Quamar grinder which also arrived scratched out of the box. (Box unsealed- previously open by someone) The email i sent to complain about the grinder…… still unanswered after almost 2 months and the cherry on the cake……. the coffee i bought from them (Maromas Orphea) had a Prod Date 2 days in the future. I received the coffee on 09/01/2017 and the prod date is 09/03/2017 with an expiration date 09/03/2019 :)) looks like they even tempering with the expiration dates on the coffee they sell as well and i believe with everything they sell.
And now for anyone reading this. Please do yourself a favor and buy from other place.
Sorry for my english, its my 2nd language. Thanks and good luck
Rochester, New York
Upped their price after inquiry
Sent them an email asking about a product and noticed the next day they had increased their price for it. No scruples equals no customer WLL!!
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Verified Reviewer
Resolved: Okay for coffee--terrible for espresso machines
Owner immediately contacted me. We received full credit for all out of pocket expenses.
Owner has taken action with Customer Service. Company sent a wonderful package of sample espressos.
After posting this review, Todd, one of the owners, immediately contacted me. When we spoke, he had already read the many emails from me that had been ignored by Customer Service and had credited my account for all of my out of pockets.
In a separate phone call with me, I found he had also reviewed my entire coffee/equipment purchase history for the last ten years and was ready with suggested espresso for the future.
Finally, he shipped his recommendations to us at no charge. Although it was a struggle to get to this point, I admit this committed owner has restored my confidence.
Although it was a new machine, I had to pay for packaging and shipping BOTH WAYS. Non negotiable or they won't repair. The repaired machine also failed and required another return. Finally had a working machine after two months.
Their accommodation was a $50 credit to be used for a future purchase. Forget about writing to owners, Gary and Todd, as they do not reply.
Machine still fails to detect empty coffee hopper and Whole Latte's reply is that it happens a lot with super automatic machines. No fix.
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
Customer Support non existent
My grinder order was lost in the shuffle. They received it and charged me but forgot to ship it out.
I got a note telling me this, and the grinder is now scheduled to arrive long after the website said I'd get it. Snafus happen, I get it. But what was unacceptable was their failure to respond to any of my emails after their note about the screw up. It was a gift, I asked for shipment to be expedited.
Crickets. Decent places make up for their screw ups with--at least--a response and apology.
I ordered through this place wanting to help a small business and expecting better customer service. Sure won't bother trying that next time.
Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution
Returns, attitude, Whole Latte Love, no love here,,,,
Horrible customer service, don't buy here, save yourselfs some grieve. After being told to take the machine apart, see where the leak was coming from, take pictures, video, then they agreed to send a new one.
I had also purchased coffee, a port Filter for a different machine, asked if I could return it, after some argument, they agreed. They also forgot to ship a part on a knock box I ordered, had to take pictures, then they sent it out, took another week. meanwhile I returned the ports Filter, at my expense, they received it at the warehouse, but want me to wait another thirty days for a credit.
These people forgot the class on customer service, or skipped that day. Go somewhere else for your espresso needs, save yourself the aggravation.
- Overall customer support with multiple probelms
- After the sale customer service
- Customer service
Preferred solution: Better customer service, you need help, allot of help.
I have same experience.whole late love send me damage coffee machine and doesn’t take it back. I don’t received any refunds and any ups label for return machine.
For whole late love company problems doesn’t exist.
It is 4th week .I call several times I send text. Horrible.
Shipping issues to Canada
In 2014 I purchased a Gaggia Brera espresso machine. Two years in and it has now begun spilling coffee grinds outside the brew unit.
I called their tech department if they have heard of this issue. They indicated to me they were aware of a brew unit defect for this model a few years ago with the same symptoms but assumed mine was a one off or "bad luck" as they put it. The technician was pleasant and seemed knowledgeable but he said he couldn't guarantee that the brew unit was the issue but he seemed confident that a new brew unit would fix my problem. So I agreed to purchase a new brew unit for my machine.
I asked if I needed to be transferred to sales and he advised parts are purchased through the tech department. The cost was around $80 dollars which included shipping since I reside in Canada. What I wasn't advised on was the UPS brokerage fee. Now I asked if WholeLatteLove would step up and do the right thing and pay for the fee since they would obviously want me to continue to do business with them....apparently not.
They simply said it's my responsibility and referred me to the FAQ.
For reference the shipping and brokerage fee is $80 itself...more than the part that may or may not fix my issue! If this were Amazon or another large retailer, I'm sure they would of said something like, "You know what sir, given our techs aren't sales reps and they may not have known of the brokerage fee...and since you weren't advised, we'll waive it for you". If you live outside the US, use Amazon or another retailer....because it seems WholeLatteLove doesn't care to make their International customers happy.
Dont Buy the Hype
I purchased a 1200$ ECM Classika espresso machine as an upgrade from a Rancilio. The machine has a few more bells and whistles but overall it is not worth the additional expense.
I had a few issues with the steaming process which is when I discovered the touted customer service is non-existent. I tried through Maggie. She was clueless. The following day after a long hold I got a man who would relay instructions to me from a tech instead of letting me speak to a tech.
His help was useless. So I emailed them asking to have a tech call me, instead I received an email with a tone of annoyance so I packed it back up. If this is as good as they can offer in CS then they are falsely advertising because that's part of what you buy. The frothing pitcher they throw in is a toy.
The instructional videos with a DJ sounding surfer boy are useless and could use much more detail.
The instruction booklet is poorly detailed. All in all I did not receive a whole latte love and wont ever purchase through them again.
Rochester, New York
Broke after not even 9 months
Had my Gaggia Titanium Super-Automatic Espresso Machine for less than nine months - and the heavy, metal spout broke off and fell into her cup of steaming hot coffee while my wife was pouring it The plastic nozzle under the metal part was broken. I contacted Whole Latte Love customer service, they told me "That part isn't covered under warranty.
Clean the spout and this won't happen. We can send you a replacement for $32." Yeah, right. I GENTLY clean the spout on my Gaggia machine daily. I purchased a 1-year warranty - I guess the warranty is good for nothing.
I'd think they'd want to replace the part in the interest of good will. Note that this machine is used by myself, and my wife ONLY, so it gets rea Don't count on good customer service from this company, apparently.
- Machine worked well until yesterday
- Failure to honor warranty - machine less than 9 months old
thx for keeping me from buying from them
Don't send your machine to be fixed here
Don't send your machine to be fixed here or replaced they will send you a machine that's over 10 years old and not comprable to value.
Whole Latte Love - Breville Coffee Grinder Review
Beware of this company. Brought the Breville Dose control pro from them because they don't charge New Jersey tax for anything they sell.
The machine stopped working in 2 months. Customer service was extremely nasty on the phone and said everything they sell, defective or not, is non-refundable past there 30 days policy. I'm out of $179.00.
Wish I would have read the reviews before I bought the product. Don't make the same mistake I did and read reviews from their website.
Report to your credit card company. If it's American Express, they will refund your full amount.
Most credit companies will because they want your business. I purchased a coffee grinder and it broke after two-three times. Returned it to Breville (went through email on their website). Breville shipped another one, but, they have not reimbursed my $100 HOLD FEE for shipping the second grinder.
I've called and was placed on hold with no respond several times (waste of time).
So I'll call American Express to report them instead of going through Breville. Hope this helps anyone with this frustrating company.
Rochester, New York
No WLL if I can Help it.
1st, a grinder that was promised me 4-5 days after the order took 2 weeks. Had I been told that up front I probably would have purchased it from another retailer that had them in stock.
By the time I realized that they misquoted the delivery time, all the retailers were sold out. Took me 5 weeks to get my grinder. THEN I had a problem with their shipping instructions to UPS as the terms of the package were not only signature only, but no rerouting and no hold at UPS for pickup. UPS told me that could change the stipulations.
WLL customer services was difficult and refused to change the terms to hold at UPS for pickup. UPS said they were lying and COULD in fact change it. So I called to customer service and they changed their tune. They *could* change it, but would charge me $20 to do so.
I ended up paying someone to sit at home and wait for the package so I could remain at work. Next time I'm just going to use a vendor who is easier to deal with, even if I have to pay up a bit.
- Pricing
- Product offering
- Customer service
Resolved: Dissapointed
Unfortunately, a misunderstanding compelled me to write this review. we came to a resolution thanks to Tracy. "Great Customer Service!"
I purchased a Profitec Pro 500 approximately a year ago and never had a problem with it. The quality was excellent and I really enjoyed the machine so I decided to give it to my son in-law and upgrade to the Pro 700. That's when things went down hill.
When the machine arrived I noticed the outside box was damaged. There was a decent size hole that continued to the inner box, so I called customer service right away to make a claim. I sent them a picture so they could assess the damage. After viewing the pic customer service decided to replace the item.
A few days later I received what was to be a new machine. Upon opening the machine I observed the Styrofoam packing around the machine was torn which was not the same way I received the Pro 500(all packing material was perfect). The machine had water spots all over it; understand when you purchase a $3,000. item it should be spotless when received. Supervision should be overseeing every item that leaves their facility.When I took the machine out of the carton and examined it I noticed the warming tray had a big scratch on the bottom and the top rail was scratched all over with black marks on it. I was also missing a tamper that was to be provided. I subsequently called WLL to inform them of my dilemma. The response was less than desirable. I was informed by Andrew that I could possible receive a replacement tray within a month or two. He would have to contact Profitec in Germany, or outsource which I thought was kind of odd considering they had other machines in stock. He told me he would call in a couple of days to update me on the progress; no call was ever made to me.
In the meantime I decided to run the machine. After using it a couple of times I noticed the group head continued to have a small leak days after sitting idle. After making numerous calls and getting no resolution to the issues I was having, I started to feel very uncomfortable about their policies so I disputed the charge with my credit card company. Fortunately the end result was satisfactory(no thanks to WLL).
In closing I would just like to say that I have been a loyal customer of WLL for a while. I have bought all my supplies from them. I believe that "customer Service" is paramount to having a good customer base. WLL failed with me. I hope that prospective buyers read this review and take some credence in what I experienced.
' It's unfortunate that this happened so I'm looking to buy my new machine(ECM Synchronika) from another vender.
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You’re wrong though. Products are new.
I have no stake in Whole Latte Love so my comments are my own. My experience has been terrific with them.
Two high end Gaggia machines with no indication of being used in any way.
When I had an issue with my first one, they walked me through diagnosing the problem and promptly sent me a new brew unit, no questions asked. Sorry you are ticked off with them, but I would recommend them anytime.
I had the same happen to me. They shipped me a USED machine.
And they have attitude too! He said "oh, we test them, and water can splash during shipping"....well hello? Then you should TELL me, to clean it right away. This is a lie in my opinion, I think they used my machine extensively, no way it can look this old upon arrival.
And, the parts inside, after I cleaned group head after barely 2 months, looks like a 7 year old part. And it's stainless solid steel?
How does it look this damaged? Ripoff company.
Exact same thing happened to me. After barely using the Gaggia Classic, the parts from the group head looked VERY old.
They are a total ripoff company. They also told me there could have been water from the transport, which like you say, they NEVER said to clean that. It looks like around the portafilter area are spots that have been there for a long time. And they are blaming it on me?
I barely used it, and I take great care of my things. Insulting.
Hello,
As a representative from Whole Latte Love, I'd like to help solve some of the problems you've experienced.
The first thing, is the dates on the coffee.
Those are European dates, so the roast date is 3/9/2019. They format it Day/Month/Year. This is how the manufacturer labels them.
We answer emails within 72 hours when weekends and holidays are involved, but most times we can respond the same day.
We do not have any emails dating back 3 months. Which email address did you send it to? Can you please re-send to support@***.com? If the machine was damaged, we can freight claim it.
I assure you the machines we sell as new, are sent directly from Profitec in Germany. We open the box, and prep the machines the day they are ordered, specifically for the customers who buy from us.
I was able to locate your order history based on your Pro 500, Quamar and coffee dates, so I will be sending you a follow up email. I would really like to make you happy with our company.