Quality is apparently NOT job #1 for the Black & Decker Home Cafe division of the company and even with only light usage, 3 of the coffee makers did not last through the warranty period.
Positive Product Points
When it worked as intended, it made an excellent cup of coffee.
Negative Product Points
It worked fine for a few months and then started spewing scalding water all over the kitchen counter instead of in the cup.
Detailed Commentary
I purchased a Black & Decker Home Cafe for my husband for Christmas 2004. He loved it and used it 2 or 3 times a week for about six months. A piece broke off the splash guard and Customer Service sent me a replacement piece but it didn't fit the machine. The coffee maker still worked even without the missing piece so he kept using the coffee maker. Then after almost a year, it started leaking water onto the counter instead of delivering it to the cup or even in the drip tray under the cup. Customer Service replaced the whole coffee maker with a new one. As soon as it got here, the replacement leaked even worse than the original unit and would only partially fill a cup no matter which size was selected. Customer Service rep tried to tell me that this leaking was normal but finally he replaced the replacement unit as well.
We've had this last unit since about February 2006 and it is now early May 2006. The newest Black & Decker Home Cafe that they sent us started leaking about a week ago and has flooded the kithcen counter each time it has been used since then. My husband threw it in the trash this morning. We will never buy another Black & Decker product.
Buying Experience
The product was purchased from Amazon.com where shipping is fast and customer service is always great. I have purchased from Amazon for years and have rarely experienced any problems but Customer Service will respond quickly to emails and correct any problem that does arise.
