"Whatever"!

I prefer to have appliances that do NOT require a service representative in my house and I'm retired so it would certainly be less of a Pita to have one come here than it was for you, (having to skip work, etc).

It would be nice, if SZ "Got it right", the first time, ya thinks?

How much is a filter cartridge for the SZ?

Anyway, "Knock on wood", The appliances I bought, (Over 7 years ago now), have met my goal to keep service ppl outta mind and outta sight!

JA 48" built in fridge, Electrolux Oven and Speed Oven and Induction Cooktop, & Wine Fridge, as well as a Miele Dishwasher.

The only appliance that did not meet my goal was a Caldera smoothtop cooktop and it's now in a trashheap somewhere.

I hope service ppl will soon "frequent your abode" as often as they do mine!!!!

Gary

I have to agree with Gary. Why should appliances that cost an arm and a leg and the blood of your firstborn even require service calls?

I would be very aggravated to take two days off work and lose that much money and time waiting for someone to show up. A couple of filters would not make up for that, for me. My experience with the Wolf side of SZ has been not good. My range, also at 4.5 years, interior has failed, a known issue, and they want me to put out a lot of money for repairs. They will only guarantee the new part for a year. I am not enamored with their service. It will be replaced with something else.

I am not trying to dampen your pleasure. I am merely offering my perspective regarding the current state of appliances.

It depends on your job, but some people don't have to lose pay by "working at home". The unreliability of appliances and repair people is true across all brands these days, but at least Sub-Zero made an effort to make amends.

When I started reading nycbluedevil's post, my first thought was: here is yet another instance of the super-premium priced brand falling back into the product-quality issues and service behavior that plagued it a few years back.

But, like nycbluedevil, I am impressed that SZ was actually willing to offer something for the missed appointment. That strikes me as rare enough to be worth noting in this era of outsourced servicing..

Also, I think it is a good thing for companies to recognize potential product defects and arrange to fix them in advance of failure. Or to offer free upgrades.

It would be a different matter if you needed to have SZ reps make service calls to, say, vacuum out the cooling coils or other routine service, which is what I took kitchendetective's point to be.

That said, I take Gary's point as something different, It reminds me of discussions several years ago, back when SZ had comparatvely high rates of design defects and quality control problems while other, less pricey brands had better reliability, Gary's JA being a shining example cited in threads such as "Is Subzero fridge worth it?" (Here is the link http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0700225921094.html).

From what I've read here since then and gleaned from Consumer Reports membership survey info, it seems to me that Subzero has gotten its design and quality control issues back in line with industry norms while other makers have jumped their prices substantially and fallen into the low-grade low-bid service contracting that I mentioned at the outset.

To me, whether Subzero demonstrates courtesy is one thing and whether the company's super-premium prices are "worth it" compared to other brands of premium fridges (or not-so premium priced units) is a completely different question. A question, btw, that seems to be subject of another current thread, "Are Wolf and SubZero worth the price?" for which the link is:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/appl/msg0115263412217.html

I take Wekick's point as a different matter in the same vein and also as a reaction to the concluding comment "gotta love SZ." My reaction to the latter comment is, "no, I don't."

Personally, I don't love any manufacturer or vendor. I do trust some more than others (or at least am willing to bet my money on them) when they demonstrate a clear ability to produce durable and reliable products and make real efforts to fix or replace the lemons that are inevitable in any production line. When there is a persistent problem with an expensive appliance --- as with the repeated instances of crumbling, flaking oven-lining in Wekick's SZ/Wolf's range --- I, too, am not enamored of the company. I want my appliances to be like the cars I've owned --- long lived, durable, useful and reliable for at least 10 to 15 years without major work. I appreciate courtesy, but if the product needs repeated work after five years, I'm not keeping the car. Or the appliance.

Of course, Gary knows a thing or two about product longevity --- he is driving a '59 Dodge convertible with a push-button automatic. :>)

I was not trying to "rain on your parade", nycbd.

I just prefer not to have appliance repairs and in fact, probably as you did, (before purchase), did a lot of research in trying to find the most likely appliances that would not need repairs.

I ran my own service business for 16 years, and had one of my employees told me they had to stay home because of their fridge, or whatever, that would mean one of our customers might not get as good a service as he might have, (had my employee been here), ~~~~and I would NOT BE, a "Happy Camper" about it!

So that is one of the reasons, I just don't like to see any appliance require service.

JW's post, (as usual), is "Spot on".

Unfortunately he is correct about the appliances built since mine were.

If one goes back and searches my posts of 6 or 7 years back, they will see where I "Warned"~~~that other companies would look at Wolf/SZ prices and price their appliances the same way~~~~and alas so it has come to be.

A perfect example, My JA Fridge cost me $4800.00 in 2006. It was NOT price fixed.Now the JA Fridge is over $8000.00 (and no not everything has doubled in price over that 8 years, (cmptrs, TV's Cars ~~~~all far more complicated than your typical fridge or other appliance)!

JW's msg about cheapening things is also spot on.
The New JA Fridges, even thou almost double the price of mine, do not have the features mine does, crank up/down shelves, 3 digital controls and readouts for different areas of the fridge, + another for the freezer.

Another example, Elux oven.
Mine has the removable bottom, (that Wolf is going to on their new model)~~~~alas Elux discontinued that but raised prices.

Anyway, to sum up, I'm glad it does not bother you to have to take time to have an appliance serviced, but it does "Bug" some of us, and that's all I was saying.

Secondly, I've never been an SZ/Wolf fan as I think their marketing scheme of posting (Close to the highest prices) for appliances encourages other companies to price their appliances similarly and the folks that don't have their kitchens done, or need to replace appliances end up "Paying through the nose" due to those "Marketing Schemes" and Yes I know about Miele and Gaggenau prices!

Gary