The deal with Hestan's innovations is getting you to buy their special Bluetooth enabled cookware that you need for the supposedly innovative cooking precision. In my grumpier moments, I start muttering about the foolishness of the media going gaga about over-engineered gadgets and silly techno-trendiness.

There has been some discussion of the Hestan Cue products over on hungryonion, egullett and chowhound, although I think it mostly was mentioned in the course of discussions of competing (and less cookware-restrictive) precision cooking products such as the Onetop. If interested, you might have a look at this ongoing long thread about the Onetop on egullet.

I've never purchased Hestan kitchen appliances before and so I wanted to give them a try this time. I've ordered the Hestan Smart Induction cooktop, single wall oven, microwave drawer, and a dishwasher from Appliances Connection. Big mistake ever. Appliances Connection charged my credit card immediately even though the items were not available for shipping and are still on backorder as of today. My kitchen remodel project was put on hold for a long time because of. After waiting about 10 weeks or more, I've finally received the induction cooktop only. I was so excited and could not wait to try it out. Right after the installation, we did the test the very first time, and one of the back burners failed to power on. I immediately called Hestan customer service, they picked up the phone and advised me to email the information and someone will get back to me. Emailed them per their request and no one contacted me. I waited a few days and called them back. This time they promised to have a service agent to call at the end of the day. A month went by and still nothing. I then had to contact Appliances Connection to see if I can return the defective unit. I was advised that once the unit is installed, they don't accept the return even though it was a defective unit. Is this how people doing business nowadays? This is not just a few hundred dollars order. They took my money, 3 months after they shipped the defective unit, and didn't want to do anything to correct the issue or refund my money. What a rip off. I am going to report to BBB and hire a lawyer to get my money back. Save yourself money and headache, please tell your family and friends to stay away from doing business with Appliances Connection and do not buy any Hestan products. They do not stand behind their products. I would give them zero star if I can.

It is unfair to blame Appliances Connection for problems with an installed appliance. The website makes clear its return policy:

"AppliancesConnection offers a 30 Day Return Policy that starts on the day you receive your merchandise. If, for any reason, you are not 100% satisfied with your purchase, you can return it to our warehouse for a full refund...Items must be in new condition, or in the state that they were received."

Most Hestan products are manufactured by another company. The appliances are simply rebadged and the prices jacked up. Examples:

• Oven: Hestan KSO30 ($5389) same as Fulgor Milano F6PSP30S1 ($3799)
• Microwave: Hestan KMWR30 ($2429) manufactured by Sharp SMD3070ASY ($1397)
• Dishwasher: Hestan KDW24 ($2699) same as SMEG STU8647X ($1249)
• Induction Cooktop: Hestan KIC36BK ($3909) same as Fulgor Milano F7IT36S1 ($2299)

Except, perhaps, for Hestan's unique offerings, it doesn't make sense to buy its appliances.