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3katz4me

Appliance review frustration

8 months ago

I've been looking at appliances and find more and more of these "collected as part of a promotion" reviews. I see some highly rated appliance and invariably most if not all of the reviews were "collected as part of a promotion". What is the point - they are obviously favorably biased. I'm looking for a new induction range and finding another review nuisance. People rave about how much they love induction and say nothing about the quality or performance of the actual appliance. And then there are the people going on and on about how fabulous their 15-20 year old appliance is. That is entirely irrelevant to an appliance purchased today. It seems like buying appliances these days is a crapshoot no matter what brand or how expensive and it's pretty hard to get any kind of data that would lead you to believe one is better than another. I never buy cheap but today the thought crossed my mind - if it goes bad I can buy 3-4 more for the price of a top of the line appliance that may also have premature quality/reliability problems. Ugghhhh....

Comments (28)

  • 8 months ago

    Yep, They are all disposible. The only thing do not buy Samsung unless there is a repair in YOUR area. There is not one here, even for warrenty repair. Someone on another thread cannot even get her lemon of a LG looked at.

  • 8 months ago

    Those reviews are also from people that enter to win the one gift card given per 1000 entry type of things. That give a way is the "promotion".

  • 8 months ago

    I had the GE Cafe double oven induction range for about 8 months and I loved it. The induction itself was fantastic and loved the layout of the "burners". I loved the double oven. My husband felt like the ovens didn't cook very evenly, but I didn't seem to have that issue. We since moved (probably because I finally splurged on a new induction range for myself) so I didn't have much time with it. But I actually really miss that range. Not sure if that helps any, but it's at least one honest and un-promoted induction range review.

  • 8 months ago

    Yes, reviews are so unreliable. I now check out wirecutter, CR, and yale to see if there are similar recommendations .

  • 8 months ago

    I used Wolf, Miele and Subzero in my previous house and in my current house and no issues with any of them.

  • 8 months ago

    I hear you with the review as part of promotion,. I will also say I have a GE Profile induction range since 2020 and it is fine. I hope I didn't jinx it.

  • 8 months ago

    I have an Electrolux induction range and although it works really well I find it very poorly designed. I do not recommend it for that reason but it's also 8 years old so the design has undoubtedly changed.

  • 8 months ago

    I agree, reviews can be unreliable. When we purchased our gas range it was a solid dud. I later searched the the comapny on Houzz and found one post with over 1000 replies from unhappy customers. My warranty had expired and my Zline was useless but after reading the thread I contacted the company and they refunded my money. Houzz to the rescue!


    My husband won a cooking contest a few months ago and the prize was a Control Freak. He is over the moon about it and swears that instead of looking for a range he is going to purchase three more Control Freaks and the four together will take the place of a range.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    Never heard of an inanimate Control Freak.

    I agree that reviews are not as helpful as they used to be and they do tend to be swayed to more negative than reflective of overall experiences. My faith in reviews for all things has been diminished by the proliferation of collected and incentivized reviews as well as the fact that I have been contacted and offered money or free products in exchange for removing or changing a negative review. I've also seen evidence that sellers on Amazon can bury or even delete or have deleted reviews they don't like.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    Recently I've been paying closer attention to remarks about service rather than reviews of the actual appliance. Based on my recent experience ending up with a good appliance is a gamble. I'd rather go with a brand that has good reviews and high marks for service rather than a model that has glowing (and possibly fake) reviews and no comments about service.

  • 8 months ago

    About 2yrs ago we needed to replace our fridge. I did an online subscription to Consumer Reports. Ended up with an LG we are happy with... knock on wood.


    I searched for, a very large online appliance store that used to be recommended in the appliance forum. Years ago, I read a lot of reviews there. Maybe AJ Madison?


    There are so many models within each company, it is hard to decide!

  • 8 months ago

    @ilikefriday, you sent me on a quest to find out what a Control Freak is (other than the obvious 😁). WOW! I want one too….

    https://www.breville.com/en-us/product/bmc800?irclickid=x5KRepwogxycUMKynHxsk2o8Ukp1Z6TtU28zVA0&utm_source=impact&utm_medium=affiliate&irgwc=1&mpname=The+WireCutter&cid=8631&utm_campaign=The+WireCutter&utm_term=Online+Tracking+Link&utm_content=ONLINE_TRACKING_LINK


    What did your DH cook to win such a super prize?


    @Allison0704, I always go to AJ Madison to look at reviews and specs. It is a very comprehensive site. You can even access the owners’ manuals for most things.

  • 8 months ago

    Control Freak - oh my! I hadn't actually looked at it before. My cooking aspirations are not high enough for me to take advantage of that. For me it would be a $1600 single induction hob.

    @Allison0704 - I bought an LG fridge nine years ago for my house in MN. I've been very happy with it. I use CR reports too and probably did when I bought that fridge.

    @bbstx - I use AJ Madison a lot - it's a great resource to see many appliance options in one place.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    Has anyone recently checked whether induction ranges/hobs are compatible with pacemakers? Ten or so years ago, I wanted an induction range. DH had a pacemaker. I called Medtronic, the manufacturer of the pacemaker. I was told they were incompatible. Surely, at some point that will be resolved.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    @bbstx

    I should’ve explained what it was in my comment. DH whipped up some kind of pot pie. He actually won a Control Freak and a full set of pots and pans. He takes this cooking thing seriously. Meanwhile, my specialty is microwave salmon. He basically runs a test kitchen at home, handing me dish A, B, and C and asking which version is best. We dont use our stove at all and we treat the oven as a cabinet, our range is for looks only. The Control Freak and Annova oven are the appliances used in our kitchen. My favorite dish to make on the Control Freak is Asian steamed eggs. Mr. Friday is afraid to taste them but they are delicious! Maybe I should spend time today looking for a contest. I think I could win! lol




  • 8 months ago

    I am not sure about the pacemakers.


    I have Electrolux induction range and I'm super happy with it. We use it every day. Electrolux moved their USA headquarters here to NC.

  • 8 months ago

    I have both a vintage Wedgewood gas stove and a Fisher-Paykel induction stove and they’re both great! If I had any concerns about induction technology and pacemakers I’d definitely ask my cardiologist.

  • 8 months ago

    I just had a Medtronic Pacemaker put in in January. Their site says keep 24 inch distance from an induction cook top. We've been trying to downsize for at least a year,and so far, haven't found anything I'd consider. However, we just had to replace our gas cook top last year and I really wanted to replace it with induction. However, it was going to be too expensive to do because we would have had to add 240 volt and both of our breaker boxes were full, so we would have had to add a third one. If we were planning to be here for a lot longer we would have sprung for it. I guess I should be glad we didn't go with a new induction cook top:)

  • 8 months ago

    If I end up with a pacemaker I guess I’ll have to get one of these.

    Electromagnetic shielding aprons: Brands like Medical Aid Co. and Woremor offer aprons with magnetic shielding film specifically designed to be worn while cooking on an induction cooktop.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    Wow! I had no idea there were such things, @3katz4me!

    @Trapped, it would have been no problem for DH to stay 24” away or 10 feet. He didn’t darken the door of the kitchen. When I called Medtronic, they didn’t give me a zone to stay out of. Just said they were incompatible. Looks like progress is being made!


  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    bbstx, the site is very explicit now. LOL as to not going anywhere near the kitchen.

    There are a few variations on limitations , depending for example on, whether you can have an MRI. If you have a newer model like any "sure Scan" type, which I have , t,hen you can have an MRI, provided the facility meets certain qualifications.


    I share the irritation about the promotional reviews.

    Interesting that they have those aprons.

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    My sister was a physician and had both a pacemaker and an ICD. She would not go into my brother's kitchen when the induction cooktop was being used. Even though I didn't have any implanted devices, I had a heart attack prior to replacing my range and she advised me not to get an induction cooktop because of our family history of cardiac issues and the potential issues with induction cooktops and implanted devices. Simply not worth the risk.

  • 8 months ago

    When I purchased my range I did the typical research reviews, talk to friends and neighbors . . . but I also talked to the supervisor of the repair team at our local appliance store. They carry most brands and was happy to talk with me. I asked him which brands and models he would recommend based on reliability knowing that I wanted a gas range. He told me his wife was like me, loved her gas range and that he bought her a GE Cafe.

    I purchased my range about 3 years ago and could not be happier.

  • 8 months ago

    During COVID, back when manufacturing plants shut down, a motherboard went out in my LG convection oven/stove combo unit at one of my rentals. In order not to have to wait 6 months...I went to a Habitat Restore and picked up a GE induction top-stove combo. Cleaned it up...it's been in since 2020. I use it to cook on when I'm there between renters. I really like it. Best $165 I could have spent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • 8 months ago
    last modified: 8 months ago

    Re the GE Cafe, my DD had to replace hers a few years ago and also went with the GE gas range. Her only regret is not getting the model that had an electric oven and gas cooktop. She doesn’t do that much baking though so it still works fine for most anything. I have read that some think the oven temp of their gas oven is a bit unreliable.

    3katz, I share your frustration with online reviews.

    We will need to make decisions on appliances for our condo rebuild very soon. Met with the builder last week and have his estimates (he priced out mid-range items for most everything). All his quotes are based on GE appliances, which for the most part is fine. I’ll probably go with a quieter lower end Bosch or KA dishwasher though after looking at the model he quoted. We plan to sell this condo so I'm not looking to be using it personally for any length of time. Even if we were keeping it, our limited use doesn’t justify spending a lot of money on appliances.

    edited to add, if anyone is seriously considering any GE appliances and if you are a military or military retiree, current government employee, health care, first responder, or teacher, you can qualify for some significant discounts thru ID.me. There is a certification process not it is not hard or lengthy. I have also used it at Lululemon and several other places esp when they have ID.me specials. Here is the link to the GE site LINK to ID.me

  • 8 months ago

    Somewhere over on the appliance thread there is a long diatribe from me about GE Cafe all-gas stoves. They are CRAP! I had one for a relatively short time. Finally, GE agreed to take back the all-gas and sell me a dual-fuel for greatly reduced price. The dual fuel is adequate.


    I found GE customer service to be lousy. They would make appointments to call me back about certain issues and never call back. Their note-taking was so poor, I had to start over every time I contacted them about an on-going issue. It was a year or so of total frustration.


    My neighbor had a GE all-gas that was a lemon from the get-go. In a very short time, it stopped working. She replaced it with a different brand (Jenn-Air or Kitchen-Aid).


    If you were giving away GE Cafe all-gas ranges, I would not take one.

  • 8 months ago

    My last Bosch DW did not hold up nearly as well as they used to. I decided to cancel my order for the Benchmark after the 3rd or 4th backorder delay and upgraded to a Cove. I have never heard of them, but they are the Subzero family brand for DWs. I said no way when I first looked at reviews, but looked at the display unit again, then went to take a closer look at reviews. So many are from the initial release and a voluntary recall people were complaining about. There was a redesign and a newer model is now out -- biggest thing they changed was probably that the working parts are now to the front for easier service. Looking at the units, they appear to be the same. I'm very happy with mine so far. Quieter than TOTL Bosch, clean well. nearly endless racking options, a cover over the control panels so the writing won't start disappearing in the first year or two, plus a 6 year warranty - so it is probably cheaper in the long run, but definitely not mid level up front. Not that much more if you buy an extended warranty though.

    I had a mixed kitchen when we updated it. Now that we have replaced many, I have Subzero fridge (replaced Thermador), Wolf ovens and range top (oven repaired but otherwise both original), Cove DWs, Sharp microwave drawer and True undercounter refrigerator drawers (replaced Perlick that was replace under warranty and also failed). All at a bit of a premium, but all US companies that build products to last and stand behind them. The oven repairs and replacements of everything else other than the gas cooktop has been done over the last year, so I don't have longevity reports yet, but I am happy with my appliances again.

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