Has anyone bought any grinders (or other machines ) from Whole Latte Love in the past few months? I may have to buy one from them and am still nervous about all their bad press from not long ago. If you have, please let me know if you had any problems with the product or any service problems from WLL if you needed service or replacement.

Someone there also claimed they provide the warranty service on MACAP M4s but a month or so ago I was told they don't--I don't even know if I can get straight info on this.

All experiences you can share would be appreciated.

Also, if you bought from 1st Line I would like to hear about that too.

Thanks.

I've bought from both stores but more from WLL. I have always had good service, but I have also never had much need to test it out. I really don't think you would go wrong with either.

In a way, you answered at least part of your own questions. If you can't get the answers you need or feel un-served by the responses from a reseller, don't do business with them.

1st-Line and Chris' Coffee Service are the two vendors with which I have purchased the most equipment from, followed by Espresso Partrs NW and Stefano's Espresso Care. I have had nothing but great customer service, advise and assistance from each of these vendors, and recommend them without hesitation.

In fairness to Whole Latte Love, a) they win the "Cute Firm Name" award, but more importantly, b) they were very good about accepting a return from me when an espresso machine I purchased arrived D.O.A. I've had some other orders that were a bit problematic, but nothing catastrophic. For many people, WLL is their "go to" vendor, and they have been very happy with them.

While I could be accused of bias, there's something to be said for shopping with HB sponsors. Although we have no written contract, I do have a gentleman's agreement with all the sponsors that they will "do the right thing" by the membership, or they will no longer be a sponsor. I can vouch for the businesses listed under Commerce on the Resource page since they have a long track record with the online community in general and this site in particular.

This isn't to say mistakes are never made and it certainly should not be interpreted as an open invitation to post service issues in the forums (the site's Guidelines for productive discussion explain why not). It means they've committed to make every reasonable effort to meet your expectations.

I bought a Gaggia Classic in 2005 (?) from WLL that arrived DOA (no pump pressure). I called up and was served wonderfully. They paid shipping for the return and full credit towards any new purchase. This was while I was on the phone with customer service. When I opted to go for a Rancilio Silvia they paid the shipping for that also. By the time I got off the phone they were shipping the Silvia as I was packaging the Gaggia for a UPS pickup... So even though it was a while ago... I would buy from them again.

I have also bought from 1st Line and have gotten excellent service from them as well... But with no returns that I have had to make.

I bought both my machine and my grinder from 1st-line. At the time, the Le'Lit grinders had JUST gone out of stock. In fact, I had decided to buy the Le'Lit grinder, but literally as soon as I went to order it from the website, it went out of stock. I emailed 1st-line for suggestions of grinders with the nearest price-to-quality ratio, comparable to the Le'Lit. I was treated excellently. 1st-line's service is very good, and they did everything they could to answer my questions and help me choose another grinder. I recommend them wholeheartedly.

While I haven't had the occasion yet to purchase from 1st-line, I have had excellent service
and fastest delivery from both Chris' and WLL. They were both very patient in answering questions
by phone and email.

HB wrote:[snipped]

This isn't to say mistakes are never made and it certainly should not be interpreted as an open invitation to post service issues in the forums (the site's Guidelines for productive discussion explain why not). It means they've committed to make every reasonable effort to meet your expectations.

I concur. There is nothing to be gained by posting negative stuff about a seller, or a member.
A while back, I mis-identified someone AS someone else who was messing with a CG sale of mine.
Naturally, my falsely named CG member was hurt. I publicly apologized to him, as I should have.
Any such "correspondence" should be kept private! There are usually 2 sides to every story.
Back OT. Our sponsors usually bend over backwards for us. Most of my equipment purchase experience just happens to be with Chris Coffee Service, but I have no doubt they all try their best.

I've purchased both of my Gaggia Factory machines from WLL and one of my two Ascasco I-Mini grinders from 1st Line.

My experience w/WLL was absolutely first-rate. As chronicled in other threads, the first Gaggia Facory arrived with a broken sight glass (a problem with Gaggia's factory packaging) and WLL very promptly sent a replacement, with all shipping at their expense. Also as chronicled in other threads, when the Gaggia Achille refurb which I initially bought from WLL to be my second machine proved defective and just didn't meet my expectations in terms of build quality, WLL's customer service was absolutely first rate - especially when I wanted to replace the defective refurb Achille with a refurb Gaggia Factory (plus "cash back") instead. Again, all shipping was at WLL's expense. WLL was extremely accommodating - couldn't be happier with the decision - and with WLL's service.

Have also used WLL for other, more minor purchases and have always been very pleased on those occasions as well.

No problem with my 1st Line purchase either - simple, straightforward and fast. As there were no complications with my Ascaso I-Mini purchase, it was entirely on-line and there was no need for any personal inteaction in connection with that purchase. (When I went to purchase my second I-Mini, 1st Line was my first choice, but they were out of stock at 1st Line, so I had to purchase that one elsewhere).

I would strongly recommend both WLL and 1st Line.

r-gordon-7