Since we see a mixed bag of experiences with WLL here I thought I'd share my own experience.

In May or so it became clear that the pump on my Office Pulser was shot. I used to be a big DIYer on this stuff but with two toddlers, job and extensive volunteer commitments I simply don't have the time anymore. So I initiated service with WLL's service dept. They have a minimum $45 charge to examine the machine which is applied towards any repairs. They emailed me a form to fill out and I shipped it with the info. I also requested to be upgraded to the newer brass screw OPV in addition to the repair. BTW, Fedex Ground was at least $10 cheaper than UPS as usual.

They examined the machine and sure enough I needed a new pump. the total cost was around ~$270 including shipping and that included pump replacement, replace group gasket and shower screen, new OPV and i think a bit of cleaning around the head. Labor charge was $132.

The negatives: shipped in styrofoam peanuts. I have no idea why people use this stuff anymore. To me it is such a pain in the neck for a box this size. Communication is not WLL's strong point and I can bet that this has probably led to a lot of the problems that we've read about. There were no notes on what it had been calibrated to or if it had been calibrated at all. I wasn't quite happy with the pressurestat setting and in the end I had to calibrate using my senses. I have no idea what the OPV setting is. Also they had to resend several emails after I did not receive them. This was clearly a problem on their end as it happened with two different email addresses and t was not going to spam. It would also be nice if they had auto notifications at various steps in the process.

In the end it took about two weeks from door-to-door if I recall correctly and the work was good as far as I can see but I think they could take some fairly minor steps that would result in happier customers. Let me know if you have questions.

brad

Your post reads as more a suggestion than complaint, and I'd certainly agree on both your main points.

Shippers like using styo-peanuts because they're so fast and easy: just pour 'em in. But you cannot just drop a heavy object like a grinder or espresso machine naked or even bubble-wrapped into a box of peanuts and think it's safe: gravity and vibration cause the machine to migrate within the peanuts to the edge or bottom, and the inevitable drop then damages the machine. It happens all the time, and the carriers, with some justification, won't even consider a damage claim. You can use peanuts as the intermediate fill when double-boxing but that's it.

Besides, being on the receiving side of a box full of peanuts is a PITA. I hate to pass along the problem, so I don't I re-use them and end up with huge garbage bags of the things. I recycle them at a local pack-n-ship store that's always grateful for the free materials. At least that means one re-use before the landfill.

Regarding communication of the settings after repair, you probably have to teach the vendors that some of us find that information important and request the data up front. On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have great people such as Christopher Cara - when he did a major repair on one of my LPs, he called me to tell me his final settings and test results, and to make sure I was good with the pressure settings he'd implemented. (Ironically - and this is the gospel truth - I'd needed that repair because the machine had been sent to me by an eBay-er who thought it was fine to toss a La Pavoni Pro naked - not even in a plastic bag. - into a box of styrofoam peanuts, somehow imagining it would arrive in one piece. It did not.)

Anvan,

My post is not intended to be a complaint but my overall impression of the service which was neither distinctly negative nor positive.

I'm aware of all the issues involved in shipping an espresso machine and I'm equally aware of less messy ways that offer greater stability than peanuts.

brad

Forgot to include that they also cleaned the exterior of the machine. It looked nice. I never do that.

brad