Grazzie figfan.Era importante per me saperlo.Forse non hai fatto caso,ma io sto in Bulgaria.Se queste varieta hanno matturato da voi,alora sono ottimista.Dopo tutto,la mia pianta e ancora giovane e questo e il suo primo anno in terra.Estate era veramente caldissimo anche da noi...eppure settembre ed ottobre alcuni gradi sopra la media.Speriamo bene per l'inverno che viene...Grazie ancora ed "in boca al lupo"... pako

Elder, The problems don't just exist in the EU. I'm 20 mins from the Canadian border and much of the plant material I see in stores around here comes from Canadian suppliers. If I go to the suppliers directly, some of those same plants are on a prohibited list for individuals to import. A couple years ago I snuck a plant back among a number of documented, certificated plants. (I actually had only gone to get the undocumentable plant, though I wasn't aware it was on such a list prior to my purchasing it). Strangely enough my dog dug it up 4 times and finally reburied it putting it out of its misery. (that should teach me about sneaking plants back) That same plant is now available locally (I replaced it the year after the snuck one died, legally ;-). I'm once again considering a foray into the grey over another plant, this one a Canadian selected and bred cultivar of a North American Native plant that currently resides on another such list due to its newness. What risk could I truly be placing my habitat in by planting such a cultivar of a plant whose nearest kin are freely available? ~Chills

Miele's North American offices (Canada, Mexico, and USA) are all separate in a sense that neither will ship or sell appliances cross border. If somehow you do manage to get an appliance "where it shouldn't be" while local Miele service *may* provide repair information and or provide that service, the latter is not covered by any warranty. The above goes for Miele appliances brought from Europe or elsewhere outside of the United States (or North America, etc..) to those shores. Depending upon where one lives and the model of appliance there may be difficulty in finding a local Miele repair person or tech that even knows that particular model. We know this because about a year or so ago someone was selling a Miele W918 (German version of W1918) in Conn. Was considering purchasing the unit but contacted Miele USA's customer service about parts, potential repair, etc... Miele USA informed us that at one point in time they did provide conversion kits for European units brought to these shores, and or supply service under standard Miele polices, but no longer. If a non-USA Miele appliance requires service they *may* provide (If parts can be found), but the work is not covered by any sort of warranty. So even if Miele does the work and the appliance either breaks down again a few weeks later or some such, you are out of luck. We were also told running Miele laundry appliances with 50hz requirements on USA's 60hz system is "hard" on them and Miele USA does not advise. This is important because if something happens to the motor or any parts of such an appliance Miele USA *may* claim "customer abuse" because the machine is not hooked up correctly. To bring all this palaver to an end, anyone considering bringing a Miele appliance from the EU or elsewhere to the United States should contact Miele USA directly to seek advice. If approval is given be sure to write down the name and other information of whomever provided for future reference. Miele USA has allot of new/younger customer service persons/techs that quite frankly will say almost anything to get one off the phone. When you go back someone else will say "no, that is not correct" or "Miele USA would never say that".

It's interesting what writersblock said, that the local Lowe's let go all their "pros" because that is what I see happening. Pros knew the merchandise and therefore knew how to serve customers. But they cost more to employ. Once you ditch that, your store is just a big warehouse with folks milling around. But that costs you money too, to run it and staff it, Then might as well be online and folks can "mill" around over the computer. IKEA is an interesting riff off of the warehouse concept, kind of like what I was talking about, a nice big showroom and then the warehouse below where you actually pull the stuff and assemble it. Lots of furniture I see is going to that model, albeit sans the warehouse so more risky for the customer. Seems like the jobs of the future are going to be in warehousing and truck driving and UPS-ing! However, we as customers are not going to be well served by this. However, it was always thus. Folks ordered from the Sears catalog back at the turn of the century, and it came via train and "Wells Fargo Wagon." Only the wealthy could afford custom built things with customer service. The department store was a departure that spread to the middle class, but I guess times were more flush then. Not sure what kind of storefront anyone could make a go of these days, but I know tons of people who fondly remember the joys of actually being able to go somewhere and shop in person. In my case, downtown and big department stores were FUN. I always hated malls, but even they used to be much more fun than they are now. I think a few artsy upscale neighborhoods can still support storefronts, but in my poor rural area, few businesses seem to be able to stay going at all. And they carry limited selections which means they just can't hardly even afford to keep the storefronts open. Can't even keep a florist shop storefront open, although my experience with ordering flowers and plants online has been DISMAL. The stuff that shows up half the time is crap, unless you hit the jackpot and find a decent local place that is partnering with the online ordering company.