lunamoon, no sweat, I have been there, and it is NO FUN. my first child was 3 mo. old when he got sick, and he did not get better til he was 8 mo. old, I was going from doctor to doctor, first one said it was pnemonia (sp) second one said he had RSV, FINALLY a doctor asked me if we had any cats in the house, yeah a long haired tortise shell siamese mix and a persian mix, had to give my cats away and about a month later when I was hopping mad at the doc for mis diagnosing him again and making me get rid of my pets, he got better! All the dander had to be removed from the house as well, and duh I didn't think about that! He now has no allergies to cats, he out grew it, but he was one sick baby for a long time! michelle

Companies I've had great customer service from ... WOLF Answered endless pre-sale questions and post-purchase has also been equally top notch. I actually received a replacement part before I got the notice of its shipping (overnight). GAGGEANU Outstanding. I will preface this by saying it was five years ago, before they more throughly combined with Bosch, and I also think it had a lot to do with the amazing rep I was just lucky enough be directed to. But, having said that, it was absolutely above-and-beyond. MIELE Only had a tiny issue but it was handled quickly, politely and completely. Probably not a coincidence but the three products from the makers above are, at least so far, the ones I've also been the most happy with, performance-wise. Good products + good service = win, win. The Wolf and Miele are relatively recent additions to my kitchen though, to be fair. Now for the absolutely lousy ... WHIRLPOOL (includes KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, etc.) Don't even know their own products. While, in the end, I did eventually get some resolve, it's not been ideal and it's been way, WAAY harder than it should have been. When I think Whirlpool major appliance service, the words that come to mind are: slow, frustrating, expensive and stressful. BLUESTAR Bottom of the barrel. Embarrassingly so. Enough so that I have said, 'Never again' despite a product that is pretty damn impressive WHEN it works. ... That last bit is key. And those that are a more mixed bag ... GE MONOGRAM The opposite of Bluestar, in that the products seem to be pretty poor, but the service I've received pretty darn good. Maybe I've just gotten lucky and dealt with some amazing folks, but I've never felt left out in the cold, despite a HEAP of problems, and the on-site service people are the best I've worked with. Professional, conscientious and well-trained. In the end, we ended up ditching our Monogram ovens in favor of Wolf cause we just couldn't get em working right, BUT they definitely tried. BOSCH Actually, up until the end, the service was pretty poor, perhaps even hostile, and definitely illogical. Refused to do things like directly sending me an easily self-replacable part, but would pay for a contract service person to come out and install it charging me "only" for the $50 part itself when the call, even at their rates, had to be 2-4x that. But they did stand behind their product in the end ... Rather surprisingly so, given my earlier experiences but, gotta give them credit, cause they did eventually take responsibility. We chose to go with Miele upon replacement and, so far, I think it's a far superior product, BUT I also wouldn't rule out Bosch for a future purchase either.

Waterstone has absolutely no customer service skills . I have advised all of my customers to avoid this manufacturer. We are a plumbing company that builds high end custom homes. We recieved a hot water dispenser in a manufacturer sealed box, missing a few parts. I called WaterStone and they were just rude and referred me to my supplier. When my supplier called WaterStone they were still rude and told them there was no way this was their fault. I am not looking to blame anyone but need these parts to install this product. My supplier ordered the parts to solve the issue but he is talking to his show room and questioning why they are carrying a product that is so poorly supported by this manufacturer. This manufacturer has left a bad taste in a chain of peoples craw. How are they staying in business.

Peaceful protest is everyone's right IN AMERICA -- whenever, wherever -- because this IS America. I do not have a public arena in which to protest, but if I did...I would protest there. I stopped flying my American flag during Cheney's administration -- ashamed that we would lock people up without due process -- and torture them. That terrifies me AS an American. I'm sad about putting the flag out every morning right now. I love my country, but I am ashamed of us. My ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War. Family has served in WWI and WWII -- fortunately NOT in the undeclared war in Vietnam, nor the other politically/economically motivated 'military actions'. It's never "My country, right or wrong."