Every manufacturer knows what parts will likely fail, and when. Some will fail within the warranty period, some will fail shortly after, and others will last for 10 years. Amana warranted the fridge for one year, no problems occurred during that one year, and the part that failed at 18 months happens to 1 out of 2,500 units while the others last for 5 years. So Amana doesn't really *have* to do anything, but they SHOULD. This is a customer loyalty issue, and they should honor this repair for those 1 out of 2,500 customers who have it. It's just courtesy. Seeing as they refuse to repair it, your only course of action is to make a lot of noise. Write a letter, be very specific about how you will never buy their brand again, will tell your friends to never buy this brand, and also mention that you've outlined your issues on Gardenweb which is routinely visited by thousands of people every day. At the bottom of the letter, copy Consumer Reports, the Better Business Bureau, your local TV station with a consumer reporter, and anyone else you think might be interested in hearing your story. Send this letter to the head of the department involved, as well as the President and/or CEO. Send it in an overnight letter by FedEx (that usually gets attention), or by certified snail mail w/ return receipt -- both of these tell the company that you are serious. My partner's coworker had no end of problems with a new Apple MacBook he just purchased, and had it "repaired" three times at the local Apple Store, to no avail. He wrote a letter directly to Steve Jobs. Well, a couple of weeks later he got a call from the Apple Store saying they would be happy to replace his laptop with a brand new one. Voila! It pays to rattle their cages sometimes, and they DO listen -- especially if they see in your letter any hint that may lose future business over this.

Fran.... so true that they want you to buy the coffee. We have two of the My K Cups and use them sometimes. Hate to admit, I am too lazy, especially in the a.m., to mess with it. I like the Keurig so much that we would have eventually bought another one ourselves, when the budget allowed. So, I am happy and grateful that they gave us the new one. And here I sit, drinking my first cup for the day. lol You can get some good deals on the coffee on the website. We just got a free four pack of coffee cups in the mailbox the other day (and that was before we called about the machine leaking). Also, Bed Bath and Beyond has good prices, if you use their 20% off coupon. It is one little splurge, much cheaper than a Starbucks. We gave my older sister a smaller Keurig because we saw when we visited that she was making a pot of coffee in her ancient Mr Coffee, and drinking from that one pot until it was gone. :( she is very frugal. She loved the Keurig, then she told my DH that she was (somehow) reusing the K Cup. I don't know how she did that, but I would imagine it would make a very weak cup of coffee.

I ordered a sink from Galaxy (which came in about 3 days) and it was slightly damaged when it arrived (not Galaxy's fault but UPS's). Galaxy said I could return the sink at their cost but I consulted my GC who said he thought the damage wouldn't affect the sink so I decided to keep it and Galaxy knocked off 10 percent of the cost. Then I changed my mind and decided to get a different sink, also from Galaxy. They were very nice and said, no problem, we'll send UPS to pick up the first sink and send out the second one (which also came in 3 days). Then about six weeks later I realized that I hadn't ever heard from Galaxy regarding the credit to my credit card for the original sink. I called and they said, oh yes, UPS delivered that sink back to us but they took all the identifying information off of it (UPS had to do an investigation regarding the damage) so we didn't know who to give the credit to. We'll do it right away. And they did. 100 percent of the cost refunded. So I'd say my experience was that their customer service was great as was their promises regarding shipping (I also needed the second sink right away so my soapstone could be installed).

Good customer service often goes unrecognized. People are more apt to make a complaint to a company than go out of their way to commend someone. Last year, I ordered something rather insignificant for my son for Christmas. It was supposed to arrive via UPS within the week before Christmas (maybe even just days before, I can't remember exactly). I got an email saying it had been delivered, but I didn't have it. I called UPS to notify them. I wasn't a jerk about it b/c who knows what happened - it could have been stolen for all I knew. Plus, it really wasn't a big thing. I think it was a fancy pair of athletic/basketball socks that were popular like Nike Elites. The next day, I happened to check at my next door neighbor's house. They were out of town already for the holidays. There was my package, along with another one for them. I brought both home, left a note for them that I had their package, but then was on my way out somewhere and didn't have a chance to notify UPS right away. While I was out, the delivery driver came to my door and spoke to my husband. He was incredibly upset that he had lost the package. He said he had never misdelivered a package before and that he was very worried that it was a vital gift that would ruin one of my kids' Christmases if it wasn't found in time. My husband told him not to worry about it, gave him a loaf of freshly made pumpkin bread that he makes as gifts, and sent him on his way. After I got home, I told my husband I'd actually found the package. He told me how upset the driver was. I called UPS back to let them know I had the package and found it next door, then I asked for the driver's supervisor. I told him about the driver's visit to my house, and that I wanted to commend him on how professional and dedicated he was, that my husband was very impressed at his concern, etc. The next day, the driver came back to my door to apologize and thank me for the call I had made to his supervisor. Now? Same driver. I have a huge black lab that hangs out the front yard when my kids are playing outside. I had no idea, until one day when I saw him stop, that the driver was stopping and giving him dog treats when he passed by and saw my dog outside. One day, my dog was inside and heard the truck. He was running back and forth from window to window wagging his tail, so I let him out. The driver stopped and gave him a treat. I was watching, so I went outside and told him that my dog now goes crazy in the house when he hears the truck outside. About a month ago, I came home with a package on my front porch with a dog treat on top. Cute. Then just a couple of weeks ago, I heard the truck but couldn't get to the door in time to let the dog out. I heard the doorbell ring so made my way to the door. No package, but there on the front step was a dog treat, just because. I'm sure that being a delivery driver can be a thankless job sometimes, but I love our driver and hope his route never gets changed! And my dog hopes the same! ;)