The Pampered Chef
reviews and complaints

I received a Pampered Chef Baking Dish as a gift for my birthday and the first time I put it in the oven it shattered, contents all over the oven. Contacted Pampered Chef Customer Service and explained the situation. After several returned emails Pampered Chef did not stand behind their product because I could not provide which Pampered Chef Distributor this was purchased from. I did not know as I received this as a gift. I was not going back to the person that gave it to me to find this out. So I have a defective baking dish that made a mess in my oven and will never buy a Pampered Chef product again and hope others do the same. VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE!

I was very excited to realize when working on wedding registries that Pampered Chef had a wedding registry option. I registered for items that I would like to have from Pampered Chef and looked forward to receiving them. After all was said and done I realized that I had received duplicate items along the way. I was directed to the solution center for assistance. At this point my wedding is almost 3 months in the past I've completed my thank you cards and had put the duplicate items to the side so that I could contact you and work through exchanging them for other items that I registered for but did not receive. As you well know if the items had been purchased via my registry I would not have received duplicates b/c they would have been marked as received. Today while on the phone with a service representative I learned that I could not just exchange the item that I would have to know who purchased each item so that it could be researched to determine that it was purchased within the year OR it be looked up on the registry and verified. For the items I received I did not keep record of who presented me with the item nor was I given the invoice for the item. So at this point I am in possession of items that I do not need or want duplicates of and understand that your company will not be able to do anything to help me exchange them for items that I would rather have.

I must say that this process is less than customer friendly especially when it comes to receiving items as gifts. I am in no position to control items that are given to me or whether or not their invoice is received along with them. Asking for that information is borderline rude and yet your company has made this a policy in order to simply exchange the item for something a bride would rather have.

I would say to you that I will be writing a letter to The Knot which is used by many brides across the country to assist in planning to let them know how un-accommodating these processes and procedures are and how unhappy I am with your company.

At this point my dissatisfaction in you company will result in never again purchasing any pampered chef items and I will communicate my experiences to as many of your customers as possible.

1/22/2009 -- As a response to the above I received an email requesting the following information so that they could honor their "generous" product guarantee and verify the purchase

Your full name, address, and phone number
Order number
The Consultant’s name
The host’s name
The city and state the show was held
The date of the show

1/25/2009 -- I responded to the solution center explaining that I did not have that information and would not be able to obtain it...so far no result as I just sent the email.

Regardless of how it turns out -- everyone should be aware of the policies so that they know they should ask all that give them pampered chef as a gift for the list of information above so that they know you don't like their gift and/or don't it just so you can exchange it. -- VERY ANNOYING!

Buyer beware!

DO NOT purchase Pampered Chef gift certificates...sounds like a great idea, however they can ONLY be used to purchase on-line, not through a consultant, party or wedding registry...you cannot use them on sales and/or outlet pricing that is online. For example, there Kitchen Shears are now listed online for outlet cost of $6.00 and I cannot use my gift certificate to purchase at this price - If I want this item, I have to pay $15.50 (reg.price).

What a rip-off! Shouldn't a customer be able to use their gift certificate on ANY item for sale or otherwise by the company it's from?

Buyer beware.

Pampered Chef sucks. Here is a trail of email concern and the not-so-wonderful replies:

ME: Hi, I ordered a 1 gallon beverage mixer-container from a representative at a party, and she moved out of state shortly after that and had never given me a receipt. I wish to return the container as I believe it is made of polycarbonate which has been linked to toxins released in liquids held in them.

PC: Thank you for contacting The Pampered Chef. We appreciate you bringing this information to our attention. We would like to assist you further by honoring our generous product guarantee. We have 1-year guarantee on our pitcher. However, let us assure you that Pampered Chef items that are designed to come into contact with food have been tested to FDA standards and are food-contact safe. We stand by the safety and quality of our products. Amee Zaveri Solution Center Representative

ME: Although the FDA had approved polycarbonate containers as food safe, there is increasing evidence that this is not so. On April 18, 2008, Canada

declared them as unsafe, and in both the US and Canada they have recalled

baby bottles made from polycarbonate. Therefore, I have also taken measures

to ensure the safety of my children by removing all items labeled with 7,

and contacting manufacturers who did not label their items to verify construction.

PC: Thank you for contacting The Pampered Chef regarding your experience with the Family-Size Quick-Stir® Pitcher. Our guarantee guidelines are thoroughly stated on the back of our sales receipt, and they are one of the many reasons why our customers repeatedly order from The Pampered Chef. Within one year of the original purchase, you may refund or exchange the item for any other item available for sale at the time of the original purchase, provided it has not been discontinued. Understandably, we have to set standards to our guidelines. We are sorry that we are unable to honor your request at this time. It appears that the Family-Size Quick-Stir® Pitcher is beyond our 1-year guarantee period, as the ship date of your order appears to be 04-APR-2006

ME: Thanks for your assistance. Regardless, what I needed to know is if the construction of the pitcher is Polycarbonate, so that I may remove it from my home. It is not labeled with any recycle code, nor any of the plastic codes like PP or PE. Could you let me know the construction? I could not find the item on your inventory online.

PC: We do not classify our products using the recycling code you have requested. Like our competitors, we do not disclose the composition of our products as we consider this to be confidential in nature. The Society of the Plastics Industry developed and uses this identification code to help sort products during the recycling process. Their public web site states that these identification codes do not provide guidance on the safe or intended use of a product and should not be used for this purpose. If you would like more information regarding the purpose of recycling codes, you can visit www.plasticsindustry.org.

ME:Sent: 23-Apr-2008 It is unfortunate that even though I have stated my concerns for the health of my family, your answers have been nothing short of evasive. As a mother, wife, sister, daughter, consumer, government employee, and educated citizen, you can be certain that due to your lack of cooperation, I will be posting your reply on every website I can find and destroying every Pampered Chef item in my cabinet. Hopefully I will not be invited to another party; I would have to bring your email with me to inform others.

PC: We understand your concerns and have addressed your inquiry to the best of our ability and knowledge. I too am a wife and mother of three and have complete faith that our products are safe as well as the information provided in the link below. I would suppose it would be a matter of who to believe at this point. In the studies provided on the the website below, it explains the concerns and misunderstandings there appears to be regarding this issue.Like our competitors, we do not disclose the composition of our products as we consider this to be confidential in nature. We stand by the safety and quality of our products.

Kim Hon

Solution Center Representative

The Pampered Chef, Ltd.