De'Longhi Appliances review: DeLonghi Magnifica Evo Espresso with/ Frother

I ordered a machine direct from the De'Longhi website, and it was promptly shipped the same day.

Upon receiving it, after 2 hours of trying, I couldn't get the machine to work.

I called for help. I spoke to two reps who both got on a video chat. We walked through various steps, and both validated that the machine needed to be replaced due to a "general alarm issue."

At this point my machine never worked but my payment was processed.

I asked to get the replacement expedited as soon as possible, since they had already processed my payment and they could see I had a broken unit. This was not my fault in any way.

They told me it would take 3-5 days to send me a shipping label at which point I would need to drop off the machine and they would only replace once the machine was back in the warehouse! A BROKEN machine. All this even though I still have a not working machine and they have my money. I even asked if it would be faster if I did a return and repurchase. I had to push to get the shipping label expedited. They finally did that on the call. I dropped the machine off to FedEx the next morning (Saturday)

Monday, I called and asked if they could please send me a new machine already. At this point the non-working machine was enroute. After escalating, they said yes. That didn't happen. On Tuesday I called they said it will ship once approved. I gave up. In the afternoon they emailed me telling me that my machine is now out of stock. They would replace it with a different model that was missing an important feature (automated frothing) which I personally, absolutely needed for a $900 machine. I called to work through options. They informed me that I couldn't talk to anyone in the replacement area. I need to wait 24-48 hours for a response to my email. I said this feels unrealistic. I just want to talk to someone about my options here and I don't want to wait 1-2 days every time there's a response to my email. At this point they still have my money and now they have the broken unit too. De'Longhi sent me a broken machine and I as the customer sit and wait for responses via snail mail and i can't talk through options.

At this point I asked to escalate. They wouldn't let me talk to someone other than the rep. The rep came back on the line and said there is nothing De'Longhi can do. They will refund me, and I have to wait 7-14 days to see my money back. These aren't cheap machines. This is the kicker; I would get no confirmation that the refund is being processed until it is actually processed in 7-14 days. All I wanted was to talk through options with a human.

This feels like absolutely horrible customer service. All I asked for was a replacement to a machine that never worked (which they validated) expedited promptly. If that had happened perhaps it wouldn't have been out of stock. Then when it was out of stock, they weren't willing to have a human speak to me to talk through other options.