Review - Roomba Customer Service

I would give them 5 out of 5 ✮s

You may ask, you've hardly used it. Why would you be calling their customer service department? Well, here's the scoop.

You might remember this post, where I mention the annoying error #9 message my lady Roomba was shouting out at me.

Well our house guest said that she's still at it....and it's still annoying.

So I gave the iRobot Customer Service line a call. Sadly they were really busy and couldn't take my call, so I emailed them the issue and this morning I received this email:

"Dear Heidi,

Thank you for contacting iRobot Customer Support.

We apologize that we have to resolve this issue over the phone. We hope you understand that to solve this matter, we require further information. 

Please reply with your phone number and a best time to call you, so this issue can be rectified at your convenience. Alternatively, you may contact us at (877) 855-8593, Mon-Fri 9am-7pm, EST and Sat, 9am-6pm.

In the event that you decide to contact us or schedule a call back, please keep your unit nearby as the possibility exists that it may require troubleshooting.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to speaking with you. 
Thank you, 
Antonia Dowe 
iRobot Customer Care"

Checked my watch, figured out the time difference and made the call.

Navigated my way thru the automated answering system and was connected to a customer service representative.

I again explained my issue with error number 9 and that my lady roomba might need to go to a time out if she doesn't get a grip.

I also explained that I am no where near my Roomba and won't be for a while. That I am worried about my warranty. What will happen if I finally get there and it turns out I have a bad unit?

And you know what he said? he said that they understand and since I called and reported it now, it will sort of freeze my warranty and it will still be covered when ever I make it back to the house.

Can you say SHOCKER?

Now that, my dear friends, is customer service.

Aloha A Hui Hou!

Product Review - Bag Clip from Jo!e

I had some time to kill while Roger went on his 10K walk, so I wound up at Schnick Schnack heaven - Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I have to admit, going to this store was a bit of self torture...seeing all these cool things, and I saw a number of things that I would have love to have, BUT why buy it now and wind up paying to ship it to Idaho?

Some time common sense wins over the satisfaction of buying something cool, which we all know only lasts for a bit anyway.

I'll admit that I did buy one thing though, because it is something that I could really use, not only a cool thing to have.

I bought a giant clip from Jo!e called "Bag Clip".

Jo!e always has cool stuff

Just sayin...

"Yeah, but what is it?" you may ask...

It is a clip you can use to re-close any plastic bag.

The clip is available in 4 different colors: red, green, yellow and orange and I paid just under $3 for it (is most likely a lot cheaper on the mainland).

The over all length is about 10". The clip-able length is about 8" and is very easy to use.

Pull it apart, lay the bag as flat as possible over the white part, push the orange part down.

It's that easy!

The clip holds tight enough that you can't pull the bag out.

Although it is a tight fit, it isn't too hard to pull apart to open.

The contents in the bag remained fresh.

Not that the bag had the chance to get stale.

It doesn't mention if the plastic can take freezer temps, I'll have to try that and get back to you.

Over all it's better than the clothes pin, rubber band or twisty I usually use and very much worth the 3 bucks.

I'll give it a 5 out of 5 and that's all I have to say about that...

Aloha A Hou Hou!

Product Review - Swanstone Contour Sink

This is the sink I fell in love with and choose for our bathroom. I loved the lines and ample counter space.

Now that we were at the house I was able to look at and live with it for a bit I've discovered it's kind of like an internet romance after the first meeting gone bad.

"Baby, in the pictures you sent me you looked great, but you're not livin' up to them."

It looks nice and shiny, doesn't it? It isn't. The surface is totally mat and every time hubby washed his hands, after being in the yard, the entire sink and counter top surface was dirty. Yeah, he's a splasher, but the water that was in the sink should run down and not just cling to the sink (my MIL suggested I put towels down on either side to catch Hubby's splashes - she knows her boy :o) ).

See how it sucks up all the light? Mat, mat, mat...Nothing like the shine in the pic above.

ANYway I polished it with turtle wax, in the hope the water, at least in the basin part, would run down. But the mat surface was like a sponge and sucked it up in a day. Not to mention the slight green hue the turtle wax left behind. Do I want to wax and polish the sink every day? Not really.

Oh yeah, one other thing. I don't know where it came from but there is a glass pin head sized orange stain near the faucet and two black scratches in the countertop to the left. I couldn't beach it out, couldn't polish it out. Stubborn.

I did reach out to Swanstone, the company that makes the sink, admitting that it was my misfortune/fault....not looking at it in real life before purchasing, but asking them what I could do about the issues. I remember writing them before about counter tops and never heard back. This time if they don't respond I will pick up the phone and give them a call.

Don't get me wrong, I do love the bathroom and how it turned out and am happy with my choices and can live with cleaning it...just wish I didn't have to. All of this brings us full circle to the look before you buy episode with the fridge. Will I ever learn?

So my review is more like a warning to anyone that might be interested in this sink. Please be aware that the surface is mat, you will have to clean a lot and it stains and scratches easily.

For now I am eagerly waiting for a response, I'll keep you posted.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Product Review - Butter Keeper

Some time in December Amy, at Homestead Revival, posted an entry about a butter keeper that Pantry Paratus was offering. I thought it was really cute and ordered one for us (not for Hawaii - too warm here), one for my mother in law and sister in law.

It wasn't until our trip that I was able to test mine, so here are my thoughts.

First I want to say what a great little company. I ordered the keepers and had them sent to my M-i-L. I wasn't too sure about the shipping to a different address than the billing address. A quick call took care of that.

Since they were kind of Christmas gifts I didn't find out until after the holidays that one of them was broken. Popped them an email and they UPS'd (or was it FedEx'd?) a new one right away. I give their Customer service a 5 our of 5

What? You ask what a butter keeper is? OK, let me explain.

You put the butter into the small cup of the keeper. Once it gets a bit softer you can spread it out so it fits and sits in the cup (as you see in the pic). In the bigger cup you put enough water, so that when you invert the small cup into the larger cup the water creates an air tight seal. Wah-la! Spreadable butter! no more making a mess of your bread when buttering! All you have to remember to do is switch out the water every 3 days.

So now to my review of the the Butter Keeper. :

1. The design looks vintage. Reminds me of a stone crock. 
2. It holds EXACTLY one stick of butter
3. It's nice and solid. Will take some abuse
4. Dish washer safe.
5. Since butter naturally repels water - the butter was never wet

Over all it was a great purchase. We both loved having spreadable butter for our toast in the morning. Again, I give it a 5 out of 5.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Product review - Roomba vacuum

Roomba 350

 Because of all the dust storms we have at the house, I thought a Roomba vacuum would be helpful.

Although the wood floors are light colored, you don't see the dust. But you can feel it under your feet and I don't want to scratch up the floors....and with my OCD I would otherwise wind up going nuts - dust mopping several times a day.

My thought was push the button and you're done.

Yeah, not quite.

Please pay close attention to the beginning, you only get a quick glimpse of it. When the robot goes from floor to rug it leaves all the dust bunnies on the rug...wasn't too thrilled with that.

Also, several times during the cleaning process it would stop working because of error #9....I'll follow up with you when I understand what error #9 exactly is. When that happens you have to tap bumper and then press clean again. With time, the Roomba ladies voice got pretty annoying.

My over all rating wold be a 7 out of 10. It did clean the room, but I did have to follow up to get those dust bunnies. I was also a bit afraid when it bumped into things like the lanterns that you see in the clip or the side table; that it it would topple and break something.

In conclusion I would say it is more like a dust mop, not a vacuum. It is a great addition to my cleaning, but will never replace a real vacuum or dust mop.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Garlic Mandolin

I love kitchen schnick schnack - Ok, there, I said it - I love kitchen schnick schnack!

I'm always looking for that unique kitchen tool that will rock my world. The other day on Rachel Ray I saw her use a tiny mandolin to slice garlic in even, thin slices. I made myself a mental note, that if I get to a kitchen schinck schack store, I'll look for one of those fancy mandolins. 

Looked a bit like this one.

Now I'm going to tell you a secret about me - I'm totally afraid of mandolin slicers. Deathly, might cut my finger off with it, afraid. As I watched her flash back and forth with the garlic I was bracing myself for the terrible moment that she cuts herself. But she didn't, she's Rachel Ray, not scaredy pants me.

Even with this fear I still wanted to at least look at one. Today we had the opportunity to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond I and hunted down a garlic mandolin and they actually had 2 different styles. The one was all metal and had a slicer on one side and a grater on the other. A double threat! I opted for this one and tried it out right away when I got home and it works great!

Garlic Mandolin from Zyliss

You can fit about 3 cloves of garlic in the slider top at once and it is sliced in nothing flat. As long as you apply consistent pressure, the slices will be even. It's easy to take apart and clean. Just be sure when you are putting it back together that the slider on top is put in the right way (one end has straight edges, the other is rounded) so the slider slides over the blade all the way.

Price was $10.95 and is about as long as the palm of your hand. When the time comes to move it will go in a shipping box, not in a yard sale box :o)

I give it  ✮✮✮✮✮ out of 5

Aloha a Hui Hou!