"Worst experience! Bad product & Terrible customer service"

I'm a Wine Sommelier with years of experience in the business. During my career I had seen the name "Vinotemp" in Cellar units & stand alone wine coolers; Since I was looking for a unit for a custom 250 bottle Cellar I decided to contact them. The units are not cheap, (Mine was $1800) they are actually expensive compared to others, but I wanted to make sure I was buying a state of the art unit. They recommended the SLIM 1500 based on the pictures, description, and all information I had sent to the salesperson. The unit took a long time to arrive, and once it did I immediately took it out of the box, put it on my desk, and plugged it in to make sure it turned on. The unit stayed on my desk for a couple of weeks until my AC guys were able to come and install it. From the moment the unit was installed it never cooled down to proper temperature; Just seemed like it wasn't strong enough. My AC guys checked for cool air drafts on the cabinet/Cellar and installed seals at the bottom, top and sides to be on the safe side. The exhaust was routed properly to come out the top and the intake from the back, which grabbed air from my walking closet which is almost the size of a small room, and has a central AC vent blowing from the top. Everything looked great but the unit was still not carrying its weight. I called VINOTEMP and advised them of the problem. They suggested to change the installation, so I had my AC guys come a second time to install it exactly the way they had suggested. To our surprise the change in performance was insignificant, and they noticed it was showing some error codes. I called them again and exchanged emails back and forth, but the reality was that nothing was getting done for me. I requested to SWAP the SLIM 1500 unit for the bigger unit which actually costs less without asking for the difference - They immediately told me they didn't do swaps. I asked the salesperson if he could talk to management and explain the situation, and all I got was a bunch of deflection, and excuses. Finally, they JUST STOPPED responding to my emails. The lack of empathy for a customer that had just spent $1800 with the company, and had been in touch with them from the beginning of the issue was incredible. It just felt like they didn't care one bit. My frustration started growing and since I was really busy with my own clients, I decided to pass on the issue to my wife since she had more flexibility in her schedule to deal with it. She spoke with multiple people, including salespeople, Directors, and even the Vice-president and was told not to worry, everything was going to be taken care of. They wanted us to be happy customers. To our surprise, the next phone calls COMPLETELY CHANGED THE TONE. They went from "We'll take care of the issue" - "We stand behind our products" to suddenly turning around and trying to blame it on us - "You might have damaged the unit" - "Someone will call you tomorrow" but never called (Happened multiple times) and my wife had to start chasing after management almost every day. Then she finally asked to speak to the President of the company, and they told her that he's the owner, and he does not speak to customers. One final attempt got her to speak to a Director "Mary Ann" if not mistaken, and she was very polite and professional on the first call, and promised to look into it and return the call the next day. That never happened. These people have the worst FOLLOW UP Ethics I have ever encountered! Finally, my wife and Mary Ann spoke again, and the tone was back to RUDE and CONDESCENDING as it had happened before. To the point where they pretty much said that they were not going to do anything. LIKE NOTHING! They just decided it was easier to blame the unit not working properly on us, and wash their hands. I have never felt so deceived and abused by a company. We spent $1800 on something that did not work properly from the second it was installed, and they are willing to do ZERO for us! They are all very nice when you are buying their expensive units, but if something ever goes wrong with them be prepared to be treated like crap! LITERALLY.

WORST EXPERIENCE
RUN THE OTHER WAY

*Response to VINOTEMP Reply 01.15.21
Your company can try to explain the situation getting technical but you're just looking desperate to try to justify the apathetic & simply indifferent attitude toward your customers

Furthermore, you are just assuming that all these things took place to justify the lack of performance of your very expensive little machine

First of all, the unit was never running for more than a few hours each time it was tested. So there was not overheating of any kind. Also the unit was installed a second time following your exact recommendations... and the compressor never stopped working; You also made that up! The unit turns on and still blows cold air, just not enough for the space it is in

"Vinotemp Motor Noise"

Vinotemp layout is difficult, the bottles in the back are hard to retrieve. Biggest complaint is the noise in the motor when the Compressor kicks on. Hard to describe but best description is it sounds like Whales communicating with each other. I did open a ticket, but asked to record the sounds which is quite difficult. Send a Technician or we may have to return our purchase.

"Expert, friendly tech support"

My wine cooler recently stopped working. I did some research on the internet and discovered that it needed a new control board. I called Vinotemp's customer service and spoke with a technician who guided me to the part I needed. When the part arrived, I wasn't sure if it was the right one and he provided a helpful diagram to show how to perform the repair. In a few minutes, I swapped out the old control board and installed the new one and now the cooler is working perfectly.

"We have a Vinotemp VT60 wine cellar…"

We have a Vinotemp VT60 wine cellar that is 16 years old. We love it and are taking good care of it. But all of a sudden it just quit.

We called your company, and reached Richard Moreno. It was the best thing that could happen to us with this problem. He is very fond of the VT60 and, after listening to our description, said "it sounds like the starter" and asked if I was handy. To which my reply was "sort of".

With his guidance, instruction, and many helpful hints, we got the old starter out and ordered a new one. Richard said I should call him when it arrived, as it did in a couple of days.

Again, in helping me, Richard was most thoughtful, thorough, and amazingly patient. He very carefully, walked me through the process of replacing the starter -- not an easy matter for me, but eureka! Our VT60 is now back running and operating exactly as it should.
Thank you Richard!! You were amazingly knowledgeable, helpful, and especially, patient. Kudos to you and your company.

"Our 15 year old mini cellar's control…"

Our 15 year old mini cellar's control board malfunctioned causing the compressor to lock and run non-stop. I questioned the decision to spend $150+ to replace the control board versus purchasing a new unit. In the end, with the Vinotemp's service (parts and technical support) I feel our decision to order and replace the part ourselves was painless. All of the staff that we interacted with were responsive, knowledgeable, and took a special interest to resolve the issue to our satisfaction. We can't expect our unit to last another 15 years but will definitely consider Vinotemp when replacing the unit due to the exceptional customer service we received during the repair. Thanks All!!

"Thanks to Richard Moreno's help"

Thanks to Richard Moreno's help, we were able to diagnose the issue with our wine fridge. He immediately understood what the problem was and placed the order for the replacement part. In addition, step by step instructions were perfect for helping is DIY the part and our wine fringe is back up and running!

"Encountered a problem with our new wine cooler…"

Encountered a problem with our new wine cooler..I contacted Vinotemp and was put into contact with a tech named Jared Beck who sent me a replacment part (temp sensor) and install instructions. I installed the part and it appears the problem is resolved. Mr Beck was outstanding, A ture skilled professional and a great rep for Vinotemp, This was customer service at its best.

"Without using your wonderful goods"

Without using your wonderful goods, you have plenty of nice products that touched my heart. I can not remain here. I recommend that you improve the accuracy of your website graphics, please.

"Shipping was poor at best."

Shipping was poor at best. Unit was not shipped until I called and asked where it was. When it was finally shipped, it took an eternity. There was little to no communication. At least the unit seems to work correctly.

"Customer service sucked"

Customer service sucked took forever to reply to me. Then they pretty much told me too bad we dont make that door anymore deal with it it was horrible for an item that costs 4000 dollars thats useless to me now because they dont have the part in their inventory