I can't begin to express what a wonderful experience we had with the management and employees of this store.
My husband and I visited the Woodburn Outlet store just before Christmas and purchased many pots/pans. I am an avid cook and have wanted to begin a collection of Le Creuset, but could never bring myself to purchase them and always "got by" with what I had. Let me just say that these are worth every penny you spend on them and you won't be sorry. There is a reason every professional chef on tv is using these. The food actually tastes better and the clean up is amazing.
All that being said, let me get back to the customer service story. One of the many things we purchased was a roaster that was not a Le Creuset brand, but another brand sold by them with the exact same warranty. The roaster was priced at 50% off and I loved the tall sides for casseroles. Anyway, the first time I used the pan I noticed a chip of enamel appeared on the outside bottom of the dish. It was very small, but I was concerned given it was the first time I used it and I had decided to purchase a dish that was not the Le Creuset brand name. Mind you, I am EXTREMELY careful with my cookware. I do not cook with high heat, let cookware cool before I hand wash with Le Creuset washing devices, towel dry and lovingly oil any exposed cast iron rims before nestling them back into their Le Creuset padded felt discs to keep them from bumping against each other in storage. (THESE PANS ARE WORTH EVERY STEP)
I called the customer service line and they sent me an email about how to replace the pan. I was unhappy with the process which stated that once I mail my pan back at my expense, they would determine if the damage was due to faulty workmanship on their part or damage caused by insufficient care on my end. If they determined it was my fault that caused the damage, my pan would not be returned and I could purchase another pan from them at a reduced cost. This process could take several weeks.
To say the least, I was very unhappy with this. I didn't want to be without my brand new pan for several weeks, given I just purchased it and had used it exactly one time. Also, I knew I did nothing to create the chip, but what if they did not agree. After all I did buy this at an outlet store.
My husband, who had invested in these pans after my touting their exceptional quality, was a little underwhelmed by this experience and by the warranty response. He called the Woodburn outlet store, where we purchased the pans, and spoke to an employee about his lack of satisfaction on this warranty. She said she would talk to her manager (who was on vacation) and get right back to us. We received a call back from the manager, taking time out of her vacation, to address our concerns and to assure us that they stand behind their products. Even though it is out of the norm of their policy, we were able to take the roasting pan back into the store and they found another roasting pan just like this one at their store in Arkansas and was having it shipped directly to us. When we went into the store with our pan to return it, I was pleased to receive friendly service as we returned the roasting pan and the manager called us (again during her vacation) and confirmed that my new pan was being shipped.
This is what customer service is all about. While they could have said, "that is just our policy and you have to mail your pan in and see what is determined", they went out of their way to make us happy and assured us of the quality of our purchases. I recommend going to this location and highly recommend these pans. read more