We purchased a machine from Coffee Craft which was significantly more expensive than purchasing the same machine online, but we thought we'd do the right thing and support local business.
On the two occasions that it has needed servicing or repairs the staff have been very friendly, but there have been major delays with zero communication to let us know.
Repairs were required after owning the machine only a couple of months, and we had to prove to the owner that there was a defect as he didn't believe us over the phone. After not hearing anything for over a week our enquiries were met with evasive answers... eventually after a couple of weeks we were told they were waiting on a part from Germany. We figured that was fair enough (although maybe they could've kept us updated), and returned several months later to have a service done.
At the most recent service we observed the same pattern. When I bought the machine in I was told that there was only one other machine needing servicing before ours. Each time I phoned to check on progress I was told that it was still being worked on and they'd let me know ASAP... and then after another two days of hearing nothing I'd phone again, only to be told the same thing... this process was repeated several times until eventually after telling them it wasn't good enough we were told our machine would suddenly be ready in one hour. The service took 10 days in the end. The servicing price was then nearly double the rough amount that I was told over the phone, apparently because there are new electrical testing laws in place that are so new that front of house staff didn't know about them 10 days ago when I was quoted. That maybe so, but after two episodes of being jerked around and never given a straight answer, you start to wonder...
So I'm afraid it's now a case of fool me twice, shame on me. We won't be returning to Coffee Craft for any further purchases or servicing/repairs, and we wouldn't recommend them. Which is a bit disappointing when we went out of our way to support local business. read more