Starbuck’s Coffee Grinder Recall
June 17, 2009 by Marye Audet
Filed under Coffee News
I just learned that Starbucks is having to recall 530,000 coffee grinders. Apparently they are defective and they fail to turn off, or turn on unexpectedly and the result has been some pretty serious hand lacerations. You can find out if your grinder is one of them at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. They go by the names, Seattle’s Best and Starbuck’s Barista.
Let’s play three guesses where these are made. Ready? When I count three just shout it out….one…two…thr…….Yep China.
Now, I don’t want to say that the Chinese government has a furtive terrorist plan to subdue the entire United States by booby-trapping children’s toys, pet foods, and now coffee…but..I’m just sayin.
The only coffee makers and coffee grinders tht I could find that are US made are by Bunn. They are all commercial products and over 500.00
I don’t know about you but that is a little out of my price range.
If you know of a coffee grinder that is made in the US please leave a comment with a link to it! All of this outsourcing is getting to me. I was looking for a soapbox to get up on but they are all made in China….
image:Via CPSC
I have a Hamilton Beach grinder. I don’t know where its made, but I’ve never had issues with anything hamilton beach in less than eight years. After eight years I figure its probably something I did, or the cat or…. Well there were 6 or 7 people in that house, there was really no telling.
I just prefer to buy American. It is getting harder and harder to do.
Marye, thanks for letting us know. A coffee grinder that turns itself on sounds like something out of a horror movie. Starbucks is stupid anyway because they seem to hate making things decaf for me. : )
Peggy, doesn’t it though?
Yes indeed, Starbucks is unbelievably stupid!!! Here’s what happened when took back the recalled item.
I had purchased it for my teenage daughter last year and she never had a problem with it. Nevertheless, in the unlikely event she decided to clean it herself, I wouldn’t want her to lose a finger if the thing decides to turn itself on. So we decided to return it while out running errands today. We live in Los Angeles on the West Side where Starbuck has so many locations you are never more than half a mile away from any one of them. Here’s what happened….
The first store on Westwood Blvd. told me point blank no returns without a receipt.
The second store 2 miles away in West Hollywood told us they could take it back and give us a $35 gift card, but the manager was out to lunch so we’d have to wait at least a half hour. I didn’t want to risk a $48 parking ticket and we had other errands to run so decided to stop at the next Starbuck a few blocks away.
At the third location on Robertson Blvd. we handed the grinder to the cashier. She told us she hadn’t heard of any recall and had no idea what to do about it. On the counter right in front of her nose was an 8″x10″ cardboard stand-up displaying the recall notice with a nice glossy photo of the grinder. So she grabbed the notice along with our grinder and scurried off to the back room to confer with the store manager.
She emerged about 15 minutes later with a printout of the recall notice downloaded from Starbucks.com and told us sorry no refund but we could expect a replacement by mail within 6 to 8 weeks. “Ummm… Ok”, says my daughter, “how do they know where to send it?” She answered “Here’s the manager’s business card, you can call him if it doesn’t arrive” … My daughter asks why can’t they just exchange it for another one. Nope, sorry we don’t have any grinders. Ok, well then maybe we should just keep it cuz it works just fine. Nope, it’s dangerous and it’s been recalled. Ummmm, ok then, how about a receipt for the grinder? And, by the way, don’t you want my address so you’ll know where to send the replacement.? She scurries back to confer with the manager again…. “Um, uhhhhhh, duhhhhh, they didn’t give us any forms so here, write your address and phone number on the back of this paper and we’ll be sure to send it to you….and the manager says we can offer you each a complimentary beverage for the inconvenience, so go ahead, get in line and order whatever you want.”
So we stood in line behind 8 other people to order a couple of iced lattes. The ordeal took more than half an hour. We raced back to our car fully expecting a $48 ticket for parking in a 20 minute zone. Thankfully no ticket. So now let’s hope Starbucks will actually make good on their promise to send a replacement.
WOW! Sylvia, you should email their online customer service with that story..seriously. That is horrid!
I almost bought this coffee grinder for someone for Christmas. Glad I got them something else.
I own a Starbucks Barista grinder and have never had a problem with it.
Of course I’m smart enough to have it unplugged when loading and unloading.
Just like I wouldn’t play with a loaded gun.
Well that is true Solomon. It is best to unplug it for just that reason. Some people do things without thinking. And some people have different caution levels..like you wouldn’t play with a loaded gun…I wouldn’t play with a gun at all. I just shoot when I am serious.
Just call Starbucks toll free at(866) 276-2950 I called on the 4th of July, and it took me 2 minutes to get it all squared away. They immediately emailed me a UPS shipping label which I put in a box, stuck the grinder in and mailed via UPS. DONE!!! The replacement is going to be all black and will arrive in 8 weeks.
I love this grinder, so much so that I bought 2! I’ll wait for the replacement (8 weeks) and use my 2nd one in the mean time then return that one once I get the new one.
I’ve never heard of a recall being handled any other way. A company of this size could never handle this recall at each individual location. The card that’s at the stores explains the recall and lists the above number to call. I also received a free cup of joe from the wonderful Starbucks employee that jotted down the number for me to call.
Stuff happens! I’ve got 3 good years out of this grinder and now I’m getting a new one, and a free cup of coffee to boot!
Gotta love Starbucks!
That’s great Peter!
I bought , with confidence, the Starbucks stainless grinder to match other appliances in the kitchen, three years ago. I admit the switch was touchy since the start but when you like something you contend with it’s quirks. Saw the recall, followed instructions, seven weeks later a dissapointing replacement showed up. Top fell off, BLACK paint chipped, top and bottom edges didn’t quite fit and extreme pressure on the switch was necessary to turn it on. It was a very cheap stop gap measure to cover culpability.
I wish I had my older grinder back. If you’re tempted to upgrade with Starbucks, think again. I’m out a perfectly useable and “matching”, I might add, grinder that I’ll never see again. Haven’t seen a replacement either.
wow Jim..so sorry.
that stinks!
I would like to rant a little about the Grinder recall. I purchasd a Stainless Steel Grinder to match all fo the other appliances in my kitchen. I paid a premium ($60)for this finish at Starbucks. When learning of the recall I called the number and after 30 minutes on hold they took my info and true to other responses I received a UPS paid return label via e-mail. Before I sent off I called the hotline one more time to confirm that the replacement would not be a piece of junk, and was promised by a “Manger” that she had seent he replacement and they were also metal, the replacement just had a “Black Finish”. Within a few weeks teh new grinder arrived – it is a Piece of JUNK!!! The new ALL PLASTIC piece of JUNK is poorly made, aside from the metal blade there isn’t a single metal part on it. Starbucks refuses to make it good, saying they do not have the ability to replace what I had.
Take this as a warning – if you have a metal one, or one of decent quality, KEEP IT, and have some sense and un-plug it! Starbucks must have attended the MADOFF school of Customer Appreciation!!
Rant to your hearts content, Ron. This is not the first time I have heard that story!
I’ll echo the complaints about the replacement — while it is all metal (I checked with a magnet because it’s hard to tell by sight or touch), it is certainly not a direct replacement of my stainless steel. If only I had known Starbucks would have been so underhanded with the quality of the recall.
I called the 1-800 number and complained, they sent me some drink vouchers and the phone number to the regional manager because evidently because only the manager can give a refund — well, I left a message on the regional manager’s phone and never received a call back…
To reiterate what everyone else has already said, if you have not sent your grinder in I would either take it to the store for a refund or just unplug it when you clean it.
This is the last time I buy a starbucks product…