11 Jan 2000



Customer Satisfaction Center
KitchenAid Portable Appliances
PO Box 218
St. Joseph, MI 49085-0218

SUBJ: "Dribbling" Carafe {KitchenAid Ultra Coffee Maker, Model # KCM200 OB0, S/N # WCJ4104188}

Dear Sir:

I've been drinking coffee for over 30 years and have owned at least a dozen different coffee pots and coffee makers. Up until 5 months ago, when we purchased a new coffee maker (Cuisinart), my wife and I had never had a problem pouring a cup of coffee (without dribbling) when the pot was full. The Cuisinart carafe was impossible to pour from without dripping, at least until the carafe was half full. I returned the Cuisinart for that reason and purchased your KitchenAid Ultra, assuming that at more than twice the price, we definitely would not have the ridiculously simple problem of dribbling coffee all over the place. Unfortunately, the KitchenAid Ultra carafe is even worse than the Cuisinart!

I don't understand... have we lost the technology to manufacture a non-dribbling carafe? I assure you... this isn't a "personal" problem that I'm having, due to age, etc. My wife has an even harder time with the dribbling than I do. We have also had several of our neighbors try to pour a couple cups of coffee from a full carafe (both Cuisinart's & yours), and they, too, dribbled all over the place. What's going on? My wife & I are in our mid-forties, and yes... changes beyond our control are taking place (deteriorating eyesight, dental work, etc.), but not lack of coordination or shaking hands (at least not yet, anyway). We DO NOT need the inconvenience of having a mess to clean up when pouring our first few cups of coffee in the morning.

The other item I'd like to address concerns the 5-ounce cup size. The last time I bought a coffee maker, 6-ounce was the standard cup size. The "True" 12-cup coffee maker (with twelve 6-ounce cups) has always been the perfect size for my wife and I over the past 20 years. One pot was all we needed. When did the standard 6-ounce cup get redefined to be 5 ounces? Now we have the added inconvenience of having to make an additional pot of coffee each morning to satisfy our needs. I don't mean to single you out for the 5 ounce cup -- I realize that apparently all coffee makers have now adopted that convention. But I'm curious… what is the motivation for the 5-ounce cup? Have manufacturers taken it upon themselves to encourage people to drink less coffee? What is the rationale behind this?

Please do not construe this to be an attack against KitchenAid. We thoroughly enjoy your products! We purchased a KitchenAid refrigerator and dishwasher, and they are the best we've ever owned. With the exception of the dribbling carafe, we also love the KitchenAid Ultra coffee maker. However, due to its dribbling carafe, we have retired it. I purchased a Mr. Coffee coffee maker this week and am pleased to finally find a carafe that doesn't dribble. I guess the cliche "Third Time's the Charm" applies here.

Since we obtained the KitchenAid Ultra via a mail-order catalog (Chef's), I doubt that we will be able to return it. Would you be so kind as to inform us when you (hopefully) make available a redesigned, non-dribble carafe for the KitchenAid Ultra coffee maker? We prefer the Ultra over the other two coffee makers, and the coffee itself is noticeably better. We just can't tolerate the Ultra's dribbling carafe.

Thank you for listening.