Miele S7 Hose Issue... Again!

[swingette]

Perhaps this issue can be helped if the swivels in the hose handle and machine inlet where enhanced? The stretch action does create lots of twisting stress. In my experience, I have to untwist the hose everytime its been fully extended to get it back to a fully relaxed state.

Then there is the fact that the machine falls back at the slightest touch of the handle release. Not best for households with children.

And the cord is too long for the cord hooks.

And the cheap painted finish on the silver handle accents.

And the switches should be recessed or protected somehow. On/Off switch is easily accidentally flipped.

The sprung brushroll carrier is a crud-catcher.

And the cogged wheel return will fail after a few years of use in a real-life (dirty) environment.

Durability is not this machines strong suit.

 

[luxlife]

I think this is what they call "design on a deadline". Miele was in such a hurry to get a new upright in the American market because they realized the jig was up once we figured out that their previous uprights were actually rebadged Panasonic uprights made in Spain. I think the efforts of Miele would have been better spent if they had found a way to expound upon the versatility of the Universal Upright model line (s163, s168). Thy did this in the 80's. In Europe, there is a short hose extension available for this model line. Why not in the U.S? I'd love to have that kind of versatility with mine. "On board tool" uprights are heavy and awkward! I've used my s164 with all 3 power nozzles and it does extremely well. I wouldn't hesitate to use it with a shoulder strap and short hose a la "Hoover Pixie" style, but Miele doesn't give me that option. I guess I'll be content to drag my Capricorn around from behind, until the pitifully short cord pulls out of the wall and I have to re-plug it.

Don't get me wrong. I love Miele. I just wish I had a chance to offer them suggestions, as their product line doesn't seem to be evolving quickly enough.

 

[vacfanatic]

S7 Faults

Brett,

I agree with you on a few points. I suppose it was my stupid idea to even sell my Capricorn before I had a chance to use the S7, but I took the plunge. Having trusted that the S7 would not let me down because I did like the S5 so much... clearly I wish'd I'd of kept what I had! I've also had a lot of fluff etc build up in the brushroll springs, and the cord is a nice length but it's hard to get it all to fit on the hooks. Another minor but annoying thing is that dust and fine dirt can get behind the LED light lense. Why is that not sealed? I noticed the same thing on my SEB-236 on my S5.

Maybe I'm a vacuum snob, but for the price I paid, I'm extremely unhappy. I should not have even had to so much as think about a part exchange on this S7, let alone 2. Do I have any confidence that the 3rd hose, which is the exact same part that the first and second ones were will last? Not a chance. Miele has my $1000+ and I'm stuck with what I consider a vacuum with a lemon of a hose. What good is a vacuum with a jank hose? Maybe I can retrofit a $40 Wal-Mart vacuum hose on the $1000+ S7 Vacuum, that'll fix it!

Every product has it's fault, but the simplest of things, the hose, is inexcusable for such a high cost elite brand of cleaners.

Andrew

 

[vacfanatic]

Reboxed and waiting...

I figured that if I packaged it back up and said my vacuum prayers, that the hose would heal itself. Ok, not really. I'm just waiting for my request to have my money refunded.

Anytime Miele... I've been dealing with the hose problems since about March 2009, and my patience is GONE.

I have 3 months of warranty left before I would be expected to buy the new hoses that fail, fail, fail... better start a savings account!

Andrew

 

[luxlife]

You need to enact a "phone blitz"

Give Miele hell. Call them repeatedly until you get satisfaction. Take the first and last name and extension number of everyone you talk to, and this will help you create a chain of accountability. It's obvious that no one will want to answer for this, so you'll need to be a little devious. I assure you that once they realize you're not going away, you'll achieve some satisfactory results.

 

[gottahaveahoove]

THAT is a fantastic

idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[bisonian]

No offense Andrew, but ...

... what do you expect Miele to do? They're not going to redesign the hose on the basis of your complaint alone. Even if they were willing to do that, it takes time -- the company can't just stop production and immediately introduce a new hose design without testing, prototyping and evaluation. Then there's retooling, manufacturing and shipping. It doesn't happen overnight.

You have the option of replacing the hose again and taking your chances. Have you contacted the shop you bought the machine from about returning it? Seems like that would be a better option toward getting your money back than trying to go through Miele directly.

Good luck with your quest.

Rick C.

 

[bimmer740]

Phone Blitz

I completely agree with "luxlife". I have had great success when dealing with a company when I can rattle off all the dates and names of all the people I have spoken with, and how many times I have spoken with each one. I usually start out fairly nice, and as soon as I start getting some generic bull shit answer I really give them hell. You are the customer and no matter what you have paid for the item, you should be accomidated in every possible way, and in a timely fashion. If you can speak to every possible supervisor you can, thats a plus too. Those who are higher up in the company will certainly want to please you once they understand how many people you have already dealt with. Maybe because those "higher ups" are trying to please the customer or because they are embarressed by the lack of action taken by their staff. Demand an immediate resolution to your problem from them. I have had several Miele canister and my last two, a Blue Moon and Red Velvet, were absolutely wonderful. Its a shame to here what an awful experience you are having with your machine, I thought for sure it would be as terrific as the Miele canisters.

Good Luck!

 

[vacfanatic]

No offense Andrew, but ...

The local dealer is completely aware of what has been going on, and has never bothered to call me or follow up. In fact, the string of emails that have been going back and forth between Evy Daniell and myself for about 2 months, they have been CC'd each and every time.

I realize the hose is defective, and I could care less about their redesign timeframes etc. I'm ditching this S7. I'm not going to take my chances again, on the same problem part that will fail again, just as my warranty goes up. They'll really tell me to shove it then and expect me to pay for the part after the 1 year warranty is up.

Even having been suggested I should use "short strokes" to keep the airflow moving in the hose, is rediculous. That's like buying a 7 series BMW for about $100K and then the dealer telling you "Well, we've replaced your engine 3 times, we suggest you don't press the accelerator more than halfway down to prevent stress on the engine..."

I've sent another email to them this morning, advising my next step is opening a complaint with Better Business Bureau.

I agree that the canisters are much better than this upright, but at this point, Miele just sounds like a dirty word to me. Very frustrated!!!!!!!!!

Andrew

 

[vacfanatic]

BBB Complaint Filed

I decided to go ahead and get the BBB complaint filed for a refund. They have wasted enough of my time. Wish me luck everybody, and thanks for listening. It's been very frustrating, especially with the money I spent and lost on this so called "upgrade" to the new S7.

Complaint Submitted
Your complaint has been submitted. The complaint has been transferred to the local BBB to be handled in their system. You may wish to copy or print this information for further reference. Press OK when ready.

The complaint is being handled by the BBB listed below. Please contact them with any questions.

BBB of New Jersey (Trenton, NJ)
1700 Whitehorse Hamilton Square Road Suite D-5
Trenton , NJ 08690-3596
Phone: (609)588-0808
Fax: (609)588-0546
Email: [email protected]
Web: http://www.trenton.bbb.org/

 

[luxlife]

Good Luck, Andrew.

I personally don't think poorly of the company about this situation, just about how their reps and dealers have chosen to handle it. Their corportate climate used to actually be quite nice. I used to be involved with an AIDS charity in my city, and for two years in a row Miele donated a canister for our silent auctions. I think you may eventually be talking to someone on a corporate level, but you're taking the most appropriate path for now because I think a lot of people at Miele will be talking about this. One suggestion I have for you is to already have a resolution in mind. For example, tell them you'd just to have a Capricorn again. If you have any documentation to prove that you previously owned a Capricorn (receipt, bank statement, warranty card, etc.), keep it handy. I hope this works out for you.

 

[aeoliandave]

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Keep up the pressure, Andrew. Be polite and reasonable and deluge 'em with your pile of evidence in email and picture form. Feel free to use my pictures as well - I'll get more when I have a chance to visit the Miele stores in London and Kitchener and perhaps the T&A outlet in Sarnia over the weekend. Other members here that own S7s can help out by inducing this hose flattening and post pictures for Andrew's files.

We've read about your hose problem for many months, another overseas member posted that his hose does the same thing and the display/demonstration model at Canadian Tire here in Stratford shows the signs of deformation and can be induced to collapse flat in the same fashion - clearly the hose used on this otherwise fine upright is a poor engineering choice. It is difficult to believe that this flaw didn't show up in Miele's much hyped R&D testing, being as this was Miele's first foray into producing their own in-house upright. Many other vacuums use this type of long stretch vinyl hose - such as the new Connie or the Kenmore Premalite - which do retract themselves toward the vacuum under throttled suction, but they do not permanently distort and flatten themselves like a runover snake in the road. The S7 hose does not return to a tubular form but takes on an oval cross section set. I trace the problem to the use of a cheaper weaker sub-standard wire used for the reinforcing coil. I agree with John Luxlife that this was a rushed "design on a deadline" - witness also the unnecessary protruding tab on the filter grill that catches on the underside rims of chairs, low cabinetry and coffee tables. I'm surprised that a google search hasn't turned up more complaints wordwide.

Dave

 

[luxlife]

I'm sure Miele already has their next more highly evolved upright model on the drawing board. Their last two major hose issues involved electronics and moving parts. No one talks about these particular problems anymore, but I remember they were a nightmare for my dealer.

 

[vacfanatic]

Thanks

Thanks for the feedback from everyone. I just want a good reliable cleaner with a functional hose. I'll let you all know how things work out with the dealer / district rep. I've just left her a voicemail and have asked to have my email returned today, as well as my voicemail.

Andrew

 

[xraytech]

Andrew,

Wishing you the best of luck with this. Keep persistent and hopefully something will happen, unfortunately sometimes no matter how much you persist an dhow high up you go they will essentially tell you too bad sucker. Hope that isnt your case though.

Also have you filed a report with the Attorney Generals office? I have found in the past that they produce more results than the BBB.

Good Luck,

Sam

 

[vacfanatic]

Done dealing with Miele and OK Sewing in Omaha, NE.

DONE. Miele asked me to drag the whole cleaner down to have it looked at, completely ignoring my request for refund or exchange to a different model for the LAST time.

Dealer didn't call me back as they said they would tonight, I called back, no answer and left a voicemail. Called them back again when I got home, and he'd convinently "left for the day". Screw it!

That's the last Miele product I ever buy, and you've all been warned how horribly they acknowledge my requests. I called Evy Daniell and left her a voicemail asking her to call me, but what does she do? Leaves me some canned email about needing to bring it in for review, again completely avoiding my request for exchange / refund.

Life is short, and my blood pressure is not worth the $350 loss. I've offered the cleaner (with a freshly replaced PISS POOR hose) to a prospective buyer for just over $600. I'm so done with this.

Good luck on all the S7 owners out there, my experience was nothing short if being dicked around for several months with no response to my needs as a customer of some "elite" brand of appliance. The sooner this piece of shit is out of my house the better.

Andrew

 

[aeoliandave]

Andrew, cutting your losses and giving up is exactly what the Management 101 Rulebook hopes a disgruntled customer will do - give up and go away. Now the Better Business Bureau will file your complaint in thei,r dead file drawer.

You should message 'Evy Daniell' that you will only agree to send the vacuum for evaluation at her expense as you are on record as this being the third hose to go bad, etc, etc, etc...

Too bad I ain't in Omaha. Hell, I'd drive me and that vacuum to her office building at 9AM in the morning making it clear I ain't leaving until she sees me and hears the story...and so on. Make yourself a constant steady droning nuisance and she'll deal with you or shoot the dispute even further up the chain of command.

Dave

 

[luxg]

Andrew, I am very sorry to hear that you have been treated this way. I do understand what you have gone through and how you just reach the point of giving up!! This is a great lesson for all of us here. Stay away from Miele products. Sure we are not a huge group here but if we all share this infomration with our friends it can and will have an effect. Terry

 

[kirbyultimateg]

Andrew, I am so sorry to hear about this!
Rob Gwisdala
ps: I thought that Miele used to be a reputable name!

 

[vacfanatic]

Case updated with BBB

Friends,

Not to worry, I've updated the case with the Better Business Bureau with the rigamarole I was dealt yesterday. My prospective buyer has alerady purchased a new cleaner, so I'm stuck with this fabulous S7 with a Dollar General hose until I get my money back from OK Sewing with the help of BBB, or sell it on my own terms.

Wish me luck. I'd hate to think how I'd be treated had I of purchased a $3000 Miele washer which the door falls off every 3 months, or a $7000 Miele Stove that shoots flames directly on the cake you are baking...

Not backing down, it's with the BBB now. If no resolution, Nebraska Atorney's General is next.

Rediculous!

Former Miele Customer,
Andrew