Blender Woes

Dear Black and Decker,

I used to have an old blender that didn't crush ice or frozen strawberries so well. So, I bought a Black and Decker crushmaster. This sleek new blender seemed to work very well. At the beginning of July, I made the mistake of making a smoothie and then rinsing the glass pitcher out in hot water. The pitcher cracked in half. The rest of this story is a sad sad tale of your customer service department.

Since I was happy with the blender, I first went to your website to see if I could order a replacement. It sent me to a website that was not part of black and decker and was no working for at least three days. Once the site was working I discovered that I could order a new blender but not parts. I emailed under the "contact us" button and received a response to call an 800 number. The number was to the "Volunteers of America." They did not carry black and decker replacement parts. I emailed again and received a different number to call.

I called to order a new pitcher. It took 3 days to order it because your call center response time is so slow that my work breaks and lunch hours were not enough time. The darn pitcher was $22 plus shipping. WHAT??? The blender was only $30. It was my fault the pitcher broke, so I ordered it. While waiting for my new pitcher, I craved my morning smoothie. The pitcher arrived and I was excited to make smoothies for breakfast again. It didn't occur to me to also order the blade, gasket, and collar for the bottom of the pitcher. How can I make a smoothy with a hole in the bottom of my pitcher?

I called again to order the collar, blade and gasket. They were $15 plus shipping!!! What???? I should have just bought a new pitcher. Thankfully, the girl on the phone took pity on me and said she could cover it under warranty.

We're getting closer to breakfast smoothies.

When the collar, blade and gasket arrived, they didn't fit. The collar was the same size as the bottom of the pitcher and no matter what I tried, it could not be screwed on.

I called back during my lunch hour today. It took 45 minutes to get through and order another collar. I explained my situation and the girl on the other end of the line said that the correct parts were ordered. I asked if they sent the correct pitcher. She said yes. Then, she told me to try to have someone else put the collar on the pitcher!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Do you think I didn't try that already???? I may occasionally be a bit mechanically challenged but I'm not stupid. She asked if I wanted her to send a different collar in case the warehouse sent the wrong one.

I want smoothies - right?

I may never have smoothies again. If this last attempt does not work - I'm giving up. Everything in life happens for a reason and perhaps God thinks I shouldn't be eating smoothies. Or maybe it's the frozen margaritas.......