Review Time
I rarely leave negative reviews, and I truly hate complaining, but I’m writing this because I think other coffee lovers deserve the full picture.
I’m a long-time Whole Latte Love customer and a serious home espresso person. My first “real” machine was a Rancilio Silvia I bought from Whole Latte Love around 2001/2002 and it is still running today. That history is exactly why I felt comfortable investing in a premium machine from them again.
Fast forward to my Profitec 500 PID, purchased about 18 months ago and still under warranty when the issue came up. I expected warranty support to be inconvenient at worst, but manageable and fair. Instead, I was told I needed to pay roughly $120 for a packaging kit (a cardboard box and foam inserts), and then about $400 to ship the machine to their repair team in Rochester. At that point, the warranty became unrealistic to use. Paying hundreds of dollars just to access warranty repair on a relatively new, top-tier machine is hard to justify.
What made this worse was the lack of coordination. I spoke with several genuinely kind people on the phone who sounded like they wanted to help and said they would escalate to managers, but nothing changed. Email communication also felt fragmented, with multiple people and departments not clearly aligned. Mark was helpful in diagnosing the problem and even sent a video, but the link he provided for the needed part was sold out, leaving me stuck. Juli was also kind and tried to help, and I even gave feedback that it would be basic courtesy for emails to be signed with a name so customers know who they’re speaking with.
In the end, I had to fix the machine myself with a friend by replacing the solid-state relay (ordered from another supplier). It’s working now, but I should not have to DIY a warranty-era repair after being quoted hundreds in shipping and fees.
To be clear: the individuals I spoke with were polite and decent. My disappointment is with the warranty process and pricing structure. I care about the coffee community (I’ve lived in Rochester and love that area), and I wanted to keep supporting this company. Unfortunately, this experience cost me confidence and trust.
If you’re considering buying a premium machine here, ask very directly about warranty shipping costs, packaging fees, and parts availability upfront.
(Review posted by a real customer and coffee lover who genuinely wished he didn’t have to write this.)
We purchased an ECM Synchronika from Whole Latte Love in 2019. It recently started having some issues, so we shipped it to them to be fixed and also purchased their preventative maintenance package. We paid almost $700 to fix the machine and have the preventative maintenance done to it. When we received the machine back, not only had the maintenance not been performed, but the machine was not functioning as it should. There was absolutely no backflush, and the espresso was not being pulled like it should have. Also, the steam pressure was not functioning consistently and the lever to activate the brew group was extremely stiff.
We contacted support right away, and were told it is the grind. We wrote them back and sent photos and videos demonstrating that the grind was not the issue. We told them there was no backflush - We've had this machine for years and we know how this machine functions. Then we noticed that the cleaning had not been performed as advertised. We went through their preventative maintenance package and what they were supposed to do, and most of it was not done. The package included replacement of worn out parts, and none of the worn out parts were replaced and the machine had not been descaled.
After multiple emails, we went on live chat and after waiting for a long time, got a live agent who finally agreed that the machine was not functioning correctly. She tried to get us to troubleshoot it ourselves and then tell them what component was missing so that they could send it to us. We explained that the servicing we paid for had not been completed, and we expect to ship the machine back to them at their cost so that they can fix it themselves and carry out the preventative maintenance package that we paid for. After some time, they agreed, and we sent the machine back to them.
We also sent them an email with photos highlighting what their preventative maintenance package includes and what was not done, and that we expected all of it to be done in addition to the machine being fixed.
A couple weeks after sending out the machine, we received an email stating that the machine had been fully repaired and tested, and that no new parts were necessary. We double checked that all the maintenance items had been done as well, and they confirmed that they had.
We received the machine back a couple days later, and after setting it up, noticed that it did not sit squarely on our countertop anymore. The metal frame was completely bent, and everything was askew and crooked. The shipping box itself was undamaged, so it's unlikely that this damage was caused during shipping. In addition, it appears that the machine was not drained well, as there was a puddle of water inside the box and the machine was wet. The wing nuts at the bottom of the machine that secure the pump in transport were barely screwed in. The company's own website states that it is important for the boilers to be drained completely and the pump to be well secured so that there is no damage to the mechanism during shipping. This does not appear to have been done.
We contacted support again right away with photos and videos of the damage and water issues. They scheduled a live video chat with Todd, who agreed that there was frame damage. He stated that he would talk to his team the following day, and that they would come up with a resolution that would make us happy.
The following day, we received an email claiming that this was shipping damage, and they would work to find a resolution. Shipping damage seemed odd to us since the box was completely intact, and to bend a steel frame would require a considerable amount of force.
We had to follow up with the company with regards to how to fix this issue. After much persistence, we finally heard back from them and they offered to send us a returned machine, claiming their techs had looked at it and nothing is wrong with it. After our terrible experience with their repair team, we found it hard to trust them, and declined the offer. They said they would have a meeting to decide how best to resolve this issue.
Days went by, and we never heard back from them. We sent a follow-up email, and they replied the next day saying that we have their full attention and they will get back to us the very next day. A week went by, and we never heard back from them. We sent another follow-up email. Another week went by, we followed up a third time, and they have ghosted us. This has been a terrible and baffling experience.
We purchased an ECM Synchronika from Whole Latte Love in 2019. It recently started having some issues, so we shipped it to them to be fixed and also purchased their preventative maintenance package. We paid almost $700 to fix the machine and have the preventative maintenance done to it. When we received the machine back, not only had the maintenance not been performed, but the machine was not functioning as it should. There was absolutely no backflush, and the espresso was not being pulled like it should have. Also, the steam pressure was not functioning consistently and the lever to activate the brew group was extremely stiff. We contacted support right away, and were told it is the grind. We wrote them back and sent photos and videos demonstrating that the grind was not the issue. We told them there was no backflush - We've had this machine for years and we know how this machine functions. Then we noticed that the cleaning had not been performed as advertised. We went through their preventative maintenance package and what they were supposed to do, and most of it was not done. The package included replacement of worn out parts, and none of the worn out parts were replaced and the machine had not been descaled.After multiple emails, we went on live chat and after waiting for a long time, got a live agent who finally agreed that the machine was not functioning correctly. She tried to get us to troubleshoot it ourselves and then tell them what component was missing so that they could send it to us. We explained that the servicing we paid for had not been completed, and we expect to ship the machine back to them at their cost so that they can fix it themselves and carry out the preventative maintenance package that we paid for. After some time, they agreed, and we sent the machine back to them.We also sent them an email with photos highlighting what their preventative maintenance package includes and what was not done, and that we expected all of it to be done in addition to the machine being fixed.A couple weeks after sending out the machine, we received an email stating that the machine had been fully repaired and tested, and that no new parts were necessary. We double checked that all the maintenance items had been done as well, and they confirmed that they had.We received the machine back a couple days later, and after setting it up, noticed that it did not sit squarely on our countertop anymore. The metal frame was completely bent, and everything was askew and crooked. The shipping box itself was undamaged, so it's unlikely that this damage was caused during shipping. In addition, it appears that the machine was not drained well, as there was a puddle of water inside the box and the machine was wet. The wing nuts at the bottom of the machine that secure the pump in transport were barely screwed in. The company's own website states that it is important for the boilers to be drained completely and the pump to be well secured so that there is no damage to the mechanism during shipping. This does not appear to have been done.We contacted support again right away with photos and videos of the damage and water issues. They scheduled a live video chat with Todd, who agreed that there was frame damage. He stated that he would talk to his team the following day, and that they would come up with a resolution that would make us happy.The following day, we received an email claiming that this was shipping damage, and they would work to find a resolution. Shipping damage seemed odd to us since the box was completely intact, and to bend a steel frame would require a considerable amount of force.We had to follow up with the company with regards to how to fix this issue. After much persistence, we finally heard back from them and they offered to send us a returned machine, claiming their techs had looked at it and nothing is wrong with it. After our terrible experience with their repair team, we found it hard to trust them, and declined the offer. They said they would have a meeting to decide how best to resolve this issue.Days went by, and we never heard back from them. We sent a follow-up email, and they replied the next day saying that we have their full attention and they will get back to us the very next day. A week went by, and we never heard back from them. We sent another follow-up email. Another week went by, we followed up a third time, and they have ghosted us. This has been a terrible and baffling experience.
Please be aware of this company! We sent our machine to be repaired, they had it for an entire month, almost no communication, until finally they tell us is done. We paid our 500 dollars bill, plus shipping back and forth. We get it home. make literally 2 coffees and it’s not working again! We called and emailed then al least 5 times and they did not once called us back! I don’t remember ever in my life experiencing worst customer service than this!
BE CAREFUL WITH ORDERING. I accidentally ordered the wrong sized $200 tamper, ordered the correct size tamper the day after receiving, and Wholelattelove's return policy means I'm keeping them both. I called and told them I needed to return it and they told me they do not accept returns on accessories. So to be clear... If you make a mistake with ordering you will be stuck with what you order. It's fine, I'll give it away to someone that can use it. Just be sure you do not make any mistakes becuase you are keeping whatever you order. PERIOD.
DONT BUY....IF I could put a ZERO I would. My Refurbished Gaggia Classic Evo Pro Semi-Automatic Espresso Machine barely last 6 months. It was fine til two months in, did routine cleanings, and still have issues. It seemed to work fine next few months, but suddenly stopped working. I did deep descaling and cleaning etc. Whole Latta Love offered some help and none of it worked. They offered no real warranty for something $350 and would cost me 150-200 for repair and shipping. Horrible experience, what a shame and waste too. Seemed to work fine til issues came up and I would have to spend $50 just to find out if warranty was possible. I took care of the machine, I have had expresso makers before. I am not perfect, but I am not going to break an expresso maker.
They sold me an Italian coffee maker that came with very limited instructions for starters. Kind of typical Italian.There were lots of problems with this machine and I called to return it and the first thing I was told is there was a 5% restocking fee. I then explained again that there were issues with the machine and they said they would send me over to technical support, but I told them technical support can't help because I'd have to take videos of all the problems and also they can't see that the pores were coming out wrong. The person on the phone was a bit rude with me, but he finally agreed to waive the 5% restocking fee, but I still have to pay for shipping. This is like a 20 pound machine and it's gonna cost a lot to ship. They had no place locally to return it. They're in New York and I'm in California.The bottom line is, don't order an espresso machine online. Go and buy it locally.
WLL has amazingly good customer service. I had semi-automatic machine that I purchased from them that started having some operating issues after 3 years. WLL walked me through the troubleshooting and repairs via email, sending written instructions, and providing a video. My most recent experience being yesterday. I have found the same response to inquiries about equipment accessories, maintenance, and even coffee bean selection. Having had the complete opposite experience with another company on an espresso machine I cannot more highly recommend WLL. One last thing. I would be remis not to mention the large library of video resources available. I still "attend WLL University" via videos with frequency.
Do not buy a coffee machine from Whole Latte Love.Based on my experience, their customer support is essentially nonexistent. I was put on hold most of the time for over 20 minutes, and in several cases the call was disconnected before I ever reached a representative.The machine I received did not work properly right out of the box, and despite repeated attempts, I was unable to get any technical support to help resolve the issues.To make matters worse, returning the machine has been extremely frustrating. They charge a 5% restocking fee, and the customer is responsible for paying return shipping, even when the machine is defective. For a high-priced espresso machine, this is unacceptable.I would strongly caution others to think twice before purchasing from Whole Latte Love.
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