Little red coffee maker

Five years ago, when we were renovating our house, I took down the last of the wallpaper we had hung in the ‘90s, which was still on the kitchen walls. After painting the kitchen and dining room butter yellow, I hung red and white plaid window treatments and looked for other red accents to achieve the cheery and lively atmosphere I wanted.

Around that time, my toaster stopped working, and I was already using my back-up coffee maker, a four-cup Mr. Coffee that I kept for taking on trips. (I’ve never found a clean coffee maker in a hotel or vacation condo, unless the place was brand new.) When I looked for replacements, I found a pretty red toaster in a retro design and several red coffee makers. After reading a bunch of reviews, I decided on a red four-cup coffee maker, that had the two features I valued most– pause and serve and an automatic cut-off 20 minutes after the coffee had brewed. Both the toaster and coffee maker were Cuisinart products.

From one pot, my husband and I could fill our mugs with about 12 ounces of  freshly brewed coffee. Although, we had to brew another pot for refills, we considered this a small inconvenience for always having fresh coffee. So for three years or more, we would make coffee several times a day. One day, I turned on the coffee maker, which we kept filled with water and a clean filter and coffee, and nothing happened. We had now had the coffee maker for about three and a half years. It had a three-year warranty.

So, I went online trying to find the same coffee maker and, of course, in the color red. When I Googled “red coffee maker” the one I had immediately came up on the search engine. But I couldn’t find one in stock– anywhere. It seemed this coffee maker was now a discontinued item.

A few minutes later, I went back to the kitchen and flipped the switch again on the coffee maker. This time, the light came on and the brewing started. But I wondered how long it would last. I decided to send an e-mail to Cuisinart telling them what a wonderful coffee maker this was and how much I and all those Google searchers liked the color red. I sent the e-mail in January 2011, and didn’t get a reply.

But the following June, I searched again for the red coffee maker and found it at Macy’s, with a couple of changes and a bit of a price increase. Now the automatic cut-off feature was set at 30 minutes and the plastic housing on the unit was BPA free. Even better. And Macy’s had the coffee makers included in their Father’s Day sale, so I was able to buy my replacement/back-up at the same price I paid for the original one..

Not too long after I bought the replacement, my little red coffee maker did go out. But I had no complaints about it. It had lasted four years and been well used. I brought out the replacement and was so glad I could still enjoy the color red on my counter, while my coffee brewed. Oh yes, I already have another replacement for the one I’m using now.

I can’t say for sure that my e-mail had anything to do with Cuisinart bringing back the little red coffee maker. Maybe they received a lot of e-mails requesting the return of this coffee maker and the 12-cup red coffee maker. Since then, Cuisinart has also brought back a 12-cup coffee maker in red.

This was not the first time I have e-mailed a company about a discontinued product and provided them with a few facts to support consumer interest in the product. In the case of the coffee maker, I mentioned in the e-mail about the coffee maker popping up immediately in the Google search. I also noted that the inexpensive price could mean that those looking for a replacement might just buy two. That’s what I did.

When I have written to companies about other discontinued products, sometimes I will tell them what these products are selling for on eBay or Amazon. It sure doesn’t hurt to let companies know what consumers want.

B