Last August we bought an eight quart Le Creuset Oval Dutch Oven as an anniversary gift to ourselves. We already owned a smaller, round Dutch oven but we wanted a larger pot when cooking for family and friends. We believe that the meals cooked in enameled cast iron cook better and taste better. These pots cook more evenly, flavors blend better, and these pots can go from stove top to oven without question. These are investment pieces for a kitchen and we were excited to add this larger size Dutch oven to our one-piece collection.
We used it once or twice before the Christmas holidays and used it twice more when the family was all here in December and January. A couple of weeks after Christmas everyone was coming for Sunday dinner. I would be cooking for twelve so decided to make a large pot of beef stew. I also decided to cook it the day before, when I had more time and the flavor would be even better the next day. After the stew was cooked and cooled, I brought the pot to the basement refrigerator where there was more room to store it. I set the heavy, stew laden pot on top of the dryer so I could open the refrigerator door. In a split second the pot slid off the dryer and fell into an empty laundry basket on the floor, spilling the stew into the basket. My first alarm was the loss of the stew, which took all day to cook! Also, what would I serve the next day? Steve heard me yell and rushed over to help. We knew the laundry basket was clean, so we scooped the stew back into the pot as best we could. As I tipped the pot upright, I noticed blue enamel chips off the pot. Looking closer, I saw that not only was the enamel chipped but the pot had a crack all the way through! I was so mad at myself and felt sick over the permanent damage I had caused by setting the pot on the dryer top.
That evening, when the kids returned home, I told them what happened. Daniel Googled Le Creuset's warranty and it said that although this type of damage was not covered under the warranty, some people claimed that Le Creuset gave them a discount toward a replacement purchase. Given what it would cost to replace this pot, I decided to write Le Creuset and tell them what happened. My hope was that they might give me a coupon towards a new Dutch oven like some other customers had claimed. I emailed them photos and told them what happened. After three weeks I received a reply. It reiterated what the warranty does and does not cover and instructions on how to care for Le Creuset cookware. Finally, the sender wrote that they decided to extend a one-time only (their bold letters) replacement to me for my pot. What?! This was not what I expected. At most I had hoped for maybe a discount coupon. I was extremely grateful and wrote back to tell them so! They gave me two colors to choose from, peach and white. I chose the white and within three days, our replacement arrived.
In a time when customer service from many companies is at a low, Le Creuset treated us better than we deserved. My friend asks me why I would ever spend so much money on a cook pot. I always tell her about how wonderfully they cook. Now I have two reasons; One, Le Creuset pots cook food better than anything. Two, customer service. I already know what recipe I am going to cook for our friends in our new, white, eight quart Dutch oven the next time we host dinner. It will include tomatoes and I know the white pot will wash up just fine. And I will never, ever set a pot on my dryer, ever again.
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