K Bean Coffee Machines — Restaurant in Melbourne

Let me quickly tell you about myself. I support small businesses and will try my best to patron them. We can all agree that small businesses are important and deserve our support. I never leave negative feedback for any business. Don’t believe me, look at my review history which only has 5 star reviews including small businesses. When it came time to look for a coffee machine upgrade, I looked for a local small business to support. KBean came up in my search. I contacted Paul and made an appointment for the next day. After looking through a few machines, we purchased a coffee machine and grinder which came recommended by Paul and took it home the same day. Within a couple days of ownership, we noticed a water leak at the bottom, which required a wipe after each use. There was also a leak on the steam wand. Being a brand new machine, we requested for replacement, but was quickly denied. Instead we were asked to take it directly to the distributor to be fixed under warranty which is a 2hr round trip for me, which I reluctantly did.

Over the next few months, I noticed another small water leak, but decided not to pursue it knowing it required the hassle of another 2hr round trip each way. On the sixth month of ownership, the machine suddenly and without warning gave out a loud audible explosion. Lots of steam came out from the top and water pooled at the bottom. As you can imagine, that gave me quite a scare. I immediately contacted both Paul and the distributor and was told to take the machine back in. Again another 2hr round trip to drop the machine off to the distributor. I presented the video of the aftermath including the temperature screen which showed that it was well over the preset operating temperature. A week later I came in to pick up the machine which required time off work. Was told by the distributor that it was the safety pressure release valve triggering which is releasing trapped hot steam. No rectification was performed as they could not find the source of the issue. The additional water leak was also not fixed as they could not find the source. Was told the pressure issue maybe a once off and to call back if it occurred again.

Two month later with the machine still well under 12 months old, same thing happened. Loud pop, lots of steam, water pooling down, and temperature gauge showing well above preset. I contacted Paul and presented the videos. Was advised that it was a minor and common issue (even though the machine distributor themselves could not find the fault) and was told to go to his FAQ page to perform a self fix on a non-relevant symptom(hissing sound issue). When I told him that this was not a relevant symptom, I was told to take the machine back to the distributor to be looked at again. At this point, I think I have been very reasonable with all the time taken off work and done what I can to resolve the various issues. I asked for a refund as I don’t have confidence that the machine can be fixed and that more issues would not arise. I also do not feel safe with the machine having to activate a safety pressure release valve for all the trapped hot steam to escape when I have a young child at home. Paul then offered to trade in the machine at a second hand price and to buy another machine from him. Price of the trade in to be dependent on the condition of the machine. I honestly felt insulted by this due to the issues highlighted above. On top of which, most of the wear and tear would had been the distributor having to open up the machine to try to fix the problems. When I did not accept the offer, Paul then said this was not a major fault and my only choice is a warranty fix. Needless to say, I am very disappointed by this experience and have questioned my desire to support small businesses moving forward. I leave this note as a warning to any perspective buyer. If you search through KBeans feedback history, you will find this is not an isolated experience and my only regret is not having done my proper...

Unfortunately, I had a really bad experience of this retailer and consequently my review rates them super low, although I’m never happy to leave a negative review

My repair took months, although minor, and more so was just a dreadful, and unexpected, experience

I purchased a La Pavoni Cellini and Eureka Mignon grinder on the “personalised” recommendation. It was my first time purchasing such equipment. This isn’t entry-level equipment and I think it was overkill but certainly a beautiful machine and really great grinder that make amazing coffee

A little over a year (around 15 months I believe) after purchase the coffee machine stopped working, as it wasn’t pressurising properly. Contacted Paul for advice. He sent me to his importer to resolve this.

I emailed the importer, who rang me straight away. I’d wanted to bring the machine in the following Saturday but he advised they were closed. He also tried to solicit me for a service which I was pretty uncomfortable with and declined. I just stuck to email communications from that point. He asked me to make an appointment to bring the machine across, to make sure someone was there, which I agreed to as it was easily a 3 hour trip for me to get there machine there.

Following this was significant delays in getting the machine there - I had limited availability on weekdays but when I suggested I use a courier there was no answer. Also when I emailed saying I’d come on Monday I was told they were closed that day. There were no attempts at alternatives or cooperation on this, and somewhere around this point I did also ask for a refund (since I had an expensive machine that wasn’t working and wasn’t being repaired!).

I went to consumer affairs a couple of times, and the second time the lady agreed that I might have to go to vcat at this point but advised me to email one last time quoting the section of the consumer act that talks about the obligation of timely repairs. I wrote my email with the quote she advised I use.

Suddenly, both Paul and the importer Casa Espresso were both responding to emails immediately! After that point, I was able to get the repair resolved within a week.

Disappointingly, Paul then engaged me with some completely (and puzzlingly) dishonest emails basically blaming me for the situation and for the coffee machine fault in the first place. Prior to that I’d thought it was maybe a series of miscommunications on the part of the importer.

I would say buyer beware of this guy. Go somewhere reliable.

Added note - what a bizarre response!! LOL!

Anyone can check the info in my review. The point of sale person is responsible and they have to respond in a reasonable time. You can google it or find on Consumer Affairs Vic site.

I haven't done any of the stuff Paul says, in his response. This isn’t a duplicate review either .. and I actually did remain calm despite the bizarre frustrations I had in getting Paul to honour the situation

It is difficult to know what to say when someone insistently fabricates things. I think he just wants to make out it didnt happen. Please do...

I honestly can't believe I'm having to write this review but I'm shocked by Paul's approach to business. I needed a new grinder and wanted to support a small business, so rather than going to some of the bigger shops, I dropped by K-Bean. Bad decision.

When I asked about the grinder I wanted, Paul discouraged me from getting it and suggested what he thought was a better option at the same price (around $700). Given his experience, I cautiously accepted the alternative even though I'd done a lot of research on the other one and had some hesitations.

A week or so later, and while the grinder I bought was still sitting unused in the unopened box, I decided I really DID want the one I went in for which had a 'grind by weight' feature. So I asked Paul if I could change it over. Sadly the manufacturer was no longer offering the same pricing on the one I wanted so it was a hundred $ or so more expensive.

A few days later he did message me to let me know that the grinder I wanted was going to be back on sale again for black friday, but that was still a few weeks away and I needed to get started. I told him by that stage that I'd found a second-hand one of the type I wanted. So please could I drop this back for a refund?

That's when he emailed me to say no, it's against his terms to offer "change of mind" refund, but he'd give me a store credit. Well the store credit was of no use as I now had what I needed and I already started feeling like I didn't want to do business with him.

I also reminded him that it was HIM who changed MY mind about the grinder - if I'd bought what I came in to buy, there would have been no 'change of mind' to talk about.

Why not just refund me? Especially given it's still in the box, unopened and perfectly resaleable. He doesn't lose anything, and keeps me as a happy customer. I don't get it.

The only possible reason that I could think that he wouldn't offer a refund on a brand new, unopened grinder, is that he was having trouble selling them and didn't want this back as it would be harder to sell. More the fool me, if this is the case, for accepting the change.

So in the last hope of resolving this for both of us, I offered him the chance to refund me $100 less than what I paid, just to keep me as a customer and get it cleared up. That way, he gets $100 cash free and I walk away without feeling the need to write a review like this. After I proposed this he got grumpy and then withdrew the store credit offer and said basically that's the end of the discussion, don't contact me again. Bonkers!

Long story short, I don't recommend dealing with Paul. I also run a small business and always refund the few customers who ask for it, even though my T&C also say that I don't do it. Most good businesses do. Honestly, what's the point of unnecessarily pissing off a customer who might come back for a more expensive machine in the future?

Meanwhile, if anyone wants a good deal on a brand new grinder, it's up on...