In April 2009, me and my wife wanted to buy (upgrade) a few home appliances and electronics goods at home. Primarily the audio/video system and the television. Thanks to the internet, we were ready with our shopping list after a few days and stepped in to a shop in West Delhi.
We purchased the TV (Samsung LCD), DVD player (Philips) and an audio system (Sony). Just when we thought we were done, my wife got her eyes on a Morphy Richards Juicer/Mixer/Grinder displayed there. She immediately suggested that we get one since the Moulinex mixer which we brought from London had already started to fall apart.
I promptly agreed going by my previous experience with products from the company in UK and also seeing that Bajaj is providing the after sales service in India. The model we purchased was the Divo Essentials 3 jar - it comes with the following -
1 Juicer mesh + attachments
1 Plastic Liquidising Jar
1 stainless steel wet/dry grinding jar
1 stainless steel chutney grinder.
1 base motor (500W 3 speed).
Price: 3200 INR.
All the jars have plastic base that locks onto the base motor using flimsy plastic grrove locks. The base motor has awkwardly placed side clamps that holds the juicer cover that obstructs proper operation of the control knobs when you want to use the appliance as a wet/dry grinder/mixer. The plastics used are very cheap and flimsy.
We started using it - mostly the mixer/grinder jars. Within the first month, we noticed small hairline cracks developing on the plastic base of the jars.And at the highest speed setting of the motor, sparks were visible from the bottom of the base unit. After a month, when the cracks widened and started showing signs of coming apart, we began looking for contact numbers of the service centres nearby. Most numbers given in the warranty card were not reachable or incorrect. A quick search on the internet revealed a toll free number which always seems to be busy. So I decided to drop in at one of the Bajaj Service centres mentioned in the booklet. Upon reaching there, the service manager politely but bluntly told me that they have stopped servicing Morphy Richards products. He directed me to another service centre (run from an apartment by a person who already has a day job!). After several visits there, we got the contact number of Bajaj at Asaf Ali road in Delhi. I called them and asked for their customer service manager. I was again given a mobile number of some person who for some reason had decided to keep it switched off at all times! I dropped in the next at Bajaj office. After waiting for over 30 minutes, I met their sales manager to takes care of Morphy Richards product line for NCR region. He assured me that he will send a technician to my residence the very next day and gave me his business card. The technician did not turn up until 4 pm the next day so I called up the Sales Manager. He apologized profusely and said the technician will visit the next day. By this time, the base of the wet/dry grinder jar had come apart and the jar was not usable! The technician visited the next day and after examining the damages wrote in his report that the product damage was caused by mishandling! I was furious at that and demanded that I speak to the sales manager. Since I could not reach him on phone I drove down to Bajaj office taking the appliance along with me. After a long debate and drama, the sales manager admitted that there were several quality issues and design flaws in the product. He agreed to get the damages repaired within waranty. The next day the technician visited again and changed the plastic base on both the jars. I was a bit relieved that I was able to get the product back in shape after a month of tussle. But not for long! After 2 weeks, the plastic base started showing cracks again. Not only that , yesterday, the juicer steel mesh came apart. To my horror I noticed that the steel mesh was fixed to the plastic base using two flimsy locks! Oh my God! At that point, I was definitely conviced that Bajaj or Morphy Richards had sold me a lemon.
I have never seen such a poor quality product yet. Even cheap "use and throw" Chinese stuff are much better than this one. Sad but true. I happened to meet the dealer who had sold this to us and narrated the whole story. He admitted that many customers are complaining about the product.
My advice is to avoid this product - LIKE PLAGUE!