The Auswine Forum

I received the initial letter stating that my claim had been received and the follow up letter saying that the claim was valid and I could expect the fridge in due course. My CC was debited a couple of weeks ago and the 90 days since the claim form was received was up a week or so ago. I rang yesterday and was told that I could expect my fridge in July! I was also told that the 90 days was from the date of the 2nd letter in late May, over 2 months after the claim form would have been received. That said, they did apparently receive over 10,000 claims.

reschsmooth wrote:they did apparently receive over 10,000 claims.

Nothing personal Sparky, but 10,000 wine fridges? Hope Fosters is counting the impact of this in the "Environmental Responsibility" section of their Annual Report.

Hope all those folks have solar............

I just wonder whether this side of things was considered by the people putting the promo together. (And I am feeling grumpy/anxious/nervous ahead of tonight's game)

Cheers

Michael

PS Yes everyone do feel free to go on about individual responsibility etc.

Mine is arriving on Monday with no doubt with some assistance from a fellow forumite. It is so close to my birthday last week I am going to tell my wife it was my present to myself.

Well done Penfolds, great promotional campaign notwithstanding the delays.

I got mine yesterday

though at 48kg, I don't recommend carrying it up to your third floor apartment by yourself ouch, my back.

got mine last Monday. The delivery guy had about a half dozen in the truck. I suspect a lot of folks are getting theirs about now.

It was smart timing for the promo. With 4-5 months of cool weather, no-one's all that concerned about urgency of delivery...
G

Got my big box for my boys (3 & 1) to play in today. The delivery guys left some wine fridge behind as well.

reschsmooth wrote:Got my big box for my boys (3 & 1) to play in today. The delivery guys left some wine fridge behind as well.

My 5 yr old boy turned the polystyrene sheets into great frisbees. Damn lethal things

I am still waiting on my fridge... is anyone else still waiting?

My father got his about 2 months ago now and put his claim in about a week before me. I got a call from them saying they had received my claim but my card has not been charged yet.

Mine arrived last week. This was always a ridiculously good offer, so it's not surprising they were snowed under, and it has taken time to process the orders. They must have grabbed practically all of Vintec's supplies....

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one still waiting (found this website by doing a google search on the fridge). I received my acknowledgement letter early May and my credit card was debited on 1st June. Phoning Penfolds today they said I should have it by the end of the month, but they have said that for the last 3 months too so I'm not holding my breath...

Spottydog, when I say I appreciate your patience, it's not an empty platitude.

The timeframes that this one have stretched out to have been outside of all expectations, somewhat like the number of redemptions we received. We're on the home stretch however, and I can personally guarantee that you WILL be on the next list of 700 odd cabinets to go out, (which are in the country and ready to go) because I put the list together myself. We expect those to be delivered over the next couple of weeks, but as we're using third parties to manage the logistics, it's not always easy to provide precise information.

Have we learnt a few things along the way from the execution of a promotion this size? My oath we have.

Spottydog

Perhaps you should change you login to "squeakywheel".

No offence to you or to Moira! Just an observation relating to cause and effect.

Cheers

Michael

I wish it was that simple, Michael.

Apart from the fact that I've no idea who spottydog is apart from a dalmation owner,it has more to do with the fact that he's paid for the damn thing and hasn't got it yet..

Be fair to Sparky. She's actually provided her contact number on this thread and invited people to call her if they want to check where they are. I think she's bent over backwards to help people on this thread.

qwertt wrote:Be fair to Sparky. She's actually provided her contact number on this thread and invited people to call her if they want to check where they are. I think she's bent over backwards to help people on this thread.

Indeed, she done a great job.

Alan

Sorry, I didn't think I was making a comment about Sparky, or the job she has been doing. Nor was I suggesting she knew spottydog (though well worked out about the dalmatian owner Moira!). It is good that she is acting on a problem brought to her attention. If you read my post, I was merely observing that by registering a complaint you get prioritised in service. Standard operating procedure. Cause and effect.

Cheers

Michael

A big thanks to Moira a.k.a sparky for her excellent PR work, and for reassuring us customers throughout what must have been a very demanding promotion. Above and beyond. It's a case study on how big companies should be communicating to customers via the Internet.

I received my fridge a month or so ago, and it has been quietly humming away since. It's making for a great adjunct to my offside storage. Absolute bargain.

aj_syrah wrote:A big thanks to Moira a.k.a sparky for her excellent PR work, and for reassuring us customers throughout what must have been a very demanding promotion. Above and beyond. It's a case study on how big companies should be communicating to customers via the Internet.

I received my fridge a month or so ago, and it has been quietly humming away since. It's making for a great adjunct to my offside storage. Absolute bargain.

i echo that sentiment... great stuff moira in keeping us updated. Got mine ages ago, but will gladly put my hand up if any spares remain.

c

A quick question to people who have received theirs. No matter where I put the setting dial, the thermometer ( I bought a cheap one) keeps showing a standard temperature of 17 degrees. There's no problem with the thermometer - it changes when I take it out of the vintec. Is this normal or should I follow up re warranty?

qwertt wrote:A quick question to people who have received theirs. No matter where I put the setting dial, the thermometer ( I bought a cheap one) keeps showing a standard temperature of 17 degrees. There's no problem with the thermometer - it changes when I take it out of the vintec. Is this normal or should I follow up re warranty?

Doesn't sound normal to me!

Mine is certainly responsive to changes in the setting dial, and it is sitting on about 12 degrees, slightly further towards the cold side of the dial.

Sounds like Ambient temp to me which means gas might be gone. (esp being in Canberra in Winter/Spring)

Thanks for the kind words all - very much appreciated, particularly as I'm feeling a little fragile after a big night with the Penfolds winemakers after the massive Melbourne recorking clinic. If I learnt one thing last night, it's beware of Slovenian Riesling

Call Vintec on 1800 666 778 if you've got any concerns about cabinet temps or performance. If you've done the right thing and registered your warranty it will smooth the process, but as I imagine the majority of you have done the boy thing of throwing out the paperwork and instructions and just plugging it into the power, quote your serial number and they should have it recorded. Mention the 'Penfolds Bins Promotion' and they should be able to track it down.

Cheers, Moira

sparky wrote:Thanks for the kind words all - very much appreciated, particularly as I'm feeling a little fragile after a big night with the Penfolds winemakers after the massive Melbourne recorking clinic. If I learnt one thing last night, it's beware of Slovenian Riesling

Call Vintec on 1800 666 778 if you've got any concerns about cabinet temps or performance. If you've done the right thing and registered your warranty it will smooth the process, but as I imagine the majority of you have done the boy thing of throwing out the paperwork and instructions and just plugging it into the power, quote your serial number and they should have it recorded. Mention the 'Penfolds Bins Promotion' and they should be able to track it down.

Cheers, Moira

Thanks Moira

I think I'm a metrosexual. Didn't send in the paperwork but didn't throw it out either.

As mentioned in another post mine has a slight chemical smell, I followed instruction to the tee.
Is this normal or should I follow up warranty?

I suspect this is normal, Richie. I doubt that it matters. I think even with corks, it is highly unlikely to seep into the bottle.

orpheus wrote:I suspect this is normal, Richie. I doubt that it matters. I think even with corks, it is highly unlikely to seep into the bottle.

I've got that issue with 2 wine fridges, Richie.

So far I haven't noticed any of the wines tasting of that smell (and more than half of them are cork-sealed). I imagine the cork acts as a natural filter but that may just be optimism talking.

Just as well, since it smells a lot like PVC, which is not a good thing to be ingesting. Considering the amount of air that a cork lets through in its lifetime, though, you'd get more chemicals just from opening and smelling the fridge than you would from drinking the wine.

Yes, been quietly complaining about my Vintec's smell for a year now!! Had it replaced soon after purchase, and the new one smelt the same.

Filled it with screwcaps and put up with it. Had a couple of wines that have been in there for a year, and no issue. Amount of air ingressing a screwcap is basically nil, so should be OK.

BUT. I would think it a really nice gesture if sparky could ask Vintec on behalf of all wine lovers getting these fridges what the story is with the smell, and if there is anything we can do to minimise it. I've tried cleaning the shelves and interior with bicarb (as suggested by Vintec), made a small difference, but the fan blows a new batch of smelly air in every 10 seconds,so no real improvement.

Not putting any negative focus on sparky and co, but it would be nice to get a comment from Vintec on this negative 'characteristic' of probably all these thousands of fridges about to store all our precious wines.

I've got 3 other wine fridges (non-vintec) and no smell whatsoever inside any of them.

Be nice to hear something from Vintec.

Cheers
Tim

qwertt wrote:

sparky wrote:Thanks for the kind words all - very much appreciated, particularly as I'm feeling a little fragile after a big night with the Penfolds winemakers after the massive Melbourne recorking clinic. If I learnt one thing last night, it's beware of Slovenian Riesling

Call Vintec on 1800 666 778 if you've got any concerns about cabinet temps or performance. If you've done the right thing and registered your warranty it will smooth the process, but as I imagine the majority of you have done the boy thing of throwing out the paperwork and instructions and just plugging it into the power, quote your serial number and they should have it recorded. Mention the 'Penfolds Bins Promotion' and they should be able to track it down.

Cheers, Moira

Thanks Moira

I think I'm a metrosexual. Didn't send in the paperwork but didn't throw it out either.

Vintec replaced with relatively little fuss. New machine appears to be working good. Thanks all and especially Moira for being available on this forum. Makes life so much easier if there is a lead in to getting things done.

TiggerK wrote:Yes, been quietly complaining about my Vintec's smell for a year now!! Had it replaced soon after purchase, and the new one smelt the same.

BUT. I would think it a really nice gesture if sparky could ask Vintec on behalf of all wine lovers getting these fridges what the story is with the smell, and if there is anything we can do to minimise it. I've tried cleaning the shelves and interior with bicarb (as suggested by Vintec), made a small difference, but the fan blows a new batch of smelly air in every 10 seconds,so no real improvement.

Not putting any negative focus on sparky and co, but it would be nice to get a comment from Vintec on this negative 'characteristic' of probably all these thousands of fridges about to store all our precious wines.

I've got 3 other wine fridges (non-vintec) and no smell whatsoever inside any of them.

Be nice to hear something from Vintec.

Cheers
Tim

Bet you thought I'd forgotten about this one..

The wonderful Shirley at Vintec has been doing some detective work for me and has the following info for you - hope it helps:

We have been doing some investigation and we believe that due to the full on production of these units, the shelf maker has been under pressure to produce and may have not let some of the shelves be completely dried before applying the varnish. The varnish is not toxic and will dissipate over a period of time.

I tested a cabinet that was returned due to the smell and the shelves themselves do not smell outside the cabinet that I tested but when returned to the cabinet in a couple of hours the smell is there. We all agree whilst the smell was strong on opening the cabinet it did not seem to be strong when the unit was operating.

We have some shelves and we can always order in more and we are happy to send a set to any of your customers who have this complaint. They can send an email to sales@vintec.com.au. Please ask them to provide the serial number and their details and we will look after them.