Thermochef...

[rjsj]

I held off buying a TM for some time because of the cost.  Bought a few other "cheap" appliances in the meantime but found they were all useless so in the end, bit the bullet and got the TM.  Never looked back.

Compliment to TM that someone tries to copy it, but at the end of the day, I think you get what you pay for and I dont think it will hurt TM as most will either buy good to start with or (like me) buy something useless first and wasting your money!

So happy I now have my TM!!!!!!

[stacelee]

I have just purchased a thermochef to trial for possible sale by our business.  I am looking forward to seeing how it works and will be interested to see how it compares to the thermomix.  I suspect talking to different people that thermomix may end up losing a lot of sales to it.  All arguments aside, a lot of people are put off by the party plan style selling of thermomix and the nuisance factor of haviing to deal via phone/email to Western Australia.  I'm sure that people who have good consultants will argue that point, but for people like myself who have never seen the consultant from the day the machine was dropped off.....it is a source of annoyance (an online shop would help greatly!).

I believe that the thermochef has the same warranty as the Thermomix.  It will be interesting to see how well they back that up, particularly as we would be supplying into smaller restaurants and cafes.  Thermomix have been good from my perspective as my TM failed 18 months in and was repaired under warranty quickly and the QLD manager (?) Rosemary was very good in organising it for me.  I think that the "consumables" need possible work.....I am going to have get a new seal which will be my third seal in 26 months of owning the machine and my spatula literally disintegrated.  The spatula should have lasted longer as it was very lightly used as I have spoon spatulas from work that have been used since day one most of the time (and they are all still in good condition)

Cheaper does not always mean nastier.  We deal with a very very wide range of catering equipment and in quite a few cases the cheaper options are just as good as the more expensive and even better.  Markups for "Name" and profit margin in many cases contribute to an item being more expensive and not a price difference for quality.  A lot of the potential success of the Thermochef vs Thermomix will come down to how well Newwave support the product and their dealers.

Have a good day
Stacey
owner of TM, Kenwood Cooking Chef and soon a Thermochef

[gertbysea]

I agree with much of what you say stacelee.  These are two different machines and both deserve consideration  when looking for a kitchen appliance.

It is true that the commissions paid to demonstrators and so on up to the distributor add to the cost of the TMX . It is also true that having on the spot help at point of sale is of great value.

 I could not agree more about some demonstrators having no interest in you after  you buy. We see some of that discussed here on this forum. Also we read here about consultants not being supported by head office in Australia and the occasional turmoil there.

Still,with all that negative, there are some wonderful demonstrators/consultants working very hard in Australia to give great  service despite some handicapping by head office.

This forum is also a great help for us all and the discussions can be lively and  useful as well as a lot of  fun.

Personally I hope the Thermochef does well in Australia. Horses for courses.  You are so right in saying cheaper is not always nastier. Deduct costs, commissions and markups on any product and you get an idea what any product may be worth. 

I bought a popular quality bra last week for $70 and was told by my friend  the shop assistant that the bra was bought into the shop  for only $5. How about that for a markup. I was not uplifted by that disclosure.

My best wishes to you.

Gretchen

[achookwoman]

Gert, witty as usual

[faffa_70]

Agree with you also Stacelee ...  one thing I don't understand though is you say it is an issue to deal with head office as it is in Perth. Can I ask what difference this makes?

To me it really is no different to all the head offices we from Perth have to deal with that are on the East Coast 

[stacelee]

I think my issue is more that there is only one place in Australia that you can go to to get "things" that you need.  Its not so much that it is in WA but that it is not a wander into the shops or onto a website and buy thing for me.  I am fairly time poor and hate going shopping and not being able to get exactly what I need then and there or being able to get onto a website, click a few buttons and have something on its way to me.  I am very very spoilt with a lot of kitchenware that I only need to wander downstairs from my office and pick up whatever I need from the shelves (which reminds me I need to get a pallet (sp?) knife.  If I want something for my Kenwood, I only have to send an email to our supplier (as I said, I'm spoilt).

Ideally what  I would love to see is Thermomix putting up an ecommerce site that you could order seals, books, spatulas, mats etc etc etc....and even better where you could purchase and instantaneously download ebook versions of the cookbooks.  I would own EVERY one of the cookbooks if that was the case.  I have actually scanned in all of my cookbooks that I own for the thermomix so that I don't have to have them open on the counter....I use my iPad constantly in the kitchen.....which reminds me...anyone who has an iPad and likes Donna Hay, the current and previous magazines are currently free in her iPad app.   I'm sure that there would be other people who would like to use their kindle, iPad or other variety of ereader to store their cookbooks.

Part of my problem is pure laziness....it is an effort to figure out when someone is likely to be in head office to phone them to order what I need.....part of it is annoyance with the prices....my spoon spatulas are a lot cheaper .  It will be interesting to see with the Thermochef if anyone stocks "accessories" as standard.  I know that we don't for the Kenwoods or Kitchenaids, we order on request.....but we normally can get them overnight.  I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon because my current seal is beginning to leak so a phone call to WA is in my future.....actually maybe I'll make it now .

[Meagan]

Stacelee you should get on to that seal. It can lead to problems if you are getting constant leaks from your seal.

[Deeau]

I don't by any means want to bag the TC but feel as people would be reviewing this machine by reading this forum I should put this info "out there' I  recently purchased a product made by the same company as the TC and it took 4 of the items before I got one that worked correctly, these probelms were straight out of the box. 2 of the 3 replacements had minor problems with the electronic controls ( the other one I was sent didn't work at all I think I was sent a faulty item by mistake ) I will say that the customer service ( I ended up dealing direct with New Wave ) was excellent and they did send me an extra product in the end to make up for the incovience, I also love the item they sent me. BUT saying all that as much as I love what the product does,  I really don't have the confidence in it long term, this item was a fraction of the cost of the TC so long term for me is not as big a deal. I will also admit that I had an electronic problem with my TM when it was about 4 months old that was repaired and have never had an issue since (almost 2 years now) 
So I  give the company high credit for customer service it was excellent but at the same time if I didn't love how this product worked ( and that it was not alot of money ) I would have sent it back for a refund after the 2nd faulty item.

[cookie1]

Personally I think competition is healthy. We all love our machines no matter if its a TMX, TC or Kenwood or even a hand beater. We must love cooking to be here in the first place.

[jkmt]

Stacelee, I would love to have you do a comparison of all three products for us! I'm interested in what the Cooking Chef can do too, as well as the TC.

My interaction with TM head office was very efficient (all by email, including me emailing photos of the damage that I caused when a visitor didn't put the jug together properly). Within 5 days of the problem occurring, we had corresponded about the damage, they had assessed the photos and sent me replacement parts (to the east coast). I agree though, it would be nice if they had a recipe book and parts ordering service on their website, as I don't see any need to involve a consultant in that.

However, TM's growth is so phenomenal at the moment, that I'm still waiting to receive my second jug which was ordered at the end of October.  My consultant has kept me informed of progress on that though. I'm just glad that I'm not waiting on a new machine, as not having the second jug is just a minor inconvenience to me, whereas I would have been very unhappy waiting for my TMX for this long.

[gertbysea]

Here is an example of a Thermomix Distributor "going all the way" for their customers. I bet they are selling like hotcakes from their actual physical store.

http://www.superkitchenmachine.com/2011/14634/thermomix-canada-vancouver.html

Wouldn't it be great if we had such a shop in Australia. Maybe  two or three!! Even a virtual store would be an improvment where we could buy without waiting for those Western Australian people to get out of bed. LOL!

Gertbysea

[Meagan]

Wow how exciting for those in Vancouver 

[gertbysea]

Wow how exciting for those in Vancouver 

Yes, Meagan isn't it great to be able to go to in store demos instead of having them come to you. Not everyone is comfortable having a kitchen invasion  and strangers in their house.

Seems they are very advanced and Vorwerk must be helping and encouraging them. I wonder if they will have an on line store as well. Canada is a pretty big country like ours so that would be handy for Canadians who live some distance  away.

Imagine having a store in each capital city here. Well we can dream.

[stacelee]

I've been good and finally made the phone call.....I've been proactive and actually ordered two seals and a new spatula.  My credit card is hurting but at least Tom will be watertight again.  I also wanted to buy a copy of the festive cookbook but apparently they sold out of them a long time ago

I will have to post a photo of my kitchen when I have the three machines lined up on the bench.  My son is hanging out for the new one to arrive because apparently it is smoothie weather and I always have Tom's jug dirty when he wants to use it.  I've scored the deal where the Thermochef comes with two jugs.  I haven't broken the news to the Brat yet that the machine has to come back into work after Christmas....ah well....

[nola276]

Deeau,  I have had my Thermo Chef for 6 weeks now and have had no sign of any problems.  I use it every day and sometimes multiple times in a day.  I grind, knead chop and cook all sorts of ingredients and generally put it through it's paces.  I haven't been able to find anything at all on the net to say who make Thermo Chef.  I only know it was designed in Spain, made in China with a Japanese motor. Newwave are the importers and distributors, and are extremely good for after sales service (I chopped up my butterfly ).  I don't know what it's track record will be like, we'll just have to wait and see, but as I couldn't afford a Thermomix, this is a great option for me.  It looks well built and sturdy and has got me enjoying cooking again.  

I am currently putting away $10.00 a week so that in 4 years time, I will be able to afford a Thermomix, and then maybe I will gift my Thermo Chef to my DIL.  But maybe not either.  I may just keep both machines and do savories in one and sweets in the other .

I think that what is important is the method of cooking, and not necessarily which brand of machine you cook in.