- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Messages
- 4,472
Okay, so I ALREADY have the flame retardant suit on you bastids. 
Flame away! Here's what happened:
Wifey had a set of Cutco knives before she divorced her first husband and loved them. Matter of fact, she was LIVID when he snuk into the house one day and took them without mentioning it to her. Anyway, since we got married over a year ago, we've been using cheap Chinese knives, but Wifey has never let me forget that she wants to replace the Cutcos. Needless to say, I have been learning a lot about knives/steel/HTing and all sorts of other things, so I have been skeptical about Cutco. I've tried to sell her on a Koster santoku, and any number of other cutlery, but she's been pretty avid about Cutco til the other day.
Okay, fast forward to Friday: I sold a sampling/sequencer and had in hand a few hundred dollars I was salivating to spend here in the exchange, but I decided it might be wise to play the long game: accommodate Wifey now, and get what I want later with a smile.
So I ordered her the "utlimate set". 1600$ dollars for some stamped steel with fugly handles and a great warranty. All weekend long I was conflicted about this damned deal. Today, I came to work and decided to research Kasumi, global, Wusthof and others and decided that for almost 1000$ less I could get BETTER blades, albeit nowhere near the warranty. I email the rep I purchased from to cancel the order, and then I call Cutco to make sure it didn't leave their warehouse. Cutco canceled the order but could not credit my account because the order was made using the rep's bank account, and not my CC.
So get this, the CustServ rep on the phone reads back the account number used and when I tell her it isn't mine, she asks how much I paid. She says:
"The ultimate set is $1995." I tell her I paid $1650, and she says, "that's not what we charged the account on record. We charged $385 for the Ultimate set and kitchen tools such and such account."
385$ to the rep, and yet I'm paying 1650$ HOLY ISHT!!!
Now THAT's a markup. I was amazed when I heard that. Basically, the rep ordered the stuff using his price and paying with his account, then charged me the "discounted" price of $1650 and he was going to make OVER $1000 on me. I knew these knives were overpriced, but I had NO idea how badly. Needless to say I am NOT getting the Cutco knives.
So anyway, spoke to the sales guy and he's getting my loot refunded to the AMEX. Wifey has been told she will ONLY get the spatula spreader from Cutco, as that IS a truly inventive tool. And now I still need to get us a good set of kitchen knives...
Rant off...
So what do you people suggest as far as kitchen knives? I can't go custom because I don't want to wait the ridiculous lead times. I would like to get a SET with a block, and while Kasumi looks lovely, I would have to buy the blades piece by piece. That makes things difficult. $1000 is my limit. Consumer Reports suggests the Wusthof Classics and the Henckels Twin "S" series. Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading my long-arsed rant. :thumbup:
Jason
Flame away! Here's what happened:Wifey had a set of Cutco knives before she divorced her first husband and loved them. Matter of fact, she was LIVID when he snuk into the house one day and took them without mentioning it to her. Anyway, since we got married over a year ago, we've been using cheap Chinese knives, but Wifey has never let me forget that she wants to replace the Cutcos. Needless to say, I have been learning a lot about knives/steel/HTing and all sorts of other things, so I have been skeptical about Cutco. I've tried to sell her on a Koster santoku, and any number of other cutlery, but she's been pretty avid about Cutco til the other day.
Okay, fast forward to Friday: I sold a sampling/sequencer and had in hand a few hundred dollars I was salivating to spend here in the exchange, but I decided it might be wise to play the long game: accommodate Wifey now, and get what I want later with a smile.
So I ordered her the "utlimate set". 1600$ dollars for some stamped steel with fugly handles and a great warranty. All weekend long I was conflicted about this damned deal. Today, I came to work and decided to research Kasumi, global, Wusthof and others and decided that for almost 1000$ less I could get BETTER blades, albeit nowhere near the warranty. I email the rep I purchased from to cancel the order, and then I call Cutco to make sure it didn't leave their warehouse. Cutco canceled the order but could not credit my account because the order was made using the rep's bank account, and not my CC.
So get this, the CustServ rep on the phone reads back the account number used and when I tell her it isn't mine, she asks how much I paid. She says:
"The ultimate set is $1995." I tell her I paid $1650, and she says, "that's not what we charged the account on record. We charged $385 for the Ultimate set and kitchen tools such and such account."
385$ to the rep, and yet I'm paying 1650$ HOLY ISHT!!!
Now THAT's a markup. I was amazed when I heard that. Basically, the rep ordered the stuff using his price and paying with his account, then charged me the "discounted" price of $1650 and he was going to make OVER $1000 on me. I knew these knives were overpriced, but I had NO idea how badly. Needless to say I am NOT getting the Cutco knives.
So anyway, spoke to the sales guy and he's getting my loot refunded to the AMEX. Wifey has been told she will ONLY get the spatula spreader from Cutco, as that IS a truly inventive tool. And now I still need to get us a good set of kitchen knives...
Rant off...
So what do you people suggest as far as kitchen knives? I can't go custom because I don't want to wait the ridiculous lead times. I would like to get a SET with a block, and while Kasumi looks lovely, I would have to buy the blades piece by piece. That makes things difficult. $1000 is my limit. Consumer Reports suggests the Wusthof Classics and the Henckels Twin "S" series. Any suggestions?
Thanks for reading my long-arsed rant. :thumbup:
Jason
