Poor Quality Inspection at Scanpan??

16 years ago

I've been wanting a set of Scanpans for a looong time and this Christmas I happily received one! I unpacked the set and washed them. As I was drying them, I noticed the bottom of one had several bad nicks in it, one so sharp it could cut your finger. Another pan also had bad nicks on the bottom, too sharp to use on a glass-cooktop. A third pan's bottom was okay, but I noticed several deep pock marks on the outer surface, one of which was fairly large and you could see the inner surface of the pan.

One of the three defective pans was a 6.5 qt. covered casserole. It also had a bad scuff mark on the outside of the pan. The outer surface was roughed up pretty badly in about a two inch area. I repacked the casserole and noticed that the handle of one of the fry pans rubbed against it easily. The box appears like it was dropped as the handle of the casserole punched out the side of the box and someone taped over it. It seems like the fry pan handle packed next to it was what damaged the side of the casserole.

These expensive pans should have quality packaging to prevent damage but they don't. Instead each pan/pot is placed into a thin clear plastic sleeve that won't protect anything! Packing in styrofoam could have prevented this. Only the glass covers were fairly well protected.

This set was bought from Chef's Catalog on line. I talked to their customer service. They were very courteous and said the set should be returned. They also gave me Scanpan's customer service number and I'll be calling them after New Years to make a complaint.

This is my first introduction to Scanpan and I'm very disappointed in their packaging. I also wonder how the heck their inspectors could allow pans with such heavily damaged bottoms pass their control.

My husband and I have thought about this and can't see how the bottoms of two pots could have been gouged so badly by just dropping the box. The gouges had to be caused by a metal object hitting it. I'd probably have to use a large screw driver to duplicate it. The third pan's pock marks on the outer side also had to originate at the Scanpan factory.

Has anyone out there had this occur? I'm concerned that the next set may have similar problems. There were just five pots/pan with this set and three out of the five were damaged! This is my first experience with Scanpan and I'm very disappointed!

Comments (3)

cat_mom
16 years ago
I recently (last month) purchased a 9 1/4 or 1/2" Scanpan frypan (special in-store promotion priced MUCH cheaper than the 8" I had intended to buy). DH uses it to make eggs on the weekend and LOVES it. I am picky, picky (went back to the same store to exchange some All-Clad pieces I'd purchased in and around the same time that were "defective"--one saucepan's handle ended in a sharp point rather than being rounded like the rest, how's that for Quality control?). IMHO, QC is not great with too many things out there, be they pricey or inexpensive. Drives me nuts, but it proves out time and time again.

Good luck with the exchange. Hopefully you will receive perfect peices this next round and will enjoy using them for many years to come.
summerstar
Original Author
16 years ago
Hummm. I'm really surprised you had a problem with All-Clad. I've always heard good things about them. They probably slipped by some Quality Control person who had a bad weekend. I agree that a high price tag nowadays doesn't mean you'll get a perfect product.

A few years ago I bought a set of $69 WearEver stainless from Amazon. I think they're made in the USA---Hooray! They arrived in perfect shape; pretty to look at; a good weight and not a dent, ding, or scratch anywhere and easy on the checkbook. The packaging was the best. Nothing could move in that box. They just can't hold a candle to the performance of Scanpan, but I didn't expect they would.

Well, my second set of Scanpan arrived 95% okay except for a scuff mark on a pot where the handle of another rubbed against it (probably on the way from Denmark!). This duplicated the same scuff mark problem as the first shipment. The scuff is minor, just aggravating. All they have to do is pack the things correctly! It's certainly not rocket science.

All the pots are in good shape and I love cooking with them. Scanpan suggests you heat them at medium temperature. This disappointed me because I thought they would take forever to heat up. Surprisingly they reach cooking temperature much faster than other pots I have that I start at almost High. So far they seem to cook evenly and sure clean up great.

I cannot say enough good things about the people at Chef's Catalog where I ordered my Scanpan from. They were polite and sympathetic about the problem and took special care with the next set. They put the Scanpan carton inside a second carton and put bubble pack all around the inside, sending it via FedEx the same day they got the bad set. Three cheers for Chef's Catalog.
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cat_mom
16 years ago
I'm so glad it worked out for you. As long as the scuff mark doesn't affect wear or use, it sounds like it'll be okay (still annoying, trust me I know!).

We don't use the Scanpan too often, just for things that are better with non-stick, or for really small things (since it's my smallest pan at the moment!), but it works well for its intended use and that's all I can ask for!