Things at BSH Home Appliance have been less than ideal for the past few years. And their latest product malfunction is by far the worst yet. Bosch is recalling all 1.7 million Tassimo coffee machines. In our recent memory, there have not been any more expensive or serious a recall as this for an appliance manufacturer. Apparently, the Tassimo T-cups (the coffee disks which brew the coffee) have been exploding across North America, spraying users with scalding hot water.
Here is a pretty disturbing excerpt from the U.S. Recall report:
“There have been 140 reports of incidents with the brewers spraying hot liquid, coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers, including 37 reports of second-degree burn injuries. One incident involved a 10-year-old girl from Minnesota who received second-degree burns to her face and neck and had to be hospitalized.”
It’s no big secret I am not a fan of Bosch’s current products or business plan. BSH Home Appliances is a complete mess as a company and treats its dealers just as poorly as it does its customers. While recalls happen to company’s all the time, one of this seriousness and magnitude is very rare and I believe it to be proof of the degration of BSH’s management style as a whole. I imagine class action lawyers are licking their lips already.