Some of Aldi’s non-food Special Buy (ALDI Find) products come with warranties. For the most part, Aldi does not handle warranty claims for its products; instead, that job falls to whoever produces or distributes the product. That means you deal with different companies for different products, and you can get great or lackluster customer service. It depends on the product and the company.
My Experience:
I purchased Aldi’s Easy Home Robotic Vacuum in November of 2017. It worked fine for several months, but in April of 2018, when I turned the vacuum on to run it one day, it turned off after a few seconds and wouldn’t work. The manual states that if the roller brush and side brushes are dirty or have hair tangled in them, the vacuum may shut down as a self-protection mechanism. I made sure everything was clean, and still the vacuum kept turning off after a few seconds. I knew that sometimes the Easy Home vacuums had battery issues, so I suspected that was my problem.
The Easy Home Robotic Vacuum comes with a one-year warranty, and service is provided by a California-based company called Techko Kobot, which sells robotic vacuums and accessories under the Kobot brand name. On April 27, 2018, I sent an email to Techko Kobot. It stated:
“I purchased your Easy Home Robotic Vacuum from Aldi in November 2017. This week, when attempting to use the vacuum, it shuts off after a few seconds and will not work. I have thoroughly cleaned the roller brush and side brushes, so that should not be the cause of the problem. When I put it back on the charging dock, the red light indicates it is trying to charge again, but it should have a full charge still at that point. Is this a battery problem, and can you help? Thank you.”
I received a call less than five minutes later from Techko Kobot. The customer service rep asked me to do some troubleshooting on my vacuum. I took the roller brush out and attempted to run the vacuum without it, but it still stopped after a few seconds. The rep said that was an indication of internal/motherboard damage, and she told me I could fill out the warranty card in the manual for the vacuum, take a photo of the card, and email it to them. She said they would then email me a prepaid shipping label. I could pack up the vacuum in any box (I no longer had the original box), fasten the label on, and drop it at my nearest FedEx location.
It was late afternoon on a Friday when I filled out the warranty card and emailed a photo of it to Techko Kobot. By late morning the following Monday, April 30, I received the prepaid shipping label in my email inbox.
I packaged my vacuum up and dropped it off at a FedEx store on May 7, and a new vacuum showed up on my doorstep on May 17 (about 8-9 business days after I dropped off my old vacuum).
Rather than sending me a new Easy Home Robotic Vacuum, Techko Kobot actually sent me a Kobot brand robotic vacuum, which retails at time of publication between $124 and $150 at other retailers such as Home Depot and Target.
The Kobot vacuum includes an attachable mop pad for wet cleaning, which is a feature the Easy Home vacuum from Aldi did not have. The charging base also has some rubber pads on the bottom to help prevent the base from slipping and sliding on hard floors while the vacuum is attempting to dock.
In all other ways, though, the Kobot replacement vacuum is nearly identical to the Aldi Easy Home Robotic Vacuum.
The new vacuum is performing as the old one did. It does an adequate job of sucking up dust, dirt, and hair around the house. I am happy with Techko Kobot’s customer service and prompt response times, and the new vacuum works as I would expect it to, so my experience with the Easy Home Robotic Vacuum warranty service has been positive.
The Verdict:
When my Aldi Easy Home Robotic Vacuum stopped working about five months after I purchased it, I emailed the company providing the one-year warranty. Techko Kobot called me back within minutes of receiving my email and promptly sent me a prepaid shipping label. I returned the defective vacuum, and Techko Kobot sent me a new vacuum under the Kobot brand name that is nearly identical to the Easy Home vacuum. Overall, my experience with Techko Kobot was excellent, and this is an Aldi warranty provider that I can rely on.
