Haier HC125FVS - 125-Can Beverage Center, Black

AVOID THIS COMPANY!! My unit arrived broken. Haier customer service was rude & obnoxious. They were completely unapologetic & seemed to go out of their way to be UNHELPFUL. When I finally bullied them into action, they wanted a full week to send out a service man who may or may not have been able to fix it. I spoke to both customer service and corporate, both were extremely rude and entirely useless. What's more, neither one had the decency to so much as apologize. NEVER AGAIN.
This was every internet buyer's nightmare!

I am extremely disappointed in this refrigerator/beverage center, HC125FVS. I purchased it at a local "big-name" store. Firstly, the drinks on the top shelf never got really cold, and the temperatures varied greatly from one shelf to the next. I have 4 thermometers, and this is what the temperature degree results were at for the 7th (coldest setting) - 6th setting (2nd coldest):
Top: 45-55
3rd: 40-45
2nd: 35-40
small bottom shelf: 30-40

There was an ongoing variance of 5 degrees per shelf. Also keep in mind that the average refrigerator should be at 35-40 degrees MAX.

I called Haier and the agent told me that 125 cans is the maximum and they do not recommend filling the center to capacity to allow the air to flow freely. (Then why advertise it as a 125-can center???) I had it only about 2/3 full of cans anyway, and there is no fan in the unit to circulate the air, so how can the air flow freely? No wonder there is such a temperature variance. (Go figure.) I decided to hold onto it for a little while longer to see if I did get any satisfaction out of it. (The only thing that made me really happy was that it freed up a lot of precious space in my main refrigerator.) So, I held onto it for a few more weeks.

The straw that broke the camel's back is that it is also advertised on the box to have auto-defrost. After I had it for about 2 months, it developed a thick layer of frost, and it never auto-defrosted. The manual made no mention of the auto-defrost and how it is supposed to work. So, I called Haier America and asked why it had not defrosted yet. I spoke with two different agents and both told me that they did not see auto-defrost as one of the options on this refrigerator. (Go figure, again.)

Oh, one more thing. This center was constantly running. Although it has been a hot summer, my electric bills have never been above $190 in all the years that I have lived in this house. I was shocked when my electric bill went from $170 one month to $260 the next month after the first use of this center. My next electric bill should be coming soon, and I am bracing myself. Although I cannot say 100% sure that this center contributed greatly to the big jump in my bill, but when I turned it off, my electric meter's wheel slowed down quite a bit.

It is going back to the store this weekend. Thank goodness I can return it after 2 months to my local store...

Well, I hope you find this review helpful.

P.S. I just ordered a Danby Designer 4.4 Cu ft compact refrigerator that it is Energy Star rated. I have seen great feedback (4.63 stars out of 5)on the Danby from over 40 reviews, and I have my fingers crossed that it works better. It's also 0.4 cu ft bigger than the Haier...

I just bought this item at Sam's. Upon bringing it home, the unit was dented and warped. I plugged it in and it appears that the unit is running. I loaded it with drinks and I am waiting to see if it works. The door seems to be sealed despite the dents and warping in the body of the unit. The packing was done very poorly, its no wonder the damage occurred. I hope they built this cooler a lot better than the way they packed it. I am hoping to take pictures of the damage and take the picture back to the store to see if they will reduce the price. I don't want to return this if I dont' have to. Feel too lazy.

The first beverage center we received was broken. The drip tray was broken along with the inside plastic that held the racks, the door was off, and the side was smashed in. Amazon shipped us another one and this was fine except for a small dent on the side, but after seeing the delivery man dragging it down my front steps I understand why. Otherwise we have enjoyed having this machine stocked and keeping drinks cold. You cannot turn it all the way up because it freezes the cans but keeping it on the normal "5" setting keeps the drinks cold enough. I would recommend if you can find this item locally go and pick it up yourself to avoid the delivery man dragging it down the steps.

I ordered this product and a week later customer service in India was still adiment that the cooler was on its way. I notified him that it had been listed as "broken" during shipment. Eventually he refunded my money, but my business is now almost 2 weeks without a cooler and I am a prime member. The item is still available, but they charge $53 for shipping and, surprise, surprise, Prime members don't get free shipping. They should send me a replacement, rushed but instead they're pretending like they don't have any in stock. Amazon and Target, a BAD Combination!

-Not so cool in Cali