GUARANTEED FOR LIFE

When I bought it back in 1976 at a Sears store in Denver, I remember that I read the lifetime guarantee on its packaging.  At that time, I thought "what's the catch?" and "where's the fine print?" I could find neither a catch nor the usual legalese that goes along with such a claim. There was no demand for a fee for fixing or replacing the inoperable item, no fee for return postage, no disclaimer about damage caused by the owner - nothing. Despite still having reservations about the claims made by this company, I went ahead and made the purchase.

It was the first thing that I purchased for my new apartment in Denver - a pepper mill. Thirty-nine years later, I still have it. It's a bit worn and I have recently refinished the wood. Here's a picture of the mill in question:

Recently one of the parts broke on the mill - a metal bracket of sorts that was positioned on the bottom, just below the metal grinder. Remembering the guarantee, I looked at the bottom of the mill for the name of the manufacturer. Remember this name:

Olde Thompson.

I Googled the name and learned that they are still in business and their web site detailed their policy. After these many years they still offer a lifetime guarantee. Any problems, just mail it to them for repair or replacement. So I mailed my elderly pepper mill to them a few weeks ago.

Yesterday I received a package that included the repaired pepper mill. It appeared that they had to fabricate a metal part and solder and screw it to the main housing probably due to the fact that that particular part no longer exists. At the same time, they replaced the metal grinding unit. So, after 39 years, I have a refurbished pepper mill.

Beyond the surprise of having the original repaired mill returned to me was the fact that they also included a free new Olde Thompson mill set and spices, shown below:

I thought that I had seen it all. All, that is, except for a company that truly "walks the walk" and stands by its products. So, if any of my readers is in need of a pepper mill, don't hesitate to go to oldethompson.com.

Thirty-nine years from now, you'll be glad you did.


Readers, enjoy your day.