I have a friend who is building a development in Boston. Her contractor wants her to buy GE Monogram for this luxurious new development. I would rather see her buy a Sub-Zero.
First let me be totally transparent, I am no longer a Monogram dealer. I like the product but between Sub-Zero, Liebherr, Thermador, Bosch, Viking, Gaggenau, KitchenAid and Jenn-Air, the Monogram just did not really sell. It is, however, a decent line of appliances.
For a large development, however, there are other mitigating factors that she may not be aware. In most aspects selling larger buildings is easier. The deliveries especially are easy as most of the buildings are union and they do all the delivery and installation.
But if there are product issues, there will be problems for years especially if you cut proprietary panels for certain appliances like dishwashers and refrigerators. So we are extraordinarily careful about what we specify.
First let's compare:
Sub-Zero vs GE Monogram 30 Inch Pro Counter Depth Refrigerators
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Sub-Zero BI-30U
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GE Monogram ZIC30GNZII
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The Sub-Zero is a better featured machine with two compressors versus one for the Monogram. It also is designed to keep food fresher longer with a vacuum seal and magnetic crispers to keep the outside air out of the food. Sub-Zero also has an air scrubber to electronicly arrest the gasses off decomposing food and to keep said gasses from cross contaminating other items.
There is, however, a $500 price difference between the two products. Last time I checked with 200 units that is $100,000, a significant amount of money.
Unless it wasn't. Two glaring problems will eat that $100,000 and then some.
First, the hinge is not specific and must be reversed in the field. Hinge swapping in the field is not easy and requires specicialized labor. If only 20% of the units are hinge the opposite side, it will still cost between $20,000-$30,000.
Now the Real Issue
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Sub-Zero - Made in USA |
GE Monogram - Made in Slovenia |
The Sub-Zero unit is built in Madison, Wisconsin. This GE Monogram is manufactured in Slovenia by a company named Goranje. In fact this is the only Monogram refrigerator manufactured outside Louisville according to their help line.
Goranje is the new owner of Asko dishwashers. Coincidentally, we published an article called the least reliable/most serviced brands. Goranje leads the pack at a whopping 51% fail rate within the first year.
It really doesn't matter what my friend wants to some degree. I refer people to brands we don't sell when asked. However, this has the makings of a real issue.
Additional Resources
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