They really stand behind their products

I guess the the FedEx guy didn't know I was home when he literally tossed a large carton on my front steps this afternoon. Once I saw the return address, I hoped Calphalon had replaced the 10-inch, non-stick sautee pan whose blackened interior I could no longer get clean.

I had returned the Calphalon One pan with a short note, saying I would be happy if Calphalon would just clean it. (I want to say and write Calaphon.) But inside the carton was a smaller carton with a replacement. We often used the pan to make omelets and frittatas that we started on the stove and finished in the oven.

This year, I also returned two cooking knives to Gerber Legendary Blades; though usable, the handle of one was warped and pulling away from the steel, and the handle cover of the other had deteriorated. After a while, the company returned both Balance Plus knives, saying it hadn't made them since 1988. But it also sent along a catalog and a gift certificate that allowed me to order two beautiful pocket knives with genuine horn handles.

In a previous post, I wrote about having to fight Pfaltzgraff for a refund after I returned a dinnerware set from China that had been recalled for high levels of lead and cadmium. Pfaltzgraff could learn a thing or two about customer service from Calphalon and Gerber. Maybe the company should be renamed Falsegraff. See post, "If it's made in China, is it safe?"