The American-Made Appliance Brand That Isn't What It Used To Be, According To Reddit

When your stove or dishwasher sputters out its last, you probably want to grab a replacement ASAP, but neglecting to do your research leads to mistakes when buying new kitchen appliances. Sometimes it's not even safe to purchase from an old-time, well-respected brand like Viking Range. This all-American company is unfortunately garnering negative online buzz.

Viking has an impressive history: In the 1980s, it released the first professional restaurant-style ranges for home use, which could get way hotter than residential models and conveniently combined an oven and stove top in one. Viking soon became synonymous with luxury, award-winning kitchen equipment for home chefs across America. But if you ask disgruntled customers on Reddit, its products are no longer worth the price.

In one thread, a Redditor said it took months for Viking to replace a dead refrigerator, only for the new fridge to also be defective. They added that the company "has sent wrong parts on multiple occasions throughout the journey." Other commenters relayed similar experiences with unreliable products that took big bucks to fix (and not permanent fixes, either). Another user with a malfunctioning Viking range, refrigerator, and dishwasher was also disappointed with customer service, especially for a luxury brand. Both posters cautioned fellow users to steer clear. And in a thread about Viking's quality, a commenter wrote that their dishwasher broke, and their range also quit twice. "The spare parts are absolutely highway robbery ... All in all, never ever buy Viking again," they concluded.

In the eyes of many, Viking no longer qualifies as one of the top dishwasher brands or makers of the best electric ranges. In some Reddit threads, commenters blame a 2012 acquisition by parent company Middleby Residential for the nosedive in quality. Viking faced economic difficulties leading up to the purchase, as manufacturing its items in America required more money and time than outsourcing production. 

Following the merger, Viking's factories remained active in their original location of Greenwood, Mississippi, but the appliances definitely changed. According to Retail Merchandiser Magazine, one of Middleby's first initiatives was to make Viking's products much simpler and speedier to assemble. This was supposed to make customer service more straightforward, too, but buyers voicing their thoughts online clearly disagree. The parent company also planned to modify Viking items by incorporating features from other products and companies under the Middleby umbrella. 

None of these ideas sound terrible on paper, but changes to decades-old brands rarely go over perfectly with customers. Additionally, in 2015, Viking went through bad press on a much larger scale than a few threads on Reddit. The company had to recall 52,000 defective ranges that switched on by themselves, posing an extreme safety hazard (via U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission). In 2017, Viking paid $4.65 million to the CPSC for neglecting to report the issue straight away. Recalls like this aren't always business killers, but this one might contribute to Viking's general decline in public opinion.