Emma Bridgewater mug handles keep dropping off!

[Ilovecleaning]

Earlier posts on the same subject are a bit old now.
I love EB mugs and have bought 14/15 but I’m now down to about 7. The handles simply drop off. At £25 each I think this is ridiculous.
I emailed EB pointing out the weakness, making it clear I was not seeking recompense but telling them I am no longer collecting them.

I received a reply explaining their quality control. Not much help.
if anyone else has had the same experience please contribute to the thread and I shall advise EB to have a look at your responses.
Many thanks.

It might be better to write to the CEO rather than Customer Services.

I was thinking of buying a mug or two, but this has put me off. It’s bad enough that the mugs break so easily, but far worse is that someone could get badly injured. I think the company’s response is shocking.

Thank you 🙏

What a good idea.

I have 4 & it’s never happened

I think they’re ridiculously bad quality for the price. I have a rip off version for £5 from my local garden centre and it’s outlived all the EB ones I have. I think you’re just paying for the name now.

I'm happy to pay a premium for goods made in the UK and supporting local employment, and as I said, thankfully, I've not had any issues. I've also always found Customer Service very helpful. So as far as I'm concerned I'm personally still very happy with EB.

They do very well on the aesthetics, which is why I keep going back; it's a clever marketing strategy, that's for sure - I get a great dopamine hit from picking out a new piece.

BUT...I could add to my Royal Copenhagen collection instead...and tbh that's probably what I'm going to do in future (after I buy one or two more Christmas pieces 😉).

Why did you contact customer services if you’ve had no issues?

Should have been clearer: no issues with breakages in all the time I've had their wares.

I have contacted them for various reasons over the years - mostly queries, one or two exchanges, one or two firsts vs. seconds quality issues (each of which have been resolved to my satisfaction).

This company can fill your cracked, chipped or crazed mugs www.cantocandle.com just pop them a message on the contact form

Who wants to make a candle out of a “cracked, chipped or crazed” mug?
Especially one they’ve paid 25 quid for.

I hope there's a teeny weeny decimal point in those prices!

Even so, as @Annascaul says, who's going to pay another £25+ on top of the price of the mug?

same here. I have about 20. dishwash them. Aside from ones that have been dropped, I’ve no issue with them. No chipping, glaze is fine, never had a handle drop off. Most are not seconds, but some are.
how odd

Exactly.

if I want an expensive candle, I’ll buy an expensive candle.

If I want a mug, I want one where the handle doesn’t break and risk causing a nasty scald from hot tea

I have an update regarding the EB mug handles. EB responded with an apology and an explanation of testing protocols but also offered replacements for the mugs. They asked if I had images of the backstamps so they could trace the date of manufacture.

I sent these & gratefully accepted their offer of replacements, which arrived this week.
This morning OH was making tea & picked up a mug and said “this sounds different” 🙄
It was one of the new ones….and apparently it felt heavier.

I’ve had a good look at some of my collection of mugs (some well over 10years old, some bought last year) and compared the shape/thickness/weight with the brand new ones.

The new ones definitely weigh more but the dimensions are not significantly different.
My extremely flawed research has concluded that there must be a difference in the density of the material 🤓

The raw material is clay sourced from different places so naturally there will be variations. My theory is that the material used for the handles is from a different batch to the body of the mugs and perhaps the minute difference in the internal structure of the clay causes the handles to not adhere at well as it should.

My theory is that EB has identified that the recent spate of handle incidents is significant and has adjusted or entirely changed their “mix” of clay used to make the mugs.

Disclaimer, I have not used independently calibrated scales or measures & no reliable control group of subjects.

Just my amateur opinion. 😏

Interesting and sounds like a very plausible theory.
But surely all this sort of thing, the different properties of the materials and how they react should be thoroughly researched by the manufacturer? And if a problem with certain batches of the product is known, shouldn’t EB be proactive in recalling and refunding/ replacing?
Smells to me a bit like they’ll replace if people actually do the work of complaining and providing evidence but that they’ll sweep it under the carpet if they don’t.

Thank you for your research and excellent information. And congratulations on receiving replacements. Well done!
One of my remaining EB mugs has little crack where the handle is attached to the mug.
I will take a photo and send it to EB. Fingers crossed I will get at least one mug.
thanks again. 😊

I was washing my daughters personalised EB mug last night and the handle just snapped off in my hands. It's never been dropped or knocked and we've never been lucky to have a dishwasher so it's always been hand-washed. I've emailed the company as I want a replacement (they're expensive and it was a keepsake) but it seems they refuse to replace. I won't be buying anymore- they're dangerous- my daughter could have been scalded and not worth it if they do not last. Very poor customer care if they do not replace them when it seems this is a manufacturing fault that they must be aware of - from all the similar comments that I have seen.

I was washing my daughters personalised EB mug last night and the handle just snapped off in my hands. It's never been dropped or knocked and we've never been lucky to have a dishwasher so it's always been hand-washed. I've emailed the company as I want a replacement (they're expensive and it was a keepsake) but it seems they refuse to replace. I won't be buying anymore- they're dangerous- my daughter could have been scalded and not worth it if they do not last. Very poor customer care if they do not replace them when it seems this is a manufacturing fault that they must be aware of - from all the similar comments that I have seen.

I had one fall off this week.

I’ve given up buying them as it happened too often

As an aside (as I've already contributed my poor quality experiences with Emma Bridgewater), does anyone else find the shape of the handles makes it uncomfortable to hold them while carrying drinks from kitchen to living room? I have to use two hands because the handle digs into the side of my finger otherwise and then it starts to slide so the cup tries to spill out due to the handle shape.
Really poor ergonomics.
I want to support a British company who still manufacture in Britain but they need to be producing a decent quality product that's at least as good as the mugs I buy for £2 in Home Bargains, and currently with all the defects I've had, that's not the case.

Aaaand, another one bites the dust! My cheap supermarket mugs are holding up just fine though.

They don’t manufacture all their items in UK anymore, some of the stuff I’ve got from there is labelled as “made in china” such a shame as the quality has gone downhill.

I can't believe they haven't wanted to give an explanation to this thread.

There must be a reason for it, and presumably they are working to address it.

Without reassurance, it leaves me feeling I don't want to invest more.