Cuisinart Recall Sours The Season For Woman Bombarded With Misplaced Calls

Jacqueline McDonald’s visions of a peaceful end to 2016 have been thwarted by the bad luck of sharing eight digits of her phone number with the customer service line set up for those impacted by the recent recall of 8 million Cuisinart food processors. According to Consumer Reports, on Tuesday, Cuisinart’s parent company, Conair, issued the largest kitchen-appliance recall in history. In its recall summary, the Consumer Product Safety Commission explains, “The food processor’s riveted blade” — on 22 different models — "can crack over time and small metal pieces of the blade can break off into the processed food.” That could cause mouth lacerations and broken teeth. Consumer Reports wrote that 30 such instances had been recorded when the recall was announced (along with 69 examples of customers who found blade pieces in their processed food), noting that some of the models in question date back 20 years. Cusinart competitors, like Calphalon, Ninja, and Vitamix models have also been subject to smaller recalls in recent years, the magazine reports. Preparing for their final feasts of the year, many home cooks are understandably concerned — the New York Times reports that 1,700 people called the Cuisinart hotline, 877-339-2534 on Wednesday alone. By that evening, per WVEC, Newport News, VA, resident McDonald had already received about 100 calls, since her phone number is identical, save for the area code’s first two numbers. Despite the “very annoying” inconvenience and resulting headaches, McDonald shows each caller kindness and is sympathetic to their plight. “I try to be nice to everyone,” she told WVEC. “I try to put myself in their shoes. They’re just trying to find information.” Still, she wouldn’t mind being compensated for her surprise receptionist responsibilities.