In the depths of the canton of Aargau lies the iRobot service centre, where defective vacuum cleaner robots are repaired and refurbished. I paid it a visit.
Roger Thalman, Chief Operating Officer (COO), greets us at the door. «Ah, you’ve found us! It really should be called Hinterdemwald and not Vordemwald (translator’s note: meaning «behind the forest» instead of «in front of the forest»),» Roger quips. In fact, the municipality of Vordemwald is located at the southwesternmost tip of the canton of Aargau. A car repair shop, a few residential houses and the iRobot headquarters make up the small hamlet.
When I flew the family nest over 15 years ago, I suddenly had to cook for myself. But it wasn’t long until this necessity became a virtue. Today, rattling those pots and pans is a fundamental part of my life. I’m a true foodie and devour everything from junk food to star-awarded cuisine. Literally. I eat way too fast.
«Turn left,» my GPS says. We’re in the middle of nowhere, having driven past the sprawling industrial areas typically found around Switzerland’s highways. Shrouded by trees lies a country road; on it, a few houses. We’re entering the village of Vordemwald in the canton of Aargau. At the centre, a larger building towers into the grey winter sky: the headquarters of iRobot Switzerland. This is where all the robot vacuum cleaners and mops stem from, and it’s where a portion of them come back to for repairs.
Roger Thalman goes over the latest models. In the foreground is the service station, located at the reception desk, where simple issues are quickly fixed. Source: Christian Walker
Roger takes us on a tour of the Swiss headquarters, which consists mainly of storage space. Cardboard boxes are stacked up to the ceiling. The different models are arranged on pallets, ready for sale throughout Switzerland. «We also sell used products and returns. You can snag a good deal if you come down here,» Roger advertises the location, sounding like an official ambassador for the municipality of Vordemwald. Near the entrance, a mopping robot whirs around the reception area. Hung-up robots decorate the walls of the showroom. Service manager Mirko Pireddu joins us and explains how a service case works.
Cardboard boxes stacked up to the ceiling and service manager Mirko Pireddu in the middle of it all. Source: Christian Walker
«Our aim is to return the repaired and cleaned device the very next day, if possible.» An ambitious goal the team usually succeeds in meeting. «The process is even faster if you bring in your device yourself. Most of the time, we just need a few minutes and then you can take it right back with you,» Mirko says. Reportedly, many customers are surprised to learn this. «Many companies have their service centre somewhere in Europe or even further away. You then either wait weeks to get your device back, or simply get a new one, while the old one is scrapped,» says COO Roger Thalmann. And yet, by all accounts, it’s always the same issues popping up and most are very easy to fix.
Often the brush is the culprit. Source: Christian Walker
The top problem? Robots that haven’t been cleaned. Hair that’s wrapped around the brush and poorly cleaned contacts on the robot or charging station account for most of the work. These points are pointed out in the manual and app, but customers often ignore them. «As a rule, we’re quite accommodating during the first service case. We hope that if we point out that the problem is easy to solve, it’ll get through to the customer,» says service manager Mirko. Simple issues like this can be fixed right in the entrance area, which is equipped with a vacuum cleaner and some screwdrivers for this purpose. For tougher cases, the robots have to go to the workshop.
I the workshop, Mirko reads out the memory of a defective device on the computer. Cryptic lines of code appear. They reveal everything: how many times the front sensor has been activated, how many kilometres the robot has racked up and how often it’s driven to the charging station. Based on this information, Mirko concludes if there’s a more serious defect. For example, this could be the sensor no longer reacting, resulting the robot driving into the wall all the time. Armed with an electric screwdriver, Mirko dismantles a defective Roomba into its individual parts within seconds. «It’s all modular, so we can replace as few individual parts as possible,» he explains. Often these individual modules themselves can even be repaired. «Here’s where we can replace chips and switches,» says Mirko, pointing to a workstation with a soldering iron.
Soldering is used in the event of serious problems. Source: Christian Walker
The modular design wasn’t always a given. The US-based parent company has made enormous progress in recent years, which is why almost all the devices can now be repaired right here in Vordemwald. Roger Thalmann can’t hold back on his criticism of Galaxus: «It’s a bit unfair that you now show the duration of a warranty claim, but don’t make the distinction between a replacement and a repair. A repair always takes a little longer than a replacement. But we take care of everything right here! Other manufacturers simply send you a new device the very next day. Sure, that’s faster, but it’s not sustainable,» Roger gripes. Currently, the duration for iRobot warranty claims at Galaxus averages four days. «The device leaves our service centre the very same day it arrived. The remaining 3 days are down to registration and mailing,» explains the COO.
We’re back at the reception where all the models are on display. Asked about the craziest problems he’s had to solve, service manager Mirko Pireddu recounts the tale of a vacuum where a condom got wrapped around the brush. «I briefly left the customer to get something from the workshop. By the time I got back, she had already untangled the condom from the brush herself, remaining poker-faced.» This customer, too, likely left the service centre satisfied – albeit a bit red-faced. If only she’d read the instructions and listened to the app’s directions, she could have spared herself the trip to Vordemwald. So, keep the following in mind: more often than not, it’s the brush or contacts that are behind your Roomba not working.
