Crockpot™ Choose-A-Crock Programmable Slow Cooker

I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS CHOOSE-A-CROCK BY CROCK-POT. It has great features. I first saw it on the company's website in 2015 as "Coming Soon". There were many excellent reviews (from people who had received it FREE from the company). I kept checking the Crock-Pot website and other on-line merchants. I waited for it to be available at Crock-Pot…but it disappeared. I called and was told that it wasn't being sold but I could buy it from them (WHAT?). Then, on July 7, 2016 I received e-mail from BB&B - this very Crock-Pot was available exclusively through the BB&B website! (Yes, I checked the Crock-Pot site and it was shown as being available only from BB&B). I ordered it in the store - a pleasant and efficient experience, with free shipping and discount! I received it a few days later. I had already decided which recipes to use (I especially wanted to use the divided crock for individual servings of his favorite meatloaf and my favorite lamb chops - neither of us likes the other's favorite!) It's very HEAVY. The factory packaging is an engineering feat in itself. It looks like it was designed by a rocket scientist with a degree in Origami. (When we started to unpack the box, I thought it best to take photos of each step - just in case I had to return it.) As we started to remove the components, we saw that all three ceramic crocks had defects - the glazing was uneven and drippy. There was a sloppy black smudge of "something" on the top lip of one crock. We wiped it off, and saw that there was a long gouge, deep into the white ceramic - there was no black glazing over it. It was obviously covered up in the factory. We continued unpacking. When we got down to the base/heating unit we saw two full-height parallel creases/dents in the back of it - equidistant from the metal's seam. This obviously happened in the factory. I was very disappointed with the LACK OF QUALITY CONTROL at the factory - imperfect sloppy ceramic crocks and a factory-damaged base. I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS CROCK-POT. We spoke to staff at our BB&B and they suggested we order another, but wait until we received the second so we could mix-and-match crocks from both to have a "perfect" set. We ordered another one in the store. We received it quickly - perfectly packed from store and factory. We went through both sets and found the best of all three sizes of crocks - again, not one was perfect. So we chose the best of the crocks to keep, packed up the rest (thank goodness for the photos) and returned it to BB&B for a refund. The transaction at the store was effortless. I started using it. First a tried-and-true slow-cooker recipe in the 6-quart crock - it cooked fast (set on HIGH, took 6 hours in the new unit, but always took 10 hours in previous slow-cookers). I set it to WARM, and checked it two hours later - it was actually at a FULL ROLLING BOIL - on WARM! Luckily, I was able to salvage dinner. I cooked several different tried-and-true slow-cooker recipes in both the 6-quart and 4-quart crocks. Again, they cooked fast - whether on HIGH or LOW. (I never tried the divided crock for the "his-and-hers" recipes.) A design defect - when washing, water gets in into the base of the lid's handle through the hole in the glass. The little gasket doesn't seal it. We had to unscrew and remove the handle so we could wash and dry the lid and the interior base of the handle. (The lid and crocks were always washed by hand.) THEN I TESTED THE CHOOSE-A-CROCK. I filled the 6-quart crock 3/4 full with cool tap water. (It's Florida, "cool" is relative.) I tested it for THREE DAYS (turned it off and unplugged after each multi-hour test, allowed it to cool overnight, then replaced the water). During the test, I quickly took the temperature of the water with an instant-read thermometer and immediately covered the crock. The lid was removed just a few seconds for each reading. THE RESULTS: DAY 1 Start = 79.7, then set to HIGH for 4 hours After 4 hours on HIGH = 205.1, then auto-switch to WARM After 2 hours on WARM = 210.3 (yes, it got hotter!) After 2 more hours on WARM = 200, then set to LOW After 4 hours on LOW = 204.8 (almost as hot as HIGH) DAY 2 Start = 78.7, then set to WARM for 2 hours After 2 hours on WARM = 196.7, then set to LOW for 2 hours After 2 hours on LOW = 208, then set on HIGH for 3 hours After 2 hours on HIGH = 209 DAY 3 Start = 78.6, then set on HIGH for 4 hours After 4 hours on HIGH = 209.5, then auto-switch to WARM After 2 hours on WARM = 178.2, the set to LOW for 4 hours After 4 hours on LOW = 207, then auto-switch to WARM After 2 hours on WARM = 176.8 There were no temperature consistencies. We washed it well, packed it up in its Origami box, and took it back to BB&B for a refund. (I can only imagine the hassle - and cost of shipping/returning - if I had purchased it directly from the manufacturer when I called them months ago.) Thank you to our BB&B in Lady Lake, Florida. I certainly appreciate the cooperation! I REALLY WANTED TO LIKE THIS CROCK-POT, it's a good concept. It's too heavy to handle when stacked for storage ("stacking" is its main feature). I can't trust my good food and peace-of-mind to it due to inconsistent temperatures. Not one of six ceramic crocks was first-quality - they were all factory seconds. It appears that more thought went into package design than making a good slow-cooker!