I bought this crock pot on a whim, last minute because it came with the mini pot that (I wanted for my living room as a fragrance difuser). Have had one of these slow cookers for several years now. Yes, the outside does get pretty warm, but so do all my other smaller slow cookers! The 30 minute incremental timer up to 20 hours is super (haven't seen any other slow cookers that offer that kinda of timer). SO anyway its easy to wash, insert and lid are dishwasher safe, easy to use I give it a 5 star rating.

This is my first slower cooker as I have always used my oven to make dishes that require a lot of time. Well the first dish I prepared for my family was a hit. I made a 4.5 pound roast beef with celery, potatoes and carrots. The meat was very tender and the juice the cooker produced was an excellent topper. The time the recipe indicated to prepare the dish was exact and honestly if you cook regularly you will be able to determine how much time most items need. Because this was my first slow cooker, I was a little nervous as I went to work while my dinner was cooking. But when my son returned home from school he was able to test the meat and sides and stated everything was ok. My only disappointment is it indicates a recipe book is included, however it's not an actual book per se. It's more so a few recipes (approximately 8) with no pictures included. I guess I was expecting an additional book outside of the instruction manual with a few recipes. But other than that it was a great gift from my parents for Christmas.

Bought for my daughter as a gift. She was very satisfied with the crockpot.

• How did the color on site compare with the actual product? As shown online
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. Great quality
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? Was exactly like description online

I ordered this cooker and used my bonus points from club O and received it in just a couple of days. It was exactly as discribed, and works great!

• How did the color on site compare with the actual product? good
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. excellent quality
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? discription was right on

We are thrilled with our new crock pot. If you haven't had a new crockpot in a while, you do need to know that some things will be different. Each button beeps when pressed - so if you are setting something for 10 hours, and it goes in 30 minutes increments, it will be a bit noisy! Also, there are rubber pads on the 3 feet so it does not really slide on the counter. These pads could be removed though. That said, I tried this for a pulled pork recipe for the Super Bowl - a recipe I had done several times before in our 12 yera old machine. I seriously was shocked how moist and tender the meat was and the flavor was outstanding. Cleanup was easy and I totally dig the stainless steel look. Have not had a chance to use the Little Dipper yet, so I can't comment on that.

• How did the color on site compare with the actual product? same
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. high quality
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? very accurate

This crockpot is large in size and heavy. It is very easy to program, but you must start the cooking immediately, the programming is primarily for turning the pot off. I had hoped to use a wall timer, but becasue of the digital timer in the pot you can't. You just have to plan out your cooking times carefully.

• How did the color on site compare with the actual product? same
• Please tell us about the quality of the product. excellent
• How accurate was the on site description of the product? very accurate