I wasn't aware that the Kenmore name (formerly owned by Sears) was still "out there" and being applied to new appliances. When Sears owned it they were very good, so I figured I'd try this coffee maker. (I was retiring a Cuisinart whose clean function was not functioning and whose hot plate had peeled and rusted.)This Kenmore does make very good coffee, and that's the first thing one wants, obviously, in a machine that's supposed to makes coffee!However, how the thing functions and how easy it is to work with is also very important: those are factors to also consider in a coffee maker that a person uses every single day of the year. And this one has what for me at first seemed to be a deal breaker: the carafe lid is permanently attached to the pot. That makes it awkward to handle, it makes it more difficult to clean, and it makes it more difficult to fill the machine with water using the carafe. (I don't want to have to get another container to fill the thing.)I was going to return this and go back to a new model Cusinart, but there were issues with that, too. So I relooked at this Kenmore and found that you CAN detach the pot lid and snap it on again (it takes a little effort, initially). Having discovered that, and figuring it would loosen some and get easier to take off and put on over time, I decided to keep this. I not unhappy that I did. The other issue is that loud alarm. I don't find it as blastingly loud as some people apparently do, but it IS too loud. For me, though, that wasn't a reason to return this machine.