Chefman Compact Glasstop Warming Tray

At the risk of sounding harsh or overstated, the Chefman is an example of arguably everything wrong with business today. The logic: "find a market need and fill it in the name of making a profit, consume our planet's resources, but don't think through whether the product works or whether more things are ending up in our landfills." Here's what I like about the Chefman: 1. The device is presentable and lightweight. (You'll see that this is a fatal flaw.) 2. Fridge magnets do stick to it, suggesting it is stainless steel. 3. Build quality is acceptable, though flimsy. What I don't like about the Chefman: 1. The knob feels like it's going to fall off, and the light turns off whenever it reaches the corresponding "heat" level. 2. The cord is extremely short. How are you supposed to connect it to anything unless you have an extension cord, which poses other kinds of energy and potential safety risks, and introduces added complexity? This is particularly challenging for people trying to host parties and keep a presentable aesthetic. 3. Most importantly, this thing does not work. I must have sat there for an hour monitoring it while it strained to go on high. I even took a thermometer to the base. It reached 165°F. Then, I grabbed a hard-boiled egg from one of the containers, and it wasn't even warm. I made sure to put the containers directly on the base so the frame wasn't elevating them off the base. Then I popped the same food in the microwave for 30 seconds, and it did better than the Chefman. My guess is they're relying on you to use the plastic lids as a heat retention mechanism. But this introduces the issue of microplastics and shows you how poorly they thought about the product design and functionality. They obviously did not think through the physics of heat transfer or test the product for more than one use case. Someone must have touched the surface and thought "oh, I feel heat, let's ship the product." This is what happens when marketing outruns product. I'll be returning this item. Save yourself the trouble, and safe our planet from unnecessary consumption. Do not buy.