Well, some good news is that she’s under the impression that the fix might be less than $1,000. Not sure yet why that is. Now, how much of this she’s expecting us to pay is yet to be determined. We’re going to suss things out today with a visit. Fingers crossed!
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you pay zero! Dont be fooled into thinking this is your fault. Their pans their problem.
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Silly question maybe. But are you sure it’s induction?
We have a smoked glass top on our normal gas hop and a guest broke it once because he left it down thinking it was an induction
@meggoose If you haven’t accidentally damaged it or misused it, surely you won’t be funding - or partially funding - the replacement? I can totally understand willingness to pay if you know you’re responsible through negligence, but not if it’s just fractured under normal use. I’m surprised the pet parents haven’t verbally absolved you and put your mind at rest; this can’t be the most relaxing way to do a sit!
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As an HO, I’d suggest waiting to inform the HO of the issue. No reason to ruin their holiday with stressful news that is a fait accompi. Take a picture and set aside the bad pan. A few days before their return, tell them what happened and send the pictures. Sort it out from there. I don’t think you have any financial responsibility; stuff in homes breaks.
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The owners already know, if you look back at the comments
I have never been to a house with induction cooktop. Not in my 13 (so far) sittings, or at any of my friends’ and family’s homes (which are spread over a few continents).
So no, induction cooktops might not be as widespread as you claim they are.
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In the US, hopefully the HO has some kind of extended warranty on the cook top. I would tell the HO as soon as possible. As hard as it’s going to be, honestly is the best policy. If the pan was with the other cookware this isn’t your fault. Whatever you do don’t use the cooktop. It’s dangerous when cracked.
I’m from Germany, pretty common there.
Context is usually important and countries and cultures don’t operate in the same ways.
I heard a long time ago that Germans often remove entire kitchens when they move. Don’t know if that’s still practiced. If so, maybe that’s why induction is common, because you’d be replacing equipment anyway. Or maybe your use of electric cooktops was more widespread, so replacing would be easy.
In many other countries, that’s not practiced ever — removing a kitchen when you move. The kitchens stay the same for many years (often decades) and are often expensive to remodel or retrofit.
Like in the U.S., many ranges or stoves come with attached cooktops, with specific width and depth cutouts in the kitchen counters. And they’re often plumbed into gas lines. To replace with induction would require removing the appliance, removing the gas connection and safely capping it, which you’d typically hire for, etc.
Capping off the gas connection would be required by building codes for each county or city typically. And in co-ops, condos or such, that also can require homeowners’ association or co-op board approval. That’s for safety reasons.
For many people, it wouldn’t be worth the hassle or expense.
In our case, we’ve done it as part of a housewide remodel by hiring professionals. It’s easier in that case, because the general contractor handles all the subcontractors or trades.
In many cases if you have only a small job like capping a gas line so you can convert to induction, in the U.S. it can be hard to find someone licensed willing to do the job — they often consider small jobs not worth their time, because in the U.S. many places are spread apart and traffic is a problem. We are a huge country, with some states that are bigger than all of Germany.
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In Germany, people tend to rent rather than buy their homes, and when they move, they usually take everything with them, including the kitchen. Unlike in the U.S., where many apartments or homes come furnished or partially furnished, in Germany, most apartments and houses are rented empty. There are very few furnished rental options because most people prefer to bring their own furniture and appliances, as the provided ones rarely suit their personal tastes.
But also when buying a home, usually it’s all empty. We moved 6 times and we almost every time took also the kitchen with us (besides everything else of course). Sometimes, when it was tricky to customise it for a specific room layout, we sold it to the renters that moved in after us. The problem is, that Germans usually spend a lot of money on new kitchens and when leaving it, it would mean that you get a lot less money for it. That’s why we took it with us many times.
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Right, so you folks don’t operate like most countries — most countries, a place is considered “empty” even when there’s a kitchen, because it’s considered a fixture, like say a bathroom, water closet or such.
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@Fatamorgana In the US it’s uncommon for homes to be rented or purchased furnished. People move their furniture from home to home. However, as @Maggie8K explained above, kitchens are typically an integral part of the home and are not removable without a major remodel.
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As in the UK, where kitchens are considered a fixture. I don’t know if it’s changed, but it once wasn’t possible to get a mortgage on a property unless there was at least a kitchen sink fitted and included.
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I was stationed in Germany from 2010 - 2013. Prior to arriving in Germany, I also had heard that Germans would move their entire kitchens which included the stoves / sinks / refrigerators / cabinets. When I found and rented an apartment to my liking, I was surprised to see that an entire kitchen (stove / sink / refrigerator / cabinets) was intact. I was fortunate that I did not have to buy an entire kitchen as that would not have appealed to me. Plus, I could not have taken it with me to my next duty station. 
The moving of kitchens perhaps applies or applied to Germans who moved into new homes. Once they have a customized kitchen to their liking and ownership culture, I would imagine they find it worthwhile to go through the hassle of disassembling and reassembling—rather than starting from scratch.
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Hi meggoose, Any updates with how the situation was resolved?
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Hear hear! I’ve used quite a few induction hobs during sits and as I understand it (having had several careful lessons from HOs), if you put the wrong type of pan on them, all that will happen is that the pan won’t heat. The glass top should not break… If that were a normal outcome, the air in the UK at least would be filled with the sound of cracking cooker glass.
There must have been some kind of fault with that stove-top. I don’t think you should be liable for anything.
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