Some waffle makers dont get hot enough and you wind up with steamed waffles that take forever to cook. This maker heats up fast, cooks fast and makes big crispy waffles. You can completely trust the indicator lights too. When its ready its ready. The non-stick coating is very good as well. You wont need the mess of non-stick sprays. Really love this machine. Pretty easy to clean too with wet or dried batter wiping right off the surfaces. The overflow tray at the bottom could probably be a little bigger since batter can still drool onto the counter top. I put paper towels underneath for each cleanup.