Our is working fine always has done, never had one bit of trouble with it................................Me
Joking aside. You've to load it up and empty it. Think they're counter productive (even though I've had three).
I always maintained that the thing to do was to have two dishwashers, take things clean from one, use them and then put them back in the other. Once that was full, run it, take anything remaining out of the other one and then do the same the other way round. Less loading and unloading required (and arguably less cupboard space needed), one just has to remember which dishwasher is which at any given time.
Saw someone give a whole speech around this a few weeks ago. Thought it was a clever idea. Until I realised just how many pots, pans, dishes, cups glasses and the rest of it I had... I wouldn't be able to cover it to this detail. But nonetheless, I genuinely thought it was a decent idea, especially for a small family or a couple with no kids