Unable to fill water reservoir. (by 2 users)

My brand new Emerson under counter EM83701 coffee maker cannot be filled with water. The water reservoir, when removed from the coffee maker itself, is open at the bottom. The spout at the bottom of the reservoir, which plugs into the rubber receptacle in the coffee maker itself, is a straight, open conduit, from which the water will, of course, pour freely. I'm guessing there is supposed to be some sort of a valve at the bottom of the water reservoir, which prevents the water from pouring out until it has been plugged into the coffee maker, but nothing of the sort is there. Curiously, the parts all fit together so well, that I'm having trouble imagining how you could fit a (presumably missing) piece into that space, anyway!

What should I do?