Big green egg dealers

Mainegg

How many egg owners on here feel they have a Good dealer? have you bought all your eggs from them? Of my 7 eggs 3 are adopted and the other 4 are from dealers. and none of those are from my local dealer... my first large was bought online 7 years ago :( I know :pinch: but I knew nothing about the warranty being no good with an egg bought that way and there were dealers selling them online then. heck I knew nothing about the egg at all! had never even touched one or had food of one but I knew it was love at first sight. then I read a little on the old forum and went hunting for more info. after learning more I have always kinda felt guilty about the online egg lol but I followed up with more eggs to make up for it.
when I was ready for egg #2 I went to Bangor where I was so excited to learn we had a dealer.. they had 1 med and 3 bags of lump. this was in June so I thought they would have been well stocked for the season and I would get to see about all that BGE offered. I went with plastic in hand with plans of spending (Fathers day was coming so I had an excuse) come to find out 1 egg and three bags of lump WAS highly stocked :( that was when we started buying wicked good by the pallet. long story short all my other eggs are fest eggs, so demos. my list of what makes a good dealer is short. basically it is everything our local dealer does not do, know the product, use the product, stock the product. now if we are traveling and we see an egg dealer we stop to check it out. the first thing I ask is does any one here use one? LOL you can tell by their faces if they do, an egg head can not hide the fact!

deepsouth

george (geo on the forum) grate grills, gulfport, ms.

i bought a large and a mini from him and he's a great dealer and i call him friend.

fishlessman

i dont think they had an anti internet sales policy 7 years ago, seems more like 5 or 6 (maybe even a little less) that they started putting it on this site. there were lots of hearthside sales back then and it was always discussed on this forum that they were the ones to go to if you didnt have a local dealer

bangor307

I had the same runaround as Zippy did. My XL need the bottom ceramic and fire grate replaced after 2 years of use. I went to the dealer who I've bought 3 eggs from in the last couple of years and told him they needed replaced. First they whined about how much shipping would cost because they don't sell very many so I'd have to wait until their next order comes in. So 6 weeks later I get a call to come in and pick them up. I show up and am handed a bill for $200 and change. I tell them it's under warranty only to be told the warranty is over. I tell them it's a lifetime warranty and the reply is gee we didn't know that. Then even though it came in with their stock order they tried to stick me with a shipping charge. I refused and they finally relented. I opened the box only to find out they got the wrong ceramic ring even though I went over to their floor demo and showed them the one that was cracked. Last egg for me. Don't care how good the mother ship is, the warranty is only as good as the dealer I bought it from and apparently I'm not alone.

Braumiester

My dealer has a egg in front that he uses for employee pizza lunches.
He tries to keep 4 eggs in the showroom at all times(I talked him out of his small demo because he had no others in stock) He says it is in his contract with the mothership.
He has a big wall of accessories and even stocks fire bricks.
He knows he is responsible for warranty service.
He said someone from the distributor visits him every quarter.
When it comes time to purchase egg stuff I will use him.
He attends the Eggfest in Springfield,Mo

Frank from Houma

The dealer I bought two eggs from is very knowledgeable as well as the distributor

I did a couple evening demos for the dealer along with the distributor rep. I also put together a binder of photos of egg cooks for them. The dealer offered me a BGE tent after the second demo cook but I opted for a mini instead since I already had an eazy up.

They normally have 6-8 eggs of various sizes in the shop along with platesetters, pizza stones, grids, plenty lump, starters, and lots of other Q-stuff. With a little urging they started carrying Dizzy Pig rubs as well.

They also sell some gassers and carry high end outdoor furniture and a gift shop on one end of the store.

They are a ten hour drive since we moved

Sent them an email that my firebox on the XL was cracked - the asked that I email a pic

About two weeks later the firebox came in

Had a friend swing by to pick it up and it was forwarded on company transportation.

I think the distributor rep can influence the quality of the dealer through education, participating in demo cooks, etc. Same dealer rep that distributes to Grates, Grills, and more in Gulfport, MS. It's worth a stop at GG&M if you are traveling through the area - you can have a BGE lunch in their restaurant.

Mainegg

Nice! sounds like they have a little more than a clue

Mainegg

I think the first sign of an above average dealer is one that uses them! and sales people than can answer questions too helps LOL

Mainegg

Bangor, don't throw out the baby with the bath water :laugh: as you have noticed we do tend to be better informed than the dealers on the eggs and their issues and warranty info. thankfully this is a product that lasts a very long time, takes about any type of abuse and does not care about the weather. did they correct their error? I bet any future warranty work will not be an issue.

Mainegg

I know Fishless... but still.. this is also part of why I tend to push for small business more and more now.. maybe if I had bought locally... I would have sent about 10 people that have eggs up here to them and they would be doing better and would carry more eggs and be better educated. every action has a reaction....

Right on Q

My dealer here in Rochester, NY is Milage Masters. They are a small operation but great customer service. I have bought all three of my eggs (Medium, Large, and XL)from them. They do not carry a lot of BGE in stock, usually 2 or 3 at the most, but they do carry eggcessories including Dizzy Pig Rubs. I had a cracked fire box on my Medium about 6 years after I bought it. When I went to the shop to purchase a new one I was told it is under warrenty. She said to me you've had your egg for about 5 years then pulled out a book of receipts and found mine from the original purchase and ordered me a new one. No charge for shipping or replacement. From what I read on this forum the best thing about my dealer is every egg comes assembled. So when I pick it up it is ready to be used.

EGGRPh

I used a local dealer here in NE Ohio for my first egg. I wasn't really impressed. He didn't have any accessories for my egg. I asked him and said he might have a few coming in....? My next egg will be from one of the many fests. I do not care if it is a demo just as long as I get the full lifetime warranty.

fishlessman

the guy near me is a snake, owes the shop some money, figure its going to cost him tenfold by the time im done :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: was so long ago i dont even remember how much it was but somehow i feel better steering folks away from him

FlaPoolman

Julie, I have a great dealer here, you've met him and been to his store. He's great in all aspects egg related and carries a large inventory of parts. One of the frustrating parts for him is learning about any changes or upgrades here on the forum rather than through the BGE network. I agree BGE needs to keep their dealers more informed and educated.

Carolina Q

I checked around before I bought my Large. Three dealers within about 50 miles - two of which had no inventory. The one I bought from had zero eggs in stock; no eggs, no parts no nuthin'. Nice guy, seemed to have a clue about the product, good price - just no eggs. Bought from him anyway.

Had one warranty issue which was handled well.

Six months later, I asked him for a price quote on a Mini. He gave me the quote, but then said I would have to give him a 25% deposit before he would order it. I was not happy, nor did I buy it from him. He did not ask for a deposit on the earlier Large. Financial difficulties perhaps?

Mainegg

If there were awards that we could vote on for dealers or "dream Dealers" Dan would have mine Pat! I hope we are half as good as him come spring!

Mainegg

maybe Michael, but from the customers end I bet.. maybe they had trouble with people ordering and then not following through.. I know we have been stuck more than once with larger ticket item that we may not stock and order for someone.. just to have them change their mind or just never come get it. ordering one egg will be $$ for shipping I bet and this at least ensures they will follow through.

FlaPoolman

No doubt in my mind that you will be raising the bar

Morro Bay Rich

You should be as lucky as I am. Smitty at Eggs by the Bay (Santa Clara, CA) is only 200 miles away. I would not consider using another dealer even if he/she was just across the street. Smitty has the full BGE line and on top of that he competes with his Eggs (and wins).

Mainegg

nice to hear! and having the eggs assembled if you do not already have one is a huge help! we put our lg together with the hing upside down 7 years ago and I did not know it till Pete pointed it out to me in NH LOL

Mainegg

Morro Bay Rich wrote:

You should be as lucky as I am. Smitty at Eggs by the Bay (Santa Clara, CA) is only 200 miles away. I would not consider using another dealer even if he/she was just across the street. Smitty has the full BGE line and on top of that he competes with his Eggs (and wins).

another dream dealer having a customer drive 200 miles says A LOT!

Morro Bay Rich

BTW, it is nice to see another hooker, besides my wife, on this Forum. Long live Pearl McGowen, my wife's teacher.

Mainegg

Oh how lucky to have studied with Pearl!!

stike

stove shoppe? they are selling BGEs again now.

fishlessman

great place

stike

they the ones that owe you money? i say we get some baseball bats and go collect

Carolina Q

Well, I hope that's the answer, but I had already bought the large from the same guy, without any mention of a deposit. Then, 6 months later.........

Next time I call him, if I hear, "the number you have dialed has been disconnected...", I will know.

NibbleMeThis

My dealer is Hearth & Patio, Knoxville, TN and I have been very happy with them.

I've purchased two large Eggs with tables from them. Had a cracked firebox issue and they handled it promptly and with just as much courtesy as when they sold them to me.

Too bad they don't have a site to rate and rank local dealers like they do for restaurants and hotels (said half joking).

fishlessman

i think they used to be called FU, fences unlimited its got to be 20 years ago, maybe shoot out the taillights in his mercedes werent you guys buddy buddys

stike

he was a client of mine. i designed a couple houses for him on Winni. he was going to sell one for (gasp!) 350k at the time. hahaha damn. probably 20 years ago.

he was a nice enough guy in person, but was kind of cheap when it came to biz.

he had a massive stroke last year and died..

fishlessman

so i take it that he is not going to pay up