Warranty claims, my dealer has no idea what I'm talking about.

SMITTYtheSMOKER · December 2014

Nothing better than a happy ending.

Jeepster47 · December 2014

@anton ... when the dust settles, a quick letter to BGE would still be in order. Sounds like they already know about the negatives of your local dealer, but have they heard about the great service and offer of service you've received. You've had some stark contrast in service coming out of three different locations ... be nice to share that.

Our marketing group used to say that bad service would be shared with 20 different individuals, but good service was taken for granted.

Okay, I'll put away my soapbox now ... glad things are progressing positively.

Photo Egg · December 2014

Jeepster47 said:

@anton ... when the dust settles, a quick letter to BGE would still be in order. Sounds like they already know about the negatives of your local dealer, but have they heard about the great service and offer of service you've received. You've had some stark contrast in service coming out of three different locations ... be nice to share that.

Our marketing group used to say that bad service would be shared with 20 different individuals, but good service was taken for granted.

Okay, I'll put away my soapbox now ... glad things are progressing positively.

I agree with you 100%. Major problem is BGE sells to national distributors who cover regional areas. They are the ones who set up and sell to the local dealers and should screen them better and make sure they are capable of handling sales, service and warrantee. BGE should "knock" the distributors when they field calls complaining about poor service from dealers. IMO

caliking · December 2014

Good to hear that things are getting sorted out for you. I agree that you should let the mothership know in writing that your original dealer was being a douche, but that someone in the chain was able to provide you with quality service. Good service should not go unrecognized.

Jeepster47 · December 2014

Photo Egg said:

... BGE sells to national distributors who cover regional areas. They are the ones who set up and sell to the local dealers and should screen them better ...

Thanks ... I didn't know that. Do you happen to know approximately how big a typical region is? Or how many exist in the states?

SkinnyV · December 2014

I have a crack in my mini fire bowl but its not split. Not sure its worth the hassle for inner parts to be swapped out unless you have a clean break.
Not sure what the case is in OP's post.

lousubcap · December 2014

@SkinnyV-you may want to get the warranty process going so that you have the replacement piece when you finally want to change it out. I had a small crack appear on the bottom of a LBGE. Went thru my dealer (e-mailed some pics) and got the replacement base. Enough cook gunk self- sealed the crack so the new base is sitting in the box 14 months later.

johnkitchens · December 2014

Where BGE corporate is apparently falling down is that either the distributors or the dealers are not being held accountable for the level of customer service that we deserve and expect.

I don't care if it is a bad distributor or a bad dealer that isn't taking care of the end user. The end user doesn't say "I got shafted by my dealer, but I am still going to buy more eggs."

Those of us that are egg loyalists would probably still buy another egg from someone else, but the guy that is just getting his first egg probably would not come back.

It doesn't matter who gives you bad service from the GM of the store or the clerk working the floor. In the eyes of the consumer that person is representing the BGE product and company.

I buy a lot of steel for my company, and a new company wanted my business. Their prices were good and there outside salesman was a great guy. The problem was the inside sales person was mean and I could tell I was bothering her by asking for a quote.

Needless to say we didn't do any further business. In my opinion too many companies lose sight of the fact that each person that deals with a potential customer can ruin the deal.

Police your dealers BGE and take care of all of us after the sale!

/RantOver.

MadcapMagician · December 2014

Ok, you guys are scaring the **** out of me right now. I just hope the dealer my wife purchased it from is going to be as stand up as Smitty.

MeTed · December 2014

The dealer I bought my Egg from burned down to the ground. So I called the next closest dealer and they said they would take care of any issues with my Egg. My question is I dropped my platesetter and broke it. My Egg is 9 months old. I know the warranty says it is not covered for a lifetime, but I thought I heard the platesetter was covered for one year no matter what.What do you you guys think, should I ask for a new one?

MadcapMagician · December 2014

Always. At the prices they charge, it cannot hurt to try. If that doesn't wok, they make a cast iron plate setter btw.

johnkitchens · December 2014

@MadcapMagician don't worry. You will be taken care of just like everyone else here has. There have been some that didn't get a lot of help from their dealer, BUT they did get help.

You will be fine.

My only point is that ANY company that represents the product should take care of any claims without a hassle. The claims should be handled without anyone having to contact some one else.

MadcapMagician · December 2014

I agree, I do the same for my clients

RRP · December 2014

Jeepster47 said:

Photo Egg said:

... BGE sells to national distributors who cover regional areas. They are the ones who set up and sell to the local dealers and should screen them better ...

Thanks ... I didn't know that. Do you happen to know approximately how big a typical region is? Or how many exist in the states?

Tom, Our distributor is Northern Plains Distributing, based in Fargo, ND and has several states.

jcaspary · December 2014

@madcapmagician I wouldn't worry about it too much. The problem is that most people are ready to complain when service doesn't meet expectations; warramted or not. Most give good to excellent service but it is rarely mentioned. People mention that the "squeaky wheel gets the grease." If you are in need of service or anything people are more willing to help out if you are respectful and understanding. "You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar" is what I try to live by.

Photo Egg · December 2014

MeTed said:

The dealer I bought my Egg from burned down to the ground. So I called the next closest dealer and they said they would take care of any issues with my Egg. My question is I dropped my platesetter and broke it. My Egg is 9 months old. I know the warranty says it is not covered for a lifetime, but I thought I heard the platesetter was covered for one year no matter what.What do you you guys think, should I ask for a new one?

Does not matter what the warrantee is if you drop it. That falls under the law of "SOL".

I did miss the part in the BGE Warrantee coverage about "no matter what".

Photo Egg · December 2014

Jeepster47 said:

Photo Egg said:

... BGE sells to national distributors who cover regional areas. They are the ones who set up and sell to the local dealers and should screen them better ...

Thanks ... I didn't know that. Do you happen to know approximately how big a typical region is? Or how many exist in the states?

Sorry, I do not know how many Dist are in the US but the ones I have talked to cover a fairly large area. I would just be guessing at numbers but not a large number.

Zmokin · December 2014

lousubcap said:

@SkinnyV-you may want to get the warranty process going so that you have the replacement piece when you finally want to change it out. I had a small crack appear on the bottom of a LBGE. Went thru my dealer (e-mailed some pics) and got the replacement base. Enough cook gunk self- sealed the crack so the new base is sitting in the box 14 months later.

Is it just me, or do others see a problem with this?

If BGE provides a lifetime warranty on certain parts and you exercise that warranty and then BGE in good faith provides you with a replacement part, I would feel I was cheating BGE if I did not in good faith use that part. To store warranty replacement parts seems wrong in my book.

Are you hoping to someday collect enough warranty parts you can build a new Egg and only purchase the non-warranty items like the bands? Why not use the warranty part now, if it breaks, it still is under warranty.

If you are saving it so when your partially broken part truly does fall apart, so you can replace it then, why not replace it now and save your partially broken part to use in an emergency if your new warranty part completely fails in one fell swoop.

jcaspary · December 2014

@zmokin I understand how you feel. I work for a company that sells items that require warranty work including the BGE. Most, require for the damaged part to be returned to the manufacturer to obtain credit. BGE does not. All that is required is a picture of the damaged item and proof of purchase. I have a fire ring that is sitting in the garage because the one that I am currently using is in two pieces. Not really saving it to build a new one. The only reason it is sitting there is because it is small and I have the space. A fire box, dome, or base would be replaced immediately because I don't want to store the new one.

Jeepster47 · December 2014

Photo Egg said:

Jeepster47 said:

Photo Egg said:

... BGE sells to national distributors who cover regional areas. They are the ones who set up and sell to the local dealers and should screen them better ...

Thanks ... I didn't know that. Do you happen to know approximately how big a typical region is? Or how many exist in the states?

Sorry, I do not know how many Dist are in the US but the ones I have talked to cover a fairly large area. I would just be guessing at numbers but not a large number.

Thanks for the feedback.

Dropped off a bag of Rockwood at my dealer this morning (trying to get them to carry it ... so brought them a bag to try) and asked them how big our region was. Between the two of them they couldn't decide if it was 4 or 7 states ... just that headquarters was in Fargo, ND, like @RRP mentioned.

Photo Egg · December 2014

Zmokin said:

lousubcap said:

@SkinnyV-you may want to get the warranty process going so that you have the replacement piece when you finally want to change it out. I had a small crack appear on the bottom of a LBGE. Went thru my dealer (e-mailed some pics) and got the replacement base. Enough cook gunk self- sealed the crack so the new base is sitting in the box 14 months later.

Is it just me, or do others see a problem with this?

If BGE provides a lifetime warranty on certain parts and you exercise that warranty and then BGE in good faith provides you with a replacement part, I would feel I was cheating BGE if I did not in good faith use that part. To store warranty replacement parts seems wrong in my book.

Are you hoping to someday collect enough warranty parts you can build a new Egg and only purchase the non-warranty items like the bands? Why not use the warranty part now, if it breaks, it still is under warranty.

If you are saving it so when your partially broken part truly does fall apart, so you can replace it then, why not replace it now and save your partially broken part to use in an emergency if your new warranty part completely fails in one fell swoop.

I get it but at least nothing is taking up space in a landfill right now. Might as well get some more use out of the old parts if you can. Just dumb luck that it has not completely failed. BGE is not out any more money. They might even come out ahead in the long run by the extra milage he is getting in the old base before it's switched out. Myself, I would not want the risk of the base failing with a full load of lump.

fishlessman · December 2014

Zmokin said:

lousubcap said:

@SkinnyV-you may want to get the warranty process going so that you have the replacement piece when you finally want to change it out. I had a small crack appear on the bottom of a LBGE. Went thru my dealer (e-mailed some pics) and got the replacement base. Enough cook gunk self- sealed the crack so the new base is sitting in the box 14 months later.

Is it just me, or do others see a problem with this?

If BGE provides a lifetime warranty on certain parts and you exercise that warranty and then BGE in good faith provides you with a replacement part, I would feel I was cheating BGE if I did not in good faith use that part. To store warranty replacement parts seems wrong in my book.

Are you hoping to someday collect enough warranty parts you can build a new Egg and only purchase the non-warranty items like the bands? Why not use the warranty part now, if it breaks, it still is under warranty.

If you are saving it so when your partially broken part truly does fall apart, so you can replace it then, why not replace it now and save your partially broken part to use in an emergency if your new warranty part completely fails in one fell swoop.

my first replacement fire box is in about 12 pieces or more now and it still works fine, was looking at the old origional one thats in three pieces in my basement that ive been saving as a backup for about 12 years now

) yes, i could just replace it, but why bother, why take money from bge every other year for what is mostly a non issue for me and more a hassle, i hate shopping, i hate going in stores, i hate wasting time where i could be doing something i want to do. i can see having a new backup in the waiting if it saves me the hassle, time, and expense and it saves bge the money over the long run

anton · December 2014

@fishlessman, I hear what your saying, I plan on using the replacement immediately, I completely disassemble my insides about every four cooks and clean the ash piles from between the firebox and bottom of egg, I would not want to re assemble twelve pieces every time. I have a medium, and it is critical to maintain good airflow.

In the end , I have gotten satisfaction, the fact remains all dealers are not created equal! The distributor for my area Photo Egg , has about three states as his territory, FYI.

BYS1981 · December 2014

@anton‌ I'm in vallejo, but I work in Richmond. Technically berkeley to port costa.

RRP · December 2014

anton said:

@fishlessman, I hear what your saying, I plan on using the replacement immediately, I completely disassemble my insides about every four cooks and clean the ash piles from between the firebox and bottom of egg, I would not want to re assemble twelve pieces every time. I have a medium, and it is critical to maintain good airflow.

In the end , I have gotten satisfaction, the fact remains all dealers are not created equal! The distributor for my area Photo Egg , has about three states as his territory, FYI.

I'm not trying to p*ss you off when I say this - OK? You must have some anal need to clean.

Your BGE can go for a very long time without the need to do a full clean out like you describe. In fact most people go for a LONG time and if you keep up this clean out routine I will even bet you will hate your BGE in the near future as you will consider using it to be such a PITA!

You can drag the ashes out of the front vent with your ash tool, or even suck them out with a vacuum, but honestly I have found my eggs cook better with ash build up which fills the UNWANTED sources of air intake from the bottom which messes up the heat distribution upwards.

Bottom line, don't become a slave to your BGE - just love it and use it! It isn't your wife's oven inside needing a white glove inspection or you will be selling it in the near future! It's a charcoal grill, my man...

anton · December 2014

B YS1981
Cool, nice to know another local on here.

anton · December 2014

@RRP, Not mad at all, in fact if you knew what a secret slob I really am, you would have stopped at your first sentence. The reason I clean the ash out, again, is to MAINTAIN my air flow, I have a medium egg, and they dont quite operate like the large or xl. Unless you have a medium, I don't expect you to understand, myself and most all medium users have had airflow issues that we use different bottom grates and the like to alleviate. I have posted and interacted with many medium users regarding this.Keeping it clean helps the medium work proper.
Regarding hating my egg? Sir, there has been an egg in every home I have ever lived in since birth, my father had them imported from Japan before The Pachinko Palace Hibachi's even existed. Then when Pachinko Palace Hibachi's came out he bought them, then the BGE change, now we have BGE's. If I am a slave as you say, it is a slave of love.
:-bd

Philly35 · December 2014

My dealer sucks so I always went straight through the mothership. They must of finally had too many complaints because they are no longer a dealer.

jenericzac · December 2014

My local dealer came through today with my replacement base and I can say that I could not be happier with the service they gave me. I called Friday and sent pictures of my cracked base and I picked up my new one earlier today. 2 business days is excellent in my opinion. I'm going to send BGE an email to let them know the great service the dealer provided. My only question is what to do with the old base with the crack? It just seems so wasteful to throw it in the garbage. Any ideas on any type of re-use. I hate to throw things out that can still be useful.

RRP · December 2014

anton said:

@RRP, Not mad at all, in fact if you knew what a secret slob I really am, you would have stopped at your first sentence. The reason I clean the ash out, again, is to MAINTAIN my air flow, I have a medium egg, and they dont quite operate like the large or xl. Unless you have a medium, I don't expect you to understand, myself and most all medium users have had airflow issues that we use different bottom grates and the like to alleviate. I have posted and interacted with many medium users regarding this.Keeping it clean helps the medium work proper.
Regarding hating my egg? Sir, there has been an egg in every home I have ever lived in since birth, my father had them imported from Japan before The Pachinko Palace Hibachi's even existed. Then when Pachinko Palace Hibachi's came out he bought them, then the BGE change, now we have BGE's. If I am a slave as you say, it is a slave of love.
:-bd

Good! BTW I've owned my medium now for 13 years so I'm familiar with using the size, but Have never had the need to clean out like you say. I wonder if there are some other issues. I have often read of temp problems with smalls but even my small is a furnace when need be. As for a Pachinko...here's mine from at least 40 years ago!

Warranty claims, my dealer has no idea what I'm talking about.

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