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Not real thrilled...

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dougcrann
dougcrann Posts: 1,129
in EggHead Forum
...with the quality of the Egg ceramics.  In the past year I had a XL base warranted. The replacement cracked as well. Had a firebox replaced under the warranty. That cracked as well. Haven't even had our Large a year and the base cracked.  My dealer is a bit of an arse...already sent these pictures to him....almost dreading dealing with him...
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  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
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    Call the mother ship and ask for Bruce
    MSV Chill Spot
    Chester County, PA

    http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/

    http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    hapster said:
    Call the mother ship and ask for Bruce
    Already have. Didn't have much to say...
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  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
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    Then find another dealer... But cc Bruce on any emails to them
    MSV Chill Spot
    Chester County, PA

    http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/

    http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    ^what he said

    Bruce tests these and knows why they fail when they fail

    he wouldube happy to hear me say it, but he's why i feel comfortable dousing these with ice water from the cooler at a Patriots game after cooking at a tailgate for a few hours. 

    When they crack, it isn't your fault. Just the nature of the beast (occasionally). 
    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    hapster said:
    Then find another dealer... But cc Bruce on any emails to them
    There is one other dealer in the Spokane area. I have dealt with them in the past, they are a dealer for the pellet stove we use for heating our house.  Went in with a simple question...left with a headache. Ended up dealing with an Ebay dealer...
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  • hapster
    hapster Posts: 7,503
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    eBay is no good... Find another one or ask Bruce to find you one you can work with 
    MSV Chill Spot
    Chester County, PA

    http://egginwithedward.blogspot.com/

    http://edwardhardingphotography.zenfolio.com/
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    hapster said:
    eBay is no good... Find another one or ask Bruce to find you one you can work with 
    I know Ebay is not an option. Have already asked about another dealer. The only other one in Spokane is the shop I have had trouble with. Next closest dealer is several hundred miles away. I stopped by a place that was a dealer....they started selling KJ. I spoke with the owner of theach KJ  dealer...he had had dealings in the past with the,dealer I am using..didn't have anything good to say about him. Already spoke to Big Green Egg themelves about getting any necessary warranty items from them. I  will have to pay the shipping.  
    Sadly the warranty is only as good as your dealer. 
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  • Darby_Crenshaw
    Darby_Crenshaw Posts: 2,657
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    Dealers are both the strength and weakness of BGE


    [social media disclaimer: irony and sarcasm may be used in some or all of user's posts; emoticon usage is intended to indicate moderately jocular social interaction; the comments toward users, their usernames, and the real people (living or dead) that they refer to are not intended to be adversarial in nature; those replying to this user are entering into a tacit agreement that they are real-life or social-media acquaintances and/or have agreed to or tacitly agreed to perpetrate occasional good-natured ribbing between and among themselves and others]

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  • Skiddymarker
    Skiddymarker Posts: 8,522
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    That is an interesting looking break in the bottom of the base (if I'm seeing it correctly) Almost looks like the base was drilled out and filled - very circular "crack". 
    Delta B.C. - Whiskey and steak, because no good story ever started with someone having a salad!
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Skiddymarker said:
    That is an interesting looking break in the bottom of the base (if I'm seeing it correctly) Almost looks like the base was drilled out and filled - very circular "crack". 
    It is indeed interesting. Sent it to a buddy who has been using Eggs for a very long time. He has had his share of cracked ceramics...right down to having a dome crack during a brisket cook for a competition.  He said he had a base crack very similar to mine. 
    If you run your hand over the area where mine is cracked it feels like there is a small depression. Just looked on the dealer locator...there is one in Post Falls....which is about 2 hours from me...place I am using now is about half that. Last time I needed a warranty part it turned into a almost 7 week long nightmare.  They "forgot" to order my part. When it showed up it was a firebox....to bad I needed a fire ring. They ended up giving me the ring out of a floor model...why they didn't do that after the first screw up who knows. Not a real big fan of people who just can't say they screwed up...always has to be someone else who is to blame...
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  • Biggreenpharmacist
    Biggreenpharmacist Posts: 4,341
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    I'm tge same way. Owning a mistake goes a long way with me. Thats one of the first things I teach new employees. When your first words are "well it wasnt me" then you've lost trust. Better to own it, even if you didnt do it, in my opinion. 

    Little Rock, AR

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,347
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    @Biggreenpharmacist -  true pearl of wisdom right there.  Hopefully your employees appreciate it at the time but I know they will down the road.  
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Biggreenpharmacist said:
    I'm tge same way. Owning a mistake goes a long way with me. Thats one of the first things I teach new employees. When your first words are "well it wasnt me" then you've lost trust. Better to own it, even if you didnt do it, in my opinion. 
    Especially in the retail business. Very easy to duck responsibility for a mistake by blaming the "purchasing employee"....
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Biggreenpharmacist said:
    I'm tge same way. Owning a mistake goes a long way with me. Thats one of the first things I teach new employees. When your first words are "well it wasnt me" then you've lost trust. Better to own it, even if you didnt do it, in my opinion. 

    Damn smart phone...more like stupid operator.  Should have added....I was going to purchase a Small Egg from the place I have been using. But after what happened ain't gonna happen.  I don't mind spending money...just hate spending it and getting poor customer service. I will be making a trip to Phoenix in the fall...will be buying the Small from the shop that a friend deals with. This shop has never mistreated my buddy...gladly give someone like him my $$$....
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  • Biggreenpharmacist
    Biggreenpharmacist Posts: 4,341
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    Be sure and tell them WHY you are buying it there, too. A little praise for good customer service goes a long way as well and thats a darn good way to become a priority customer. 

    Little Rock, AR

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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Biggreenpharmacist said:
    Be sure and tell them WHY you are buying it there, too. A little praise for good customer service goes a long way as well and thats a darn good way to become a priority customer. 
    Best friend owns a transmission shop in AZ. Doug has always treated his customers right. Could be why he now has 8 lifts and 11 full time employees. Everybody that walks thru his door gets treated the way they should be. Have seen him warranty stuff that didn't have a warranty...to have his simple gesture turn into 25 new customers. As recently as 3 years ago he was having trouble making payroll...back when had 3 employees. Last year he grossed over 1.5 million...all by word of mouth. Guess he spoiled me in a way. When I lived there if I needed transmission work he would swing by my house, pick up my vehicle, repair it and drop it off. All in the same day. He had my truck tied up...gave me his own wheels. Have seen him stop what he was doing on a Sunday and drive 300 miles to pick up a vehicle that they worked on that had a completely unrelated problem strand the owners...
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Just got an email from Bruce from the "Mothership". He wants to know about my issues with the dealer...said he will talk to the distributor to hopefully avoid any more nightmares. If I want to believe what my dealer told me the last half of my previous problem was all on the distributor....however there is a lot more to it than that. Got a feeling I am wasting my time...
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Visited the other dealer in town today. They told me that it will only be 3-4 days for them to get a warranty part in. Will have to pay the freight....so be it. Sent an email to Bruce about switching dealers...he has no problem with it. He gave me a BGE "hotline" phone number...wants to speak with me first...
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Now THAT is customer service. Just had a very pleasant chat with Bruce, from Big Green Egg....the "BGE Hotline" number he gave me was his home number...hell of a guy...
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  • Toxarch
    Toxarch Posts: 1,900
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    You have to pay freight on a warranty part?
    Aledo, Texas
    Large BGE
    KJ Jr.

    Exodus 12:9 KJV
    Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof.

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  • jimithing
    jimithing Posts: 254
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    Toxarch said:
    You have to pay freight on a warranty part?
    I've never had to get a part replaced under warranty but from what I've read some of the dealers charge freight, some don't.  I don't understand why that is.  It seems like the lifetime warranty should cover freight to a dealer who is already getting shipments of stuff.  When I've had to deal with Weber in the past they've shipped warranty claims for free.

    To the OP - I'm curious how your eggs are positioned - are they in regular nests?  Do you have them sitting in a table?  I'm just curious if there's something about the way they're set up that's making them prone to failure.
    XL BGE
    Plano, TX
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  • Abter
    Abter Posts: 125
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    "You have to pay freight on a warranty part? " 
    I just had my first experience with needing to use the warrenty.  My fire grate cracked in half; I had used my egg less than a dozen times by then.  Dealer said "never heard of that"   (really?????  :o ), and asked a half dozen questions about what I did wrong.  Took him a week to get "instructions" from the mother ship about what to do.  Said I was lucky...they only get a shipment from the mother ship every month...if I was a few days later I would have to wait for next month's slow boat from GA to make it all the way to Maryland.  When it got here 2 weeks later I had to pay $20 shipping for my "free" warrantied grid replacement.
    Stay Calm and Egg On
    1 lonely medium in Rockville, MD
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    jimithing said:
    Toxarch said:
    You have to pay freight on a warranty part?
    I've never had to get a part replaced under warranty but from what I've read some of the dealers charge freight, some don't.  I don't understand why that is.  It seems like the lifetime warranty should cover freight to a dealer who is already getting shipments of stuff.  When I've had to deal with Weber in the past they've shipped warranty claims for free.

    To the OP - I'm curious how your eggs are positioned - are they in regular nests?  Do you have them sitting in a table?  I'm just curious if there's something about the way they're set up that's making them prone to failure.
    The warranty....
    12. SHIPPING AND DELIVERY: BGE is not liable for shipping, delivery charges, labor, packaging costs, export/import duties, VAT or any levied taxes resulting from any Warranty claim, service, repair or return, unless authorized in advance in writing by BGE.

    Some dealers will not charge freight, the warranty part is just added to an existing shipment. 

    This dealer does charge. Small price to pay for not having to wait 6-7 weeks....the place I am now using is telling me a few days as they get shipments from the distributor weekly. 

    Noticed someone seemed to have a problem paying freight of a warranty part. I recently purchased a the newer style high dome for an XL. It cost $288. So if the freight were to be $25 that is a small price to pay for getting another dome. Nothing in life is free...somebody has to pay for freight.

    In regards to how our Eggs are sitting. The Large, the one that just cracked, is sitting in a table. It is sitting on a metal stand that I built. It consists of 4 angle iron legs, about 4" tall. They are welded to an piece of quarter inch thick plate that is in the shape of an "x". The width of each leg of the X is 1.5". I spoke with Bruce at BGE headquarters last night, the guy that does all the warranty stuff. Neither he nor another guy he showed the pictures to have ever seen an Egg crack like this. On the inside of the half moon shaped crack there is a small depression. Bruce told me that he thinks that my base may have been removed from the mold before the ceramic cooled enough. The crack looks like it was made by a tool of some sort. 

    My large bases...the original one...and the warranty replacement that cracked both did so when it was sitting in the nest from BGE. The warranty firebox that cracked did so while,it was sitting in a duplicate of the previously mentioned stand. To say that this is the reason the firebox cracked is a bit far fetched. 

    And the warranty fire ring that broke...it was in 4 pieces when I opened the box...

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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Forgot the pictures..  
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  • dougcrann
    dougcrann Posts: 1,129
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    Well this may have turned out to be a good thing, switching dealers. I emailed pictures and a copy of my receipt to the new dealer yesterday. Few hours later I got a phone call, something the old dealer NEVER did. Said I will have the new base early next week. Impressive...
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