Table problems from biggreeneggtables.com

tmackie

I feel bad about being one of the original posters of my custom table back in February. Mine took three weeks and I posted pics and how great his prices were and how smooth things went. He was a one man shop and the quality of my table is impeccable.

I agree with those of you that said he "out kicked his coverage". I told him I was going to post pics and a review on this site and that I hoped he would get more orders and that prospect excited him.

I truly hope all of you get the situation resolved to your satisfaction. It was easy for me as I live 15 miles from his shop and just picked mine up and saved $125 in shipping costs

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Let's all calm Down here. Being overwhelmed is not theft or certainly a worry to the IRS. He needs to make it right and I'm sure he will. Let's not threaten to send a guy to jail because he is not good at keeping pace with his business (not that it would ever fly anyway). If you want your money back, ask for it. If he does not send it, then you have something to worry about. If he screws you out of a penny, I'll be the first to jump on board. I wouldn't use him now anyway but theft? Tax Fraud? Let's get some perspective here.

ccpoulin1

Cen-Tex,

 

I could not have said it better!  You are a stand-up guy.  I wish more people had a reasonable approach like you. 

 

THANKS!

stike

"Let's all calm Down here. Being overwhelmed is not theft or certainly a
worry to the IRS. He needs to make it right and I'm sure he will. Let's
not threaten to send a guy to jail because he is not good at keeping
pace with his business (not that it would ever fly anyway). If you want
your money back, ask for it. If he does not send it, then you have
something to worry about. If he screws you out of a penny, I'll be the
first to jump on board. I wouldn't use him now anyway but theft? Tax
Fraud? Let's get some perspective here."

well said

Hi54putty

I agree. As I said earlier, bad business shouldn't be tolerated or excused but I would certainly stop short of calling someone I have never met or hired dishonest. I would have no basis for that accusation. There are plenty of honest peoe who can't run a business.

steeevin

Hi guys,

I'm in the same boat as some of the others. I ordered a custom table from Brian, based on some of the pics on this site. My table should have been delivered by now but it hasn't and I can't reach Brian. 

The lack of communication is leaving me feeling scammed, which is a sickening feeling considering the price paid for the table. 

Also, not having a table throughout the BBQ season is really draining the enthusiasm I had for cooking on my new egg. It's currently sitting on a paver on the patio as the status of my $1000 table is still unknown.

The fishy thing to me is that, as someone else had mentioned, communication was great until payment was submitted. 

tdeater

Sorry Guy's. BUT... If someone takes your money up front and does not hold up to the contractual agreement, (A verbal agreement is a binding contract)   and  then is non responsive, and un willing to contact you back is a theft! Over whelmed? sick? busy? family disaster?  but yet can't give the consideration of a return email????? Does not pass the sniff test to me. Send him more money Y'all while you are making excuses for him.

BGE4Life

I have to agree with tdeater.  I agree that the tables look great but to take more than a security deposit upfront before it is ready to ship is not right.  Use a deposit to secure a position in the manufacturing schedule and if you run behind both parties are protected.  I personally wouldn't take a deposit for more than the materials required for the build and I could make a case for the deposit being non-refundable as well.  If I was in the situation as many are, I would cancel my order until I knew that he got his business back on solid ground and I could confirm delivery of tables in a reasonable time frame.  I have bought custom manufactured furniture and also have built some and know it can take 60 to 90 days from order to delivery.  His time frame is simply unreasonable unless he has a 20,000 square foot facility and the trained staff in place to manufacture more than 2 custom pieces at a time.  He can't cut wood for a dozen tables and have them ready to assemble because you can make any changes you want in the notes on the order page. Sorry, but this is just the reality and it comes from real world business experience.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

has any body actually asked for their money back?

being late is not a crime. Stealing money is. If you want your money back demand it back. If he does not send it, you have a problem.

eggo

Seems a lack of communication is the primary issue here.

Smoker_Guru

Has anyone received any feedback or tables from Brian on the last week??

steeevin

Last week, I tried calling him 5 times. I was able to leave a voice mail after my first attempt at calling him. The next 4 times I tried calling, I got a message stating that his voice mail was full. I also tried contacting him via email and phone text. I have received no response. 

I called again this morning and was able to leave a message, so I assume he cleared up some of his voice messages from last week. 

If I do not hear from him by the end of today, I will attempt to get a refund. If I cannot get my money back, I will pursue legal action as necessary. I paid $1000 for a table I never received. In the state of Georgia, where he lives, theft of over $500 is considered a felony.

I spoke to him a couple of times early in the process and he seemed like a decent guy. I don't want it to come to legal action, so I am really hoping he does the right thing. 

XLBalco

i doubt that this will come to legal action.  put in a dispute with your CC company for goods not received.  you should be able to recoup that way.

3MBBQ

I am in the same boat as many of you. I ordered a table in early May after several emails back and forth with Brian. My reason for choosing him was his prompt reply to my initial inquiries and his telling me he had a '15 day turn-around' from order to delivery. I also read several very positive reviews of the tables from people here.

the 3rd week of May he told me the table should ship the following week. A week went by and I heard NOTHING so I sent another email and then (at the same time) read the problems people were having here. I did get a response from Brian asking me to 'be patient'. I sent a note back asking for a clear timeframe explaining that i was concerned about the lack of communication, etc. I also tried calling. I've heard NOTHING for 2 weeks so last weekend opened up a dispute with PayPay. After doing this, I again sent Brian an email and indicated my hope of resolving this in a win/win fashion. he has not responded.

It's now clear that when i was told there was a '15 day turnaround' for tables, that others here were already waiting a month for their table so I believe he misled me about the timeframe. It's also very suspicious that communications PRE-SALE was outstanding and now there is nothing.

It seems clear that he has accepted a LOT of money from people and has not followed through with delivery nor has he offered any reasonable explanation for delays.

I hope to get my money back soon and move on to search for another solution.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

This is dicey for sure. Hope you guys get taken care of.

nigel25

45 days is the magic number everyone needs to know.  After 45 days from
your purchase you can not get a refund from paypal.  Paypal doesn't care
what the situation is; they will do absolutely nothing for you.  At
this point, here's my advice to anyone who has purchased a table from
Brian:





-If you bought less than 45 days ago:  Wait for a table if you'd like,
but I would file a dispute for an item not received immediately.



-If you bought more than 45 days ago and paid with a credit card
through paypal: Check with your credit card company, but you should be
able to dispute the charge and get your money back.  This is what I did.


-If you bought more than 45 days ago and paid with funds in a bank account
through paypal: Check with your bank, but unless they have some sort of
fraudulent charge protection you might be in trouble with this payment
method.  I don't really know what to tell you if that does not work.  I
think Brian will get you your table, but your guess is good as mine as
to when you might actually receive it.  It could be months.


-If you paid with a check I think you are in the same boat as the paypal bank account scenario.





To anyone who still wants to wait on a table: I would give Brian the offer
to get you a table by a certain date.  Do not pay for the table
upfront.  Pay when you receive it.  If you do not receive the table by said date, then move on.





Good luck all.

cazzy

Paying the full purchase price to delivery is not standard by any means. Typically, you'll put a deposit or half down and pay the remaining balance once delivered.

nigel25

No it is not standard.  The reason I thought it was ok to pay full amount upfront was all the positive reviews here. 

Smoker_Guru

No it is not standard.  The reason I thought it was ok to pay full amount upfront was all the positive reviews here. 

+1 That's the main reason I went with Brian also. Early conversations with him seemed like he was a man of his word and all was positive. I was having some questions as to what color stain to use on the table so he sent me about 8 pieces of stained wood samples to choose from.

Not sure what happened but it's been 3 months+ for me so I have also filed a claim for my money. I would realy like to get the table but that is not looking good.

The bad thing is it looks like his web site is still up and taking orders. And there is no mention that it will take months for delivery if they are delivered. You would think if he was overwhelmed that he would stop taking orders until he could get things caught up and set up to handle the higher flow of orders he seems to be getting.

steeevin

I opened a PayPal dispute this morning. Unfortunately, it says that it may take up to 30 days for PayPal to decide the case. It also said that PayPal will attempt to recover the money. What if he doesn't have the money anymore? Am I out $1000? Should I contact my credit card company as well?

nigel25

Yes, call your credit card company and explain what is going on.  They will be able to help.  I've found them to be infinitely more helpful than paypal. 

I do not think you are out $1000 at all.  You are in the safest category:  Less than 45 days (I'm assuming) since your purchase and you paid with a credit card. 

steeevin

Thanks for the response, nigel25. You made me feel much better about this. I'll call my credit card company today.

steeevin

The saddest part to me is that I'm 40 days into egging and I still have no table and now, no prospects for a table either.

cazzy

The saddest part to me is that I'm 40 days into egging and I still have no table and now, no prospects for a table either.

Check with local carpenters...BGE tables are cake for wood nuts.

3MBBQ

FYI- some helpful tips about PayPal/credit cards, etc.

When I 'purchased' my table from Brian, I did so as a "pay pal guest". I didn't want to go through the hassle of opening a paypal account. I used a Bank Debit/Visa card to make the purchase. After realizing the problems of non-delivery and non-communication, i emailed paypal to enter a 'dispute' (if you have a paypal account, you can do this online, but if you're purchasing as a 'guest' you cannot). A few days later, I contacted PayPal via phone to discuss the issue and they suggested that I escalate the issue to a "CLAIM". Once the "claim" process is initiated, the seller has 10 days to respond. I contacted PayPal this morning as the 10 days ends today/tonight - they have NOT heard from Brian so as of tonight, my claim will be "closed" and PayPal will return the money to my account.

I also spoke with my bank last week about this- they suggested that I wait to see what happens with PayPal and if, for some reason, PayPal did not fix this situation then i could work through the bank to credit the money back to me. 

I don't understand the specifics of how the actual $$ changes hands, but it seems that I should have my money back in the next few days. I imagine that Brian will  be in some difficulty with PayPal and while part of me feels bad for him, I also believe that he has had plenty of opportunity to either 'fix' this or 'make it right'. In the meantime, I am onto other ideas about tables!

fishlessman

how does it work with paypal now, years back i got scammed out of 20 bucks, paypal told me i could cancel payment thru my visa card but my paypal account would be dropped, wasnt worth it at the time not to have paypal for the 20 dollar loss

3MBBQ

For those using the PayPal 'dispute'/'claim' process: i received notification from PayPal this morning that my claim was settled and the $ will be returned to my bank account in the next few days!!  Now i can get really serious about finding a new table. Hope everyone else is able to get their money back and/or get a table in a reasonable period of time!

steeevin

Thanks for the update 3MBBQ. How long did the process take going through PayPal? Specifically, from the time you changed the dispute to a "claim", about how long was it until you received notice that you will get a refund?

3MBBQ

I received notice of the claim result today - 10 days after escalating this to a 'claim' status.

My understanding is this: if you escalate it to a "claim" then the seller (Brian) has 10 days to respond and prove to PayPal that he has sent/shipped you the product. If the seller does not make their 'case' then the claim is settled in favor of the buyer. In my phone conversation with PayPal yesterday they confirmed that they did not hear ANYTHING from Brian. 

steeevin

Thanks again for the response, 3MBBQ. It's nice to know what to expect during a process such as this.