Supply Issues at BGE?

briwald · January 20

Been working with my local Ace hardware to get a replacement firebox for my egg since middle of November. Been calling every couple of weeks, and they keep telling me they can't get the firebox from BGE. Anyone know a.) if there is indeed a supply problem or B.) how I can contact BGE directly. This is my second rodeo trying to get a replacement firebox and the first time the same thing happened, but someone on this forum hooked me up with a name of someone to call, and I had a firebox two days later. Super frustrated, been limping along with the broken firebox, but its to the point where I can't keep the fire grate from falling through. Any advice or commiseration would be appreciated.

CGS · January 20

I have not had issues getting fireboxes for customers, just picked up a couple last week. Maybe your Ace is not excited about handling warranty work, as it does not ring the register.....

t

Jstroke · January 20

I just put in a warranty on a medium for base, firebox and ring. I was told it could be awhile. My advice. Maybe JB weld or baling wire to keep you going in the meantime.

loco_engr · January 20

"someone on this forum hooked me up with a name of someone to call, and I had a firebox two days later." Have you tried to contact again?

Photo Egg · January 21

CGS said:

I have not had issues getting fireboxes for customers, just picked up a couple last week. Maybe your Ace is not excited about handling warranty work, as it does not ring the register.....

t

Hey Tom,
you probably know the answer to this question. Does BGE directly send replacement parts to larger dealers like Ace? Or is each Ace supplied by a BGE distributor in their area like your store?
So is this a bad distributor issue more than ACE or BGE corporate supply issue?

PoppasGrill · January 21

Last year I contacted BGE warranty/ replacement, they emailed the Ace near me to confirm and had them order replacement firebox and ring for my medium.
sent email to ; [email protected]
they verified info then contacted Ace

Langner91 · January 21

Is there an independent dealer in your neck of the woods? I would go visit them, and ask if they will get your part for you. Take your receipt and a photo of the broken part.

My Ace is clueless about BGE stuff.

Ozzie_Isaac · January 21

How often does you Ace get in new BGE items? I finally found a local Ace that does good volume and they have had all my few warranty parts in a matter of weeks. If you do not want to pay shipping, they usually wait for their main order. Since it isn't BBQ season in many parts of the US, they may not have any orders coming in.

Edit: my old dealer in Illinois used to take parts out of eggs he had on the floor and hand them to you. Then he worried about getting replacements for his stuff. That is why I have 4 eggs. If not for that type of service, I would probably have Kamado Joes.

1voyager · January 21

Yep, contact BGE customer support.

I got similar phony excuses from the dealer when my firebox cracked.

I waited two weeks, then sent an email to BGE with a scathing complaint about the nonresponsiveness of the dealer.

Fortunately, there are two separately owned Ace franchises here. Within 24 hours, BGE sent an authorization to the other dealer. I picked up the firebox the next day.

danhoo · January 21

Photo Egg said:

CGS said:

I have not had issues getting fireboxes for customers, just picked up a couple last week. Maybe your Ace is not excited about handling warranty work, as it does not ring the register.....

t

Hey Tom,
you probably know the answer to this question. Does BGE directly send replacement parts to larger dealers like Ace? Or is each Ace supplied by a BGE distributor in their area like your store?
So is this a bad distributor issue more than ACE or BGE corporate supply issue?

For me, warranty on a large base was handled via the regional distributor.

The dealer that originally sold the BGE was no longer selling BGE and they connected me with the distributor.

Distributor suggested I pick a current BGE retailer near me from a list he had. I picked one. A few days later I stopped by the retailer and spoke with their outdoor living Mgr explaining I'd be receiving a warranty base in a few weeks delivered to this store.

She thanked me for coming in so they could make sure I was in their system with current contact info. She said the sometimes receive warranty items without customer contact info.

Retailer called a few weeks later that it arrived, and the distributor emailed me next day that it had arrived.

Overall the retailer has a gold star for cust service and while no cash exchanged hands for the warranty, I bought a bag of lump on the way out.

Ozzie_Isaac · January 21

@danhoo that's the thing. The Ace that warrantied my parts got me in the door. I have bought a handful of things from them I would not have previously bought. Including some pricey BGE items that I know have a hefty markup.

danhoo · January 22

Yeah, @Ozzie_Isaac it makes no sense to alienate a owner of a BGE that will always need coal, and likely be a customer of other things.

When I picked up the warranty base, I checked out all their outdoor cooking section while I was waiting. They carry BGE, full weber line, napoleon, Ooni's and some $3K and up high end pizza ovens.

It was like a kid in a candy shop.

Jstroke · January 22

Same here. Chain stores that sell eggs rarely have the service that the local independent guys do.

briwald · January 22

Thanks for all the input. I am going to contact BGE customer support directly and see if I can get better service that way. I think that the ACE I'm working with just doesn't want to deal with the warranty. They said they had no XL fireboxes, but I went to their website, found one, purchased it for $200 and it was ready for pickup immediately (I returned it immediately; I'm not paying for something that should be covered, but clearly they don't want to honor the warranty).

alaskanassasin · January 22

briwald said:

Thanks for all the input. I am going to contact BGE customer support directly and see if I can get better service that way. I think that the ACE I'm working with just doesn't want to deal with the warranty. They said they had no XL fireboxes, but I went to their website, found one, purchased it for $200 and it was ready for pickup immediately (I returned it immediately; I'm not paying for something that should be covered, but clearly they don't want to honor the warranty).

Their warranty system sucks.

dstearn · January 23

Having dealt with Ace stores in the past on warranty claims they order through a regional distributor. Some will wait until their next delivery which would include warranty parts. So if you are trying to get your warranty part during the winter months through your local Ace they may make you wait. I would call BGE support to see if they can expedite the replacement part through your distributor or find a BBQ specialty store in your area that could help expedite it.

fishlessman · January 23

ive been waiting about 4 years for a dome thermometer from ace......just hanging on for that phone call

briwald · January 30

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware. Finally, they called me last week to tell me that my fire box would be in Friday or Saturday, so Sunday, I rolled in to inquire. Guy went back to look for it, and came back looking frightened, and told me that they (BGE) had sent the wrong part. They sent a fire RING not a fire BOX. This guy at Ace has been there when I've inquired several times before, and I think he felt sorry for me (or was afraid I was going to make a scene) and gave me the fire box out of a floor model. Said he'd figure it out on his time, I'd wasted enough of mine. So, all in all, I felt like that was a stand-up (if belated) response.

WeberWho · January 30

briwald said:

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware.

Photo Egg · January 31

WeberWho said:

briwald said:

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware.

And some people complain about Kamado Joe's policy of manufacture shipping replacement parts direct to your front door...lol

ColbyLang · January 31

Photo Egg said:

WeberWho said:

briwald said:

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware.

And some people complain about Kamado Joe's policy of manufacture shipping replacement parts direct to your front door...lol

My next one will be red.

lousubcap · January 31

ColbyLang said:

Photo Egg said:

WeberWho said:

briwald said:

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware.

And some people complain about Kamado Joe's policy of manufacture shipping replacement parts direct to your front door...lol

My next one will be red.

No worries-you have such a bourbon connection and collection that the colour (nod) is of no matter. See ya here on the red side.

ColbyLang · January 31

Well Frank, I hope to not need one. Going on 7 years with my XL with no warranty needs…..I genuinely don’t think I need a mini or small. Only thing jonesing for is the 2XL

WeberWho · January 31

The forum is my glue. It keeps me green. It's always teaching me something new. The warranty is a huge issue though. That can easily sway a person's decision on what kamado grill to buy. I just kind of find it funny that Big Green Egg has updated their salt and pepper shakers but in the 13 years I've been here Big Green Egg corporate and dealers still point fingers at one another for warranty work. Why hasn't this been addressed or at the very least cleaned up and simplified? This doesn't fall on any single person. This is a Big Green Egg corporation issue. I want my family, friends, and neighbors rocking Big Green Eggs. One of my best friends just sold his pellet grill for a red kamado this week. One of the main selling points was the ship to door warranty.

Photo Egg · January 31

WeberWho said:

The forum is my glue. It keeps me green. It's always teaching me something new. The warranty is a huge issue though. That can easily sway a person's decision on what kamado grill to buy. I just kind of find it funny that Big Green Egg has updated their salt and pepper shakers but in the 13 years I've been here Big Green Egg corporate and dealers still point fingers at one another for warranty work. Why hasn't this been addressed or at the very least cleaned up and simplified? This doesn't fall on any single person. This is a Big Green Egg corporation issue. I want my family, friends, and neighbors rocking Big Green Eggs. One of my best friends just sold his pellet grill for a red kamado this week. One of the main selling points was the ship to door warranty.

I was lucky in the past to have an excellent BGE dealer fairly close by. I've also been lucky, because of all the Eggfests I have attended, to know people at my BGE distribution center, Paragon Distribution in Dallas, so replacement parts were never an issue and always replaced in a few weeks.
My local Dealer closed during Covid and my last BGE replacement part took several visits and several months with Ace Hardware. Everything you said above is sooooo true, but someone still dinged you with "dislike" instead of providing a reason they disliked what you said.
Bottom line...Getting service after the sale should not be so difficult. But it's similar to posting on this forum and "seldom" ever getting help from anyone affiliated with BGE. And if and when they do, it's basically anonymous as their user names does not show them as a BGE employee.

Acn · February 1

ColbyLang said:

Photo Egg said:

WeberWho said:

briwald said:

UPDATE: customer service at BGE was no help, told me there was nothing they could do, I had to go through the warranty process with Ace Hardware.

And some people complain about Kamado Joe's policy of manufacture shipping replacement parts direct to your front door...lol

My next one will be red.

If I knew then what I know now (and I wasn't so surprised that SWMBO offered to buy one when we went grill shopping one day) mine probably would be as well.

Ozzie_Isaac · February 1

For the casual user, I have recommended KJ, solely due to warranty. Dealing directly with corporate and having them send you parts is very nice. Just like Weber.

I make it a habit to pop in to BGE dealers if I am near. I would say 7 out of 10 salespeople on the floor have no idea about warranty and I have been told many times there is no warranty, or they do not handle warranty, or I need to go to BGE directly. It often makes me wonder what things I am being told about other brands in stores and if any of it is true.

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