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Kettle Joe Member Review............a sad posting

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    #16
    Above I said I would post up any new info on the warrantee parts replacement if/when anything happened. Three months and not a word nor a part received. We see lots of news commentary about "supply chain issues" and that may or may not be in play with this. The wall of silence informs not.

    As for any further degradation of the equipment or change in cook performance I have nothing to report. This is such a poor quality device which has left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I haven't cooked on it since the ribs noted above. We're in this "hobby" for enjoyment sake in addition to skill development, and the need to eat, so I use other, more satisfying, cookers regularly.

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    • Oak Smoke
      Oak Smoke commented
      Editing a comment
      I owe you big on this one. I was ready to pull the trigger on one of these. Thank you!
      I’m looking at a PK 360 now, looks like a better cooker all the way around.

    #17
    I've never understood companies doing this (designing to a price point and/or releasing things with obvious issues). It kills their rep, not only by people talking about it online but in 'invisible' ways too - word of mouth, returns to stores, etc. Sometimes you can't produce a good product with the features you want at a high enough quality. You don't release that.. you either kill the product or you hike the price so you can get a good enough quality.

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    • Huskee
      Huskee commented
      Editing a comment
      I bet it's tough being that company and making the call as to what to do. Dollar Stores are an umpteen billion dollar industry because people want cheap stuff (junk) that they can replace every month or every year because to the avg consumer that's the better deal. But yeah you're right, should there be dollar store cookers plagued with [potential] problems? Hmm.

    • rickgregory
      rickgregory commented
      Editing a comment
      I think the problem is that anything that costs several hundred dollars isn't seen as cheap by most middle class folks. If I waste $4? Eh. If I waste $400? I"m pissed.

    #18
    Originally posted by Uncle Bob View Post
    Above I said I would post up any new info on the warrantee parts replacement if/when anything happened. Three months and not a word nor a part received. We see lots of news commentary about "supply chain issues" and that may or may not be in play with this. The wall of silence informs not.

    As for any further degradation of the equipment or change in cook performance I have nothing to report. This is such a poor quality device which has left a bad enough taste in my mouth that I haven't cooked on it since the ribs noted above. We're in this "hobby" for enjoyment sake in addition to skill development, and the need to eat, so I use other, more satisfying, cookers regularly.
    Just my unsolicited advice - if you still have a bad taste in your mouth and don't cook on it, put that sucker on craigslist or FB marketplace and don't look back. Life is too short and patios too small to have a cooker that doesn't bring enjoyment.

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    • Uncle Bob
      Uncle Bob commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks for your suggestion, I've done that a few times as I'm a devout gizmoholic who likes to do his own evaluations at times regardless of my respect for various reviewers pov. I might end up doing that at some point in time, but to be fair, I have 16 outdoor cooking devices (obsessive? maybe) so that also contributes to frequency (or not) of use.

    #19
    So another update on the warrantee request. A couple weeks ago I decided to poke the bear so to speak. I sent an email to the sales manager who promised he'd follow up when they got individual replacement parts in stock. As you may guess, he'd completely forgotten that commitment so my email required sending him a copy of his earlier email to me. The result was two new claims being generated at the KJ end. A couple days ago I received two new ceramic placards with no cracks, so that problem is now solved with only the finish flaw in the SloRoller ring yet to be resolved.
    Apparently (as he never responded to my query about the need for two claims) the second, outstanding claim is for the replacement ring. We'll see, if it ever shows up.

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      #20
      Whew! And they have had many opportunities to redeem the situation & keep fumbling the ball. Yup, sad.

      Comment


        #21
        The flaws are disturbing, but as they said, likely not critical (which is NOT to excuse them). The poor sealing and overall quality, as well as the apparently poor customer service definitely turn me off.

        At $500 for a 22" charcoal cooker from a supposedly "high end" producer, I'm overall quite disappointed.

        Poor production, poor quality control, followed by poor customer service response.

        I'll pass, thank you.
        Last edited by DogFaced PonySoldier; August 27, 2021, 06:17 AM.

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          #22
          I've let my negative opinion of Masterbuilt be know in the past. This just reinforces my utter loathing of their quality and price point business model.

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          #23
          All those ceramic inserts in the KJs crack.

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            #24
            I was thinking about the Kettle Joe and glad I read this thread. Very disappointing, though matches a lot of the reviews of the product on the Lowe's website. That they sold out to a PE firm tells me this is probably going to be the norm for their quality and customer service. You can get good quality from Chinese factories, but it costs more and requires closer oversight. My fear is Weber will go down this same path.

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