Weber stepping up

[Surly Viking]

I got an email today, and I have a call with someone tomorrow. I am very happy to see Weber address this issue in less than two weeks.

https://www.weber.com/US/en/blog/behind-the-grill/product-update-to-weber-com-shoppers-and-summit-kamado-e6-charcoal-grill-owners/weber-2105129.html?fbclid=IwAR0OPmSxv9AkGxM0esCy-fpv-VJ6GqAazx2iCFMfUgD8oZQNK6W_v-NAAfo

[HawkerXP]

Saw this on kenrobin post earlier. Good news!

[Old Glory]

Just posted this on your other thread. Good to see!

Crazy that they didn't test this out before release. Heads should roll on this. No excuses. It will cost them twice as much to fix the issue than if they had just done it right the first time.

[Alabama Smoke]

Hope we do not see a price increase shortly after the new stand is up and selling.

[kenrobin]

Surly Viking You were certainly amongst the first to raise the flag. I didn't think my stand was too bad but I'm very happy that Weber is addressing the issue. I'm wondering if mine was amongst the "sturdier" stands or not.

Was the email that you received part of a global notification or was it specific to the calls that you made earlier?

[Surly Viking]

The emails are specific to my initial call and email to customer service the day I assembled the kamado. Monday November 30th. And probably responsive to the subsequent replies/email chain. They have been in steady contact for two weeks. I certainly do feel they are taking this seriously, and I do appreciate that.

[ecowper]

Glad Weber is making it right. But they also clearly need to get the accountants out of the design and build process for new products.

I can tell you that at my company the Engineers and Service Delivery teams figure out the new services for clients, then we work with the accountants to figure out the price. We don’t start with the price and then cut corners until we can meet the price. I believe we do it the right way. And the fact that we are growing 20% year over year seems to agree with that idea.

[ecowper]

MTurney and the failed launches seem to be cost cutting issues. To me that screams out that finance and marketing are in charge, not engineers

[BBQPhil]

What's common about the two last products that launched are that they are (1) unfit for sale, (2) have problems that could have been found with basic testing, and are (3) potentially cause harm or injury to the owners. These things can occur in a company that has either weak or non-existent quality engineers, insists of comprising product quality for profit or time to market, or just shear ignorance. There's such a long history of making good products, that these missteps make these so unusual.

[ecowper]

BBQPhil yeah, I think that is what I’m saying. I’m an engineer who drives specific services for clients. The choice is either engineering first or finance first. Sadly, it appears that Weber is finance first now.

[DavidNorcross]

Encouraged that they are doing the right thing.

[Attjack]

Nice. I've had great experiences with Weber customer service.

[jhapka]

The Smokefire and Summado are clearly great cookers post-amelioration. But it’s bad business to make your buyers jump through hoops.

[ecowper]

A company that is trying to fix customer service issues after product engineering is on a death spiral.

[bbqLuv]

Good for them, restore faith, hope the problem gets resolved.
Celebrate with a PBR, I might add.

[Surly Viking]

Update, I spoke with Weber today. They are sending out a new Kamado. Changes are 1. Old stand from the original, that has braces that bolt into the legs. 2. Casters will be larger, and all three will be locking. Both of those things will eliminate or at least greatly minimize the wobble.

I have to say, they responded quickly, escalated when I asked them to, and are doing what they can to make it right for all customers.

I will add a few posts /pictures as soon as I get the new model, should be within two weeks.

[MikeJ12]

Surly Viking, thanks for the update.
That is great news. Weber stepped up in a big way. It is too bad it was released like that, but their corrective actions at no cost to consumer are simply outstanding. I am leaning towards this Cooker again.

[Razor]

I like that they are doing that, but at the same time a little scared that they are letting the bean counters run the shop. (Apologies to all the bean counters out there.)

How many failed launches do you have to do before you realize what your core business and competition is?

[kenrobin]

I’m glad Weber is addressing but I’m still wondering why they need to replace the entire grill instead of just sending the parts for the revised stand.

[Surly Viking]

well, the legs are different, since they have holes for bolts vs to smaller holes for the hooks. the casters are one inch bigger and all three lock instead of just one. I am guessing it would be the legs, all the pieces of the stand, and wheels. at that point, just replace it versus asking customers to put that together again.

[kenrobin]

I spoke to Weber's VP of Customer Experience Quality about 1 hour ago & you're right. The new legs won't use the "hook" method for attaching to the lower dome. He also said that they won't ask customers to put the new grill together again. Weber will coordinate with a local dealer (i.e. Ace, True Hardware, etc.) who will assemble the replacement grill & bring it to us. They will also take away the old grill. I have no complaints about that!

[Surly Viking]

Update. I received my replacement Kamado today. Absolutely no wobble!.
Very happy customer right now. I did 15 cooks on the original in the 7 weeks I had it. Looking forward to many cooks on this

[DavidNorcross]

This is a positive for sure.

[Mickslick]

Nice to hear. I'm waiting to pull a trigger on one as soon as they are back in stock, looks like that should be soon since you received the replacement.

[fzxdoc]

Surly Viking , did it arrive pre-assembled by a local hardware store as kenrobin alluded to, and then they took your original one back with them? If so, that sounds like a real customer-friendly way of making things right.

Your new WSCG looks nice and sturdy.

Kathryn