Baby Back Maniac red kettle update

[mhiszem]

This is worth a watch. An update video from baby back maniac in regards to a conversation he had with the president of weber on his red kettle and summit issues.

https://youtu.be/lRSCiSCuE-g


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[1buckie]

That was a calculated risk by Weber that will pay off real, real big.....glad to see how they handled it....

[mhiszem]

That was a calculated risk by Weber that will pay off real, real big.....glad to see how they handled it....

Yeah, shows they are paying attention to where there audience is. I wonder if they will reach out to any other youtubers.


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[JEBIV]

Great to know

[SixZeroFour]

Personally I have mixed feelings about this. Although it's nice to finally see SOME sort of positive response from Weber, it only came after over a month of problems and bad publicity all over this and other bbq forums. In addition to that I'd be curious to know how many "regular joes" received calls from Weber corporate with apologies and reassurances.

So far the only two positive stories I have seen on the LE Grill came from 1) a high profile Weber collector, and 2) a high profile BBQ blogger... hopefully more start to pour in now!

[SixZeroFour]

Also not sure who is misinformed (CS or the President) but Weber 1-800 just swore up and down that there is NO new adjustable hinge available for the Summit Charcoal Grill and that anything I heard otherwise was incorrect or rumors? lol

[mhiszem]

Also not sure who is misinformed (CS or the President) but Weber 1-800 just swore up and down that there is NO new adjustable hinge available for the Summit Charcoal Grill and that anything I heard otherwise was incorrect or rumors? lol

I hope better experiences with CS will come out now as well. It shouldn't take this much to get it solved but at least they are doing something. That is interesting. Anyone else try calling weber about the adjustable hinge for the summit? @LightningBoldtz @AnotherPintPlease


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[indy82z]

Ironically, I just received an email response to a claim I made at the end of November requesting in writing, that they tell me that it is within what they consider "normal" for my leg sockets to have no porcelain and already have started to rust.  Below is the response I received:

Thank you for your email. 

We offer a very generous 10 year warranty against rust or burn through on the bowl. We have the photos and your concerns logged in our system for reference if anything should occur.

Please see your owner's manual for further information on the warranty. 

I love to see that story, but it is meaningless if they are not going to do what they say. Had I not ordered this thing and paid shipping (yep, BIG mistake, I would just send it back and call it a day but I am not paying to ship it back).

While I appreciate them doing this "limited edition", if they cant do it right, they should not do it at all!

I am off my soapbox now. I just cant believe how horrible they are handling this whole situation!

[MikeRocksTheRed]

This is great to hear!  So many people were so quick to bash Weber over the problems with these Red LE kettles.  I knew Weber would make it right even if it took a little while.  It took returning one via Amazon to get a good one.  I was happy I was able to resolve through Amazon since I had two other kettles I needed to call Weber about.  They already shipped me a replacement copper lid for my NIB copper that was dented.  I have a 2015 26er that has never been level.  It wasn't a problem where I had it at my last place due to a big dip in my patio, but here in Denver it was a problem again.  It took them shipping me a leg kit that perfectly matched my existing legs for them to (today) decide to ship me a new bowl.  It would have been nice if they would have looked at the dozen pictures with a measuring tape clearly visible in all of the pictures to identify the correct fix immediately, but in the end they are fixing it correctly and I'm a happy camper.  Plus now I will have an extra bowl and leg kit, so maybe I'll come up with some cool project for that.

[addicted-to-smoke]

The most serious issue regarding service is what he describes early in the video (also mentioned in his earlier video about the Summit Charcoal's leak):

Namely, that Customer Service should never use anecdotal experiences with whatever product example they might have laying around, as the standard of how the product should perform. Doesn't matter if the product is new, or old.

Attn: Weber CS, when confronted with a curve ball:
1) Confirm the behavior with Product Planners/Marketing.
2) Confirm the behavior with Engineering.
3) There is no Step 3.

I like Justin quite a bit. His genuine honesty comes through in his videos crystal clear. He's "one of us." But Justin should NOT have received a free grill. Not as a customer, not as a Grilling Media Personality, not as a reviewer.

Professional reviewers can be defined as anyone who makes money or benefits from giving an opinion. This includes ad revenue/perks from YouTube videos or temporary employment opportunities from alignments with manufacturers such as Adrenaline Barbecue, as Justin has done.

That said, it is longstanding practice in some industries to extend to reviewers a roughly 50% off price for products purchased. And FYI, possession of super-"long term" demo models are not ethical.

Justin's heart is in the right place but I am disappointed he accepted the kettle. And from the CEO! You cannot remain insulated from bias, when gifted.


P.S. I hope Weber reconsiders the leg sockets paint targets for all kettles. They do rust through, and faster than anything else.

[Troy]

Justin's heart is in the right place but I am disappointed he accepted the kettle. And from the CEO! You cannot remain insulated from bias, when gifted.

I disagree about this bias. I hear about it often, and I certainly see cases of it.... but blanketing isn't accurate. Some people are capable of remaining objective.


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[BBQ Jack]

Sending a new grill is appropriate in view of the complaints made by BBM and the resulting dialog with the president who was generous with his time and his product to pacify a customer. BBM is best at entertaining us with his videos but Weber has gone extra miles to help him, more so than other companies might, so maybe BBM should not be too hard on them. I mean any smoke that is coming out the side of his summit will only come out the top vent anyway. Weber got stung on this LE and needs realize how important quality is to their loyal customer base.   

[Jon]

Justin's heart is in the right place but I am disappointed he accepted the kettle. And from the CEO! You cannot remain insulated from bias, when gifted.

I disagree about this bias. I hear about it often, and I certainly see cases of it.... but blanketing isn't accurate. Some people are capable of remaining objective.


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Yeah. I could completely maintain my objectivequity and objecquosity and objectivity if people would send me free stuff.

Here. Right now. A challenge. Send me free stuff and I will remain objective.

All joking aside - reviewers get all sorts of free goods. They usually remain truthful and objective. Most viewers and readers can tell who is a shill and who is not.

[LightningBoldtz]

Justin was a fan before this phone conversation, I have had many discussions with him on facebook, he is a genuine dude.

I don't think this move is going to make him "shill" for weber as he has all kinds of cookers in his backyard, I am sure a few are freebies.  I know that Kamado Joe is a freebie, he points out the good and bad.

Am I jealous that he gets free stuff and I don't, well he has spent the time and effort outside his normal day to make entertaining videos and I have not so you reap what you sow and he is reaping free stuff.

[HoosierKettle]

Does a small wisp of smoke on a summit cause any problem?  From his past videos, it sounds like he really likes the summit and didn't mention that it caused any problems. In other words, who gives a shit if you have a tiny wisp of smoke coming out of your grill where it's not suppose to?  I get that it's expensive, but I would go crazy making phone calls and worrying to death about every tiny thing that isn't perfect on everything I own.




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