The Weber Era Seems to Be Over


 
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Gary McD

TVWBB Pro
I walked into my Ace Hardware Store today, and the manager, who sold me an EP Genesis last summer, grabbed me. He took me over to look at a brand Weber 22.5 grill. I was shocked at what I saw! It appears that the quality of our beloved brand has headed way south. The Manager asked me "How long do you think that grill will last?" My response not very long.

Has anyone else seen the new grills that they are turning out now?
 
i've seen some floor models but not sure how new they were. what was wrong with the one you looked at ? other new ones the same or was it maybe a bad one that got through ?
 
The entire grill was flimsy and the handle on the lid was this huge cheap thing. I should have taken a picture of the grill with my iPhone, but I didn't think of that then.

I don't think that the grill would last very long under normal conditions.
 
ok, i bet he's refering to the platinum. yes it does seem cheaper but its still decent quality. i just don't like the design.
 
I saw a brand new floor model the other day that had a different design on the one touch handle.
 
I can hardly wait (insert yawn here) to see the new models..
I'm actually hoping Target gets something cool this year..
 
Honestly, if they (Weber) loose the quality, it will be the end. I am sure they know this. Even if they move everything over seas, IMO it will be the end. Those of us that like a grill to last 30 plus years do not mind paying more money for them. If I have to buy an entirely 100% Chinese Weber, then I will buy used only from now on!
I think I paid 60 or 70 dollars for my 22 inch Weber kettle almost 20 years ago and my In-laws said back then "Thats a lot of money to spend for a grill" !! They are on they're 3rd or 4th cheapo (save them money) gas grill since then!!
 
Can't help but think back to the change in ownership to an "investment group" last year. Investment groups buy to make a profit and boost their financials..Not a thing in the world wrong with that; However (though overall it would not be a smart move) I'm sure it has occurred to some analyst that Weber's are overbuilt compared to most of their competitors. Personally, I thought they would cut back on their customer support/warranty stuff before they would start cutting back on the quality of the grill itself.

But I was a little shocked to see their "bright idea" this year was to roll out the new Performer. The idea to take the gas starter out of the performer and still charge a crap load of money for it hardly instills confidence in me regarding where this thing is going.

Fortunately for them, Weber has SUCH a strong brand that it if they start squeezing the life out of it, it will take decades to destroy the goodwill they'be built up over the last century. For example, my grandmother bought a piece of junk grill from Sears last summer purely because it had the name Kenmore on it...even though it's not near the quality she thinks it is. When I was putting it together for her, I saw in the instructions where it literally said not to run the grill on high for more than 5 minutes because the thin metal will start to melt.

I HOPE somebody at Weber wises is up and doesn't allow this to happen to our beloved Weber.

(stepping off of the soapbox)
 
Great post Justin.

Reducing quality is never the way to cut costs. It ends up hurting the business in the long run. Removing the gas starter from the Performer and charging the same price is the kind of thing that upsets a customer following. I am hoping we don't see things like discontinuing the One Touch Gold series and charging "Gold" Prices for the Silver. Time will tell. I am not ready to sound the gong for the end of Weber as we know it just yet though.
 
Let it be pointed out that Weber will still make the Performer with the gas assist, but will offer it without it as well. Im curious to see what the price difference will be.

Maybe Weber is partially a victim of their own success. Look how long the kettle grills last for the most part. Other than wood handles that deteriorate, and one touch systems that need replacing...the rest of the grill has almost been bullet proof and last almost forever. Maybe if they take the quality down a notch, it will generate more sales in the future for them by way of the grills just not lasting as long.
I wonder what grill it was that Gary saw. I tend to think George might be right in assuming it was the new Platinum. That grill is very cheaply made in my opinion and feels like it too. It was also way overpriced in relation to the Performer which is a far superior all around grill.
Lets hope we dont start seeing junkie kettles. Im glad I have all of my oldies. I think they be around longer than I will!
 
I was thinking that they were removing the gas assist from the Performer for liability purposes. I could see some, (pardon my bluntness) idiot leaving the gas on and causing some kind of injury or fire. But if they are going to sell 2 similiar grills, one with and one without then I have no idea what is behind the marketing strategy.
The pricing had better be good or else the sales will plummet.
And Home Depot still needs to get their act together.. (had to throw that in.)
 
I have to wonder if this website hasn't created more Weber product sales than Weber's own website over the past few years.

It's the middle of the day, on a work day, and presently there are 29 members, and 133 guests on TVWBB.

If Weber doesn't closely monitor this site for input, it's their loss.
 
I think our small group is probably not enough to influence a megacorp.
They want to sell a Million, not 150..
It would be cool to have some influence a new product or improve on an old one.
Can you say, "Factory Approved Modification"
 
Some things I will upgrade because of obsolescence (computers are one example). My barbecuing and grilling equipment isn't in that category. It's nice to know the Webers I've purchased are built to last my lifetime (and maybe my children's)! I use some of them a lot, others just occasionally. But like most of us on this forum, I take very good care of all my Webers... and since they all work perfectly it would take an act of God to destroy one to the point of having to replace it! My son is still using the one a 10' X 25' metal patio roof fell on! The only damage was one of the legs pushed into the bottom bowl and caused a large "dent" in the bowl. I hammered it out as best I could so it would sit level again, and remarkably there was no damage to the porcelain!

I hope Weber maintains their quality just in case God has other plans for another one of my Webers....
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">They want to sell a Million, not 150.. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Registered Members: 6777
I realize that many of these members no longer participate, but add the several hundred visitors per day, and it is a small force.
Enough that I would be paying attention.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AJ S.:
I was thinking that they were removing the gas assist from the Performer for liability purposes. I could see some, (pardon my bluntness) idiot leaving the gas on and causing some kind of injury or fire. But if they are going to sell 2 similiar grills, one with and one without then I have no idea what is behind the marketing strategy.
The pricing had better be good or else the sales will plummet.
And Home Depot still needs to get their act together.. (had to throw that in.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Good point about liability, but why sell both? Either get out of the has starter business or not. What kind of discount will be given to the one without the gas starter? Not much I would assume as that feature is a small cost of producing the overall unit.

On another note, is the Platinum really that different? Seems to me they put tables on the sides of a OT Gold, or am I wrong on that?
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by george curtis:
ok, i bet he's refering to the platinum. yes it does seem cheaper but its still decent quality. i just don't like the design. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

i bet you're right.

i checked one out today. loose. wobbly. bolted on. ick.

the other models were the same though.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AJ S.:
I was thinking that they were removing the gas assist from the Performer for liability purposes. I could see some, (pardon my bluntness) idiot leaving the gas on and causing some kind of injury or fire. But if they are going to sell 2 similiar grills, one with and one without then I have no idea what is behind the marketing strategy.
The pricing had better be good or else the sales will plummet.
And Home Depot still needs to get their act together.. (had to throw that in.) </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I think their intent is to eventually discontinue the Platinum. That grill has not been a big seller for them, in fact it's been a real dud so far.

The price of the Performer w/o the gas assist is $279. Why on earth would anyone even want to buy the Platinum when you can get the Performer w/o the gas assist for just $30 more? That is an absolute no-brainer.

My take is that they realized that the Platinum will never be a big seller so why not just offer the Performer w/o the gas assist for a little more $$?

I bet they discontinue the Platinum pretty soon. Maybe as early as next year.

I think the Performer w/o the gas assist will also boost sales of the regular Performer so that's probably another reason they're offering this model now. If a customer is looking at getting the Performer w/o the gas assist the salesperson can tell them "for just $50 more you can get the Performer with the Touch and Go Gas Ignition".

I really doubt they'll discontinue the OTG since that grill is one of their top sellers.
 
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