Have 4 Webers and find the quality and service to be going down hill.


 
C

Chris Kay

New member
The last few times I called Weber they have been no help at all. I register all my grills and have had no issues in the pass when it comes to service yet difficulty now. I also have noticed hey use inferior materials now as compared to the past when Weber grills were like tanks and now thinner guage on materials with more rust issues. Also now they want receipts for your grills to service you even if registered years ago where they have all the information. I'm starting to get a sour taste as never considered another product but may now in the future.
 
Weber was probably too lenient with the warranty a few years ago. I don’t blame them for tightening up. Companies like Weber and LL Bean got overwhelmed by warranty hacks.

They make a good grill for the money. The styling or design seems to favor looks and manufacture ease over durability.
 
Sure if you can find parts when they are discontinued. I guess it depends where you live and if many are available to buy used for parts. Not complaining that they made changes it's just not a top quality product anymore and the service has fallen some s well. They still make good grill but not so sure for the money anymore.
 
There is no doubt that the old ones were better made than the current offerings. Unfortunately the same can be said for many products made by many companies. As far as bad customer service, you didn't specifically mention what you were unhappy about so I have no idea if that's a legitimate beef or not.
 
Steve Hoch said:
There is no doubt that the old ones were better made than the current offerings. Unfortunately the same can be said for many products made by many companies. As far as bad customer service, you didn't specifically mention what you were unhappy about so I have no idea if that's a legitimate beef or not.
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I posted earlier on a different thread about a couple of recent experiences I had with customer service. I guess I have been use to being satisfied over the last 3 decades and just felt it was a hassle these last two times. No big deal maybe just frustrated.
 
Chris Allingham said:
Yes, sometimes Customer Service can be uneven. It's kind of the luck of the draw whether you get an agent who is knowledgable, caring, goes above/beyond, etc. and one that's not. :confused:
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Having spent 10 years (2010-2020) working in the Weber Americas Consumer Care department, your take is spot on. Depending on the time of year, there are dozens of agents all with varying degrees of knowledge depending on the length of their tenure, as well as their own personalities.

The consumer care team is empowered to go above and beyond (within reason), but it can be a very stressful job. We have thousands of SKUs/product models going back 70 years and it can take several years for a representative to become a pro at identifying and troubleshooting each one of them. The learning curve has become even higher in the past 10-15 years as the gas train systems, ignition systems, and most recently Smart/connected systems have become more and more complex.

Also, once you take into account that there is a certain, undesirable breed of consumer out there that can be quite rude and abusive to representatives and it can really change their attitude over the course of a day. They might have been a generous rep at the start of their shift, but after getting cussed out a few times they could become a bit more stingy by the end of that shift. Kindness goes an incredibly long way with how you interact with a consumer care representative.

#Iworkforweber

One more comment I thought of... There's also a breed of consumer that flagrantly abuses our warranty terms. We're already one of the most generous companies when it comes to the length of warranty on our products, as well as how often we cover things that are out of warranty. I can't share any figures, but the amount of no-charge parts we send out every year is substantial. And that is putting it mildly.

Certain consumers try to pass off second hand grills as if they are the original owner, and that is strictly against the warranty terms. The original owner will almost always take much better care of their grill than someone who bought it second hand or picked it up off the curb. But also, we have no idea how well that original owner took care of the grill. Maybe they were lazy and didn't perform any maintenance. Maybe they decided to make modifications to the grill. The bottom line is that second hand grills have no warranty for a variety of reasons, and those that attempt to push around consumer care representatives to get free parts that they are not entitled too can make a representative jaded and untrusting. Especially if they have been subject to corrective action or coaching from their supervisor for providing non-warranty parts for a situation where they were not covered.

There's also the consumer who doesn't do anything to take care of their grill and then want replacement parts for free. That is probably the most common type of consumer who wants free stuff but gets denied. I'd venture to say at least 25%-40% of the consumers I dealt with everyday fell into that category. Example: They have a 4 year old Genesis and want new burners, flavorizer bars, and a new ignition system. But, in talking to them I'd discover they have never cleaned anything below the cooking grates and it's become encrusted in inches worth of grease and debris, which has clogged their burners and trapped so much moisture in the grill that the flavorizer bars are developing holes and their igniters are encased with grease. Technically, none of that would qualify for replacement under warranty since they have not properly maintained the grill.
 
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Very late to the party, but I would echo what @Bruce said. Get yourself a well-restored "classic" Weber Genesis (think Genesis 1-5, x000 or Silver/Gold/Platinum) and you will be back to the "good old days" of when Webers were built to last and be handed down to another generation. Sure, I get what Weber is up against. Rising prices of materials and labor while consumer more and more see grills as a 5-year at most disposable item and are fixated on electronics. So, I can understand to some extent building new grills accordingly. Me, I would rather have a REAL Weber made here in the US and then lovingly restored:

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@John Burns - Thank you for that write up. It is cool to get the Weber side. I have never called Weber customer service. Even though I am newer to gas grills, when my Performer's burner tube crapped out when it was about 3 years old, I went to the hardware store and bought a replacement. I knew I could probably get a free one under warranty, but I figured it was just an excessive use thing. We grilled ALL the time. We went thru ridiculous amounts of charcoal so like brakes on a car, I considered it a wear item.
 
John, you're singing the tune of literally every person who's ever been involved in some type of customer service. I know I did it for most of my adult life. Likely in some ways all my adult life. I don't care what field you care to mention, cars, grills, office equipment, airline work, name it There is ALWAYS a certain faction of customer/consumer who'll try your patience. IDK how old you are, but I'd venture to say I have a lot of years on you. Having worked for well in excess of 50 years in some form of customer service let's just say I could write a book. Sadly it's the nature of the beast and in today's "entitled" society it's not getting better. I'll relate just one incident but this is what I faced every day sometimes worse even.
One night, working incredibly bad irregular ops at O'Hare, trying to reroute/reticket hundreds of angry passengers, a younger woman came up. Stressed and having booked through multiple web sites, with multiple airlines (a warning if you EVER travel DO NOT use companies like Travelocity and such. They will do ticketing that will literally leave you stranded FAR away from home due to these illicit practices). So, this woman was booked for part of her travel with my airline, another leg with another airline, and then yet ANOTHER to get her to a final. Needless to say I worked and scammed my own ticketing system for her to do everything I could. Reticketed her, literally for free to her final but she'd have to cover her own accommodations for the evening. Of course this set her off, and she said there was no point in her traveling. Could I just get her home? OK, so yet again I scammed and cheated my own company to try and accommodate her. And I was able to find a way to get her home FOR FREE! Needless to say I was risking SEVERE disciplinary action for the things I was doing. Then, after I rebooked and finagled everything, she then changed her mind AGAIN and wanted me to send her to the final destination after all. At that point I told her I was done and could/would do no more. Rather than at least be grateful for all I did, she got in my face and yelled "You a RASCIST!" Thankfully one of my dearest friends in the company (who is a female of the same race) came out from behind the counter and gave her an earful the likes of which I've never heard. Thank heavens for my friend because she'd been working next to me and knew exactly what I was doing for her and how far I'd pushed the system.
This kind of thing happened to all of us, multiple times a night, EVERY night. And yet I still could not believe what an incredible job I had. Because when you helped just one person who understood and was grateful they made up for 10 of the b&*&ches I had to put with like that one.
Anyway it is something if you get into that business you have to learn how to "deflect". At least you're behind a phone and do not need to worry about physical altercations like I and my colleagues had to worry about. And believe me many of my friends were put in hospital.
Anyway just try to put on a good front for every person. It's all you can do
 
The one on the left would never have made it onto my deck. My early Genesis grills are still cooking and looking good. I find no reason to "upgrade" to something that might last ten years. My old ones were still cooking like new after 30+ years with very little maintenance.
So, yeah. No contest. I guess the only problem for Weber is that they built it so well that I never need to buy a new grill...
Gerry
 
G Schafer said:
The one on the left would never have made it onto my deck. My early Genesis grills are still cooking and looking good. I find no reason to "upgrade" to something that might last ten years. My old ones were still cooking like new after 30+ years with very little maintenance.
So, yeah. No contest. I guess the only problem for Weber is that they built it so well that I never need to buy a new grill...
Gerry
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Couldn't have said it better myself👌🏼
The Weber SPX 435 smart Grill on the left was just a flip
 
LMichaels said:
John, you're singing the tune of literally every person who's ever been involved in some type of customer service. I know I did it for most of my adult life. Likely in some ways all my adult life. I don't care what field you care to mention, cars, grills, office equipment, airline work, name it There is ALWAYS a certain faction of customer/consumer who'll try your patience. IDK how old you are, but I'd venture to say I have a lot of years on you. Having worked for well in excess of 50 years in some form of customer service let's just say I could write a book. Sadly it's the nature of the beast and in today's "entitled" society it's not getting better. I'll relate just one incident but this is what I faced every day sometimes worse even.
One night, working incredibly bad irregular ops at O'Hare, trying to reroute/reticket hundreds of angry passengers, a younger woman came up. Stressed and having booked through multiple web sites, with multiple airlines (a warning if you EVER travel DO NOT use companies like Travelocity and such. They will do ticketing that will literally leave you stranded FAR away from home due to these illicit practices). So, this woman was booked for part of her travel with my airline, another leg with another airline, and then yet ANOTHER to get her to a final. Needless to say I worked and scammed my own ticketing system for her to do everything I could. Reticketed her, literally for free to her final but she'd have to cover her own accommodations for the evening. Of course this set her off, and she said there was no point in her traveling. Could I just get her home? OK, so yet again I scammed and cheated my own company to try and accommodate her. And I was able to find a way to get her home FOR FREE! Needless to say I was risking SEVERE disciplinary action for the things I was doing. Then, after I rebooked and finagled everything, she then changed her mind AGAIN and wanted me to send her to the final destination after all. At that point I told her I was done and could/would do no more. Rather than at least be grateful for all I did, she got in my face and yelled "You a RASCIST!" Thankfully one of my dearest friends in the company (who is a female of the same race) came out from behind the counter and gave her an earful the likes of which I've never heard. Thank heavens for my friend because she'd been working next to me and knew exactly what I was doing for her and how far I'd pushed the system.
This kind of thing happened to all of us, multiple times a night, EVERY night. And yet I still could not believe what an incredible job I had. Because when you helped just one person who understood and was grateful they made up for 10 of the b&*&ches I had to put with like that one.
Anyway it is something if you get into that business you have to learn how to "deflect". At least you're behind a phone and do not need to worry about physical altercations like I and my colleagues had to worry about. And believe me many of my friends were put in hospital.
Anyway just try to put on a good front for every person. It's all you can do
Click to expand...
I can't imagine having to work at an airline desk! I did spend about 10 years in retail prior to joining the Weber Consumer Care team, so I had my fair share of in-person interactions, but these were minor consumer issues compared to expensive travel related situations. Both my parents worked for many years at banks, and dealing with peoples money is another situation I'd never want to have to deal with. I count myself very lucky for my time on the Consumer Care team, because as you mentioned, those times when you could help someone and they were grateful (which was most times) made it all worth it. You've definitely got to have a thick skin to get through the less than pleasant interactions, and not everyone learns how to shed the frustration as well as others. Fortunately for me, I'm pretty laid back and always tried to treat everyone I dealt with as I would want to be treated, so I never found the job too stressful and gathered my fair share of memorable interactions that are now funny/interesting stories.
 
I would imagine that dealing with the public has become exponentially more difficult in recent (maybe not so recent) years.
Common courtesy seems to be out the window, and most people seem to blame everything but themselves when they are at fault.
I would hate to be in customer service. Probably another reason ( besides cost) why it's going overseas...

Gerry
 
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