It's all going to be OK?


 
Lew Newby said:
Now that's an uplifting message. LOL I don't think this fiasco will kill Weber but it will damage them. Credibility is a big thing even for Weber Fanboys.
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I don't think it will kill them either but they have some hard decisions to make. If you keep pumping them out the more its going to cost you in returns. I don't know if this is true but on another forum today if you bought it from Weber the question from a poster to Weber was can I return it. The answer if you used it actually took it out of the box and not sure about that portion but for sure if you used it unless they deemed it as being defective they would not take it back. Another reason to never buy it direct, Lowe's is not going to give you a problem.

Home Depot must be happy they sat this one out.
 
I am not as sure that Weber can overcome the cost and magnitude of this fiasco. If they have to do a complete recall, I don't see any simple fix like the $7 part that Ford had to retrofit on the Pinto. I hope that I am wrong. Weber I am sure is a solid enough company, but they are not a bottomless pit. Moreover, I think their retail sales have to have been declining based on the reports many here have posted about heavily discounted Weber grills and last year's grills being re-trotted out again for another season.
 
Maybe it’s a $10 part with inflation, they are using Ford glow plugs after all. Maybe they have Pinto engineers designing it. All kidding aside, I hope they prove they are a customer focused company still.
 
Seeing BBM on one of the other threads apparently toss in the towel on the SmokeFire is a pretty grave outcome. He was one of the special guests Weber invited back in November and now seems to feel pretty defeated about it all. Hardly what Weber was looking for or needed. This is starting to be a bigger debacle than I would have ever thought possible.
 
But Weber's response is to publish videos....are they really convinced that this is user error? Can't they see the design issues?
 
Thoughts on Weber's action plan as of now. Here are some random thoughts.

I have a suspension Weber's wording in the manual will soon be changed when it comes to the use of drip pans, if it hasn't already. And future shipments will come with one as soon as Weber can make one or find a cheap outsource for them. People that already bought one will be notified not to use the grill until one can be shipped out. That's just because of the liability issues they could be facing at this point.

The software can always be updated so that's not an issue for the future, but I have no idea why it's as bad as it is now.

The rest of the mechanical and design issues are obviously harder to deal with.

Finally there is Weber's reputation to deal with. Weber really stepped in it with that PR stunt. At this point BBM and other influencers can only be feeling used by Weber. and from what I can tell the influencers are also feeling guilty. They bought into the hype and we're excited just like the rest of us. But they also know people have gone out and bought these off their recommendation. Weber will have a black eye from this and it's well deserved. As a company I don't think it will be their downfall. However they better make damn sure anything they put out from here on is on is stellar both in quality materials and performance. on that note if weather is going to be done in by something, I believe it will be the bean counters who get final say on what goes out the door.

John asked in another thread if the sumet charcoal is a flop. Well,, no. It's a good grill with poor marking and a niche market.

However the Smoke Fire is a :poop: show with overhyped marketing trying to market itself to everyone Jack of all trades master of none. And currently a flop.
 
Think you may be right in that Weber will finesse the grease management issues. There is a thread on another forum where the customer contacted customer service where it was recommended to use a water pan on the bottom of the grill.
 
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