SmokeFire issues on YouTube.


 
J Grotz said:
Weber just posted a SmokeFire support video that does not address any of the well-known issues

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Well, there's a couple waisted minutes. I wonder if this is the first of many to follow as they try to get a handle on things. They can post several videos and when people call with problems the response can be, watch the tutorial.
 
Yes, I have to agree that over at Traeger, Rec Tec, Camp Chef, Pit Boss & Co. the nervous squirming is probably giving way to great relief. Meanwhile at the headquarters of the private equity group that owns Weber they are probably lining up the heads to rollo_O...

I predicted in another thread that before year-end I expect to see a new Rec Tec flagship grill to replace the RT-700 like the one I own. I still expect that, but now I believe they will take a much more conservative approach to be sure to avoid anything resembling this catastrophe. Rear vents instead of a smokestack, yes. But I doubt they will vary far from the fully shielded firebox model that has worked well for them.
 
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Jason in CA said:
Not really anything new here. To me the most interesting part was his comments about when he called Weber and what their response was.

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Not sure why he's concerned about no pellets in the auger. If he went through the shutdown then there shouldn't be. Sounds like he had that pellet void, which caused the temperature to drop.

I did my burn in yesterday after I got mine assembled and will do a couple of steaks this afternoon.
 
Raleigh W. said:
Not sure why he's concerned about no pellets in the auger. If he went through the shutdown then there shouldn't be. Sounds like he had that pellet void, which caused the temperature to drop.

I did my burn in yesterday after I got mine assembled and will do a couple of steaks this afternoon.
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I had the same thought about the empty auger It makes me wonder how many people actually read the manual before making videos I've seen a few of his videos now. He's definitely not my favorite Chanel. I can't honestly say I've ever watched his content before the Smoke Fire stuff and have no desire to follow him beyond this.

My biggest take away from everything I've seen him do is Weber's response (lack of) to his problems. I'm thinking many others by now have been told "we'll get back to you".

It really is leading me to believe Weber at this point has no clue and is scrambling to salvage this debacle.
 
Jason in CA said:
Well, there's a couple waisted minutes. I wonder if this is the first of many to follow as they try to get a handle on things. They can post several videos and when people call with problems the response can be, watch the tutorial.
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I was half joking but here we go



At this point it's just becoming comical. I know they are trying but these videos aren't going to solve design problems like pellets not dropping, among other things. Like others have said, they can update the software once it's out, but not so much the hardware.
 
Jason in CA said:
Imy at work and won't be able to finish this until later. But since I saw it was posted I thought I'd share it.

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I don't blame him for throwing in the towel, not satisfied and nothing to prove. I wonder if the other people that were invited out for the Weber dog and pony show feel similar in terms of what they were told versus the reality that we are seeing play out?
 
Another "steak" driven into the heart I am afraid. I couldn't watch the whole thing, but breezing through it and listening at the end it seems he is throwing in the towel on the SmokeFire. He said it would be his last video about it. :confused: Since Weber chose him as an "influencer" and invited him to the big event in November this is a pretty bad outcome.
 
I like BBM but damn he looks defeated.
I may return mine when the window is up, who knows. The whole right side being hotter is certainly weird, even on those pizzas today the right side was finished 10 min sooner.
I’m definitely disappointed with the whole thing. Weber hype got me pretty excited, drove some coworkers crazy with videos of the inner working and even got some traeger guys pissed. Oops.
 
Bruno said:
I like BBM but damn he looks defeated.
I may return mine when the window is up, who knows. The whole right side being hotter is certainly weird, even on those pizzas today the right side was finished 10 min sooner.
I’m definitely disappointed with the whole thing. Weber hype got me pretty excited, drove some coworkers crazy with videos of the inner working and even got some traeger guys pissed. Oops.
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He looks completely defeated. It also sounds like he feels betrayed and lied to by Weber. He mentioned in a previous video that he feels guilty for adding to the hype machine for this product. Feels partially responsible for people buying it. I am sure he feels used as well.
 
I wonder when Harry Soo, Amazing Ribs and the other influencers at the intro shindig will weigh in? Meathead says Max Good is testing the Smokefire currently. With the way the SmokeFire rollout has blown up, I'm surprised they are sitting on the sidelines so long. It's not like the issues only arose after weeks of cooking. If I was one of the 17 influencers at the November 2019 introduction, like BBM I would be embarrassed. But unlike BBM, I would likely be angry at Weber for messing with my reputation and livelihood.
 
J Grotz said:
I wonder when Harry Soo, Amazing Ribs and the other influencers at the intro shindig will weigh in? Meathead says Max Good is testing the Smokefire currently. With the way the SmokeFire rollout has blown up, I'm surprised they are sitting on the sidelines so long. It's not like the issues only arose after weeks of cooking. If I was one of the 17 influencers at the November 2019 introduction, like BBM I would be embarrassed. But unlike BBM, I would likely be angry at Weber for messing with my reputation and livelihood.
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I was reading elsewhere that the longer these guys stay silent the more it could them. I know BBM paid for his, ask Dad other influencers I've seen post. I wonder if Webber offered The silent ones a free Grill and they're under some sort of contract to not post bad reviews? And another red they leaped onto a Facebook group and shut them down, which is not cool at all. Weber's PR department is going all out at the moment trying to put out fires. I've also noticed that it's hard to find reviews online and the ones that do have posted reviews have been stuck for a while with nothing new coming in. Which makes me believe the Weber team is trying to silence the outcry. This a train wreck for them already, with another high-speed train approaching that has no brakes.
 
Man! This going from a sad, OK really bad, roll out to shades of Watergate. I know others here figure that Weber will survive this, but my gut instinct tells me that this hardly a sure thing. It’s a little like the tainted Tylenol situation except they responded fast, openly and went all out to save their reputation. And that situation wasn’t even their fault. This...well I am still trying to decide what really happened to allow this disaster to unleash. Did they really fully know? Were their testers out to lunch? I don’t know.,,
 
Jason in CA said:
I was reading elsewhere that the longer these guys stay silent the more it could them. I know BBM paid for his, ask Dad other influencers I've seen post. I wonder if Webber offered The silent ones a free Grill and they're under some sort of contract to not post bad reviews? And another red they leaped onto a Facebook group and shut them down, which is not cool at all. Weber's PR department is going all out at the moment trying to put out fires. I've also noticed that it's hard to find reviews online and the ones that do have posted reviews have been stuck for a while with nothing new coming in. Which makes me believe the Weber team is trying to silence the outcry. This a train wreck for them already, with another high-speed train approaching that has no brakes.
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If the Weber PR dept gets good at putting out fires, they can make a video for all the SmokeFire owners that are biting grease....seriously, I thought that BBM said the free grill offer came without strings or a non-disclosure but I may have heard that wrong. Regardless, the other influencers that hyped the product after their visit should get out ahead of this debacle. Being silent looks like they're complicit.
 
I'm at work an saw this. I've got five minutes left on break so I have no idea how this is going to go. It will be a while before I can watch it.
 
I'm in manufacturing and have been on the wrong side of an electro-mechanical product launch that failed miserably. I will guarantee that the Private Equity group pushed this launch. My guess is that engineers reported all of the issues and cautioned against it. Someone convinced decision-makers that a 'software patch' would fix everything and be ready before distribution got going or easily implemented post-launch.

How Weber treats their dealers now will determine whether they sink or not. THD, Ace,True Value and Lowes have solid contracts that they will not absorb these losses nor the freight to return the product to Weber.

God forbid that somebody gets hurt from a grease fire and the CPSC steps in. When products are launched with issues and the issues receive this much publicity, unscrupulous people buy them up and try to create a lawsuit condition. If CPSC rules negligence in the launch, saying Weber knew of the safety issue and still launched, the jury awards can get into huge dollars. An ambulance chasers dream.
 
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