Bob Erdman
TVWBB Pro
Nooo..... Glad you have a back up.
Well Look What Arrived Early
- Thread starter LMichaels
- Start date
ChuckO
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I know your pain. My first SmokeFire arrived with a massive dent in the side, fortunately I bought it directly from Weber, they told me to go ahead and use it until they can send out a replacement. After they sent out the replacement, they waited until I assembled it and made sure everything was fine, then they issued an RMA for the dented one, and had it picked up fully assembled. Yeah, I had to assemble two SF, but I basically got to demo one for free for a couple weeks. When they picked up the dented SF, they also took both boxes and packaging material. I was glad I bought directly from Weber
Mark Silver
TVWBB Wizard
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
just a suggestion, you might be better off emailing them and sending the pics. i've mostly given up on calling companies as they're understaffed and ill-staffed on phones. and this way you have a full record of your convo and issue details.
i did just this for a shower wand that broke on our 10 year old shower panel. ordered the replacement part at a given discount and never had to speak with a human. pure bliss. next we'll see if i receive the correct part.
sorry for your frustrations. unfortunately, shipping companies just don't care.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Well the beauty is Sam's has customer satisfaction guarantee. They're sending a brand new one and told me not to worry about trying to return the other. So I am continuing to assemble it. To make it easier I removed the hopper assembly, turned the grill on it's back, installed the legs and casters. Now because it's so large and awkward I am hoping to get a quick hand from a neighbor to set it on it's "feet". My guess is other than slight stickiness of the lid opening it should function fine. If so I will have 3 pellet cookers LOL
Brett-EDH
TVWBB Hall of Fame
I can see you selling the dented one for a few bucks to recoup your costs....
i haven't a clue what you'd need 3 poopers for. but hey, to each their own.
Timothy F. Lewis
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I have a feeling Larry will make out just fine, maybe he’s just got a lot to poop about!
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Actually debating on what to do. No I am not going to have 3 poppers LOL. Neighbor has already made the desire known to buy one off me. But, OTOH I could gift one. The issue would be the MM or dented Z Grill in either case. I've moved the dented one to it's temp home on the deck and will finish assembling it tomorrow weather permitting. If so it will see fire tomorrow
Rich Dahl
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Little different scenario. I have a performer and a Jumbo Joe as my charcoal cookers. As much as I like the performer it's kind of a waste for two people which is what it is 99% of the time. So I got the JJ for cooking for the two of us and only use the performer for bigger cooks.
This has worked out really well as I use much less charcoal, and the JJ is so much easier to clean. Also the older I get the more I like the less and easier part.
Although my Camp Chef is a 24 it will hold more than I would ever need. Which is probably the same with your MM. My vote would be to keep the MM and unload the extra XL. But your YMMV.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I'm leaning that way. Particularly since one will live in the garage. My garage is so dinky I think the MM will fill that bill. I have a Jumbo Joe as well and is my charcoal cooker. But quite honestly it only comes out for tuna steaks
ChuckO
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Wow! Now that's some good customer service. I wonder if Z Grills told them not to bother taking back returns? If word gets out, that could come back and bite them
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I think it may have to do with Sam's having hired some fly by night freight company who did not even have enough common sense to look at the box and understand the simple instructions with arrows "Keep this side up". If I am Z Grills what do I care? I am still getting paid
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Well I promised no BS observation. It went through all the start up stuff outlined in the instructions until the very last part. The control panel went nuts and now flashes nothing but unintelligible characters (even though the grill "appears" to operate). No clue why, Their CS is an absolute joke. Should be labeled as CNS. (Customer No Service!). Really second thinking telling Sam's to just refund my $$$$ take this monstrosity back and do something else. I will update if they ever get back to me and actually offer some type of help. I will say at least with Member's Mark you actually reach someone if you have an issue. So VERY disappointed here right now
Mark Silver
TVWBB Wizard
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Well during one of the panel's "lucid" moments, I was able to set up the WIFI/Bluetooth app. Oddly it appears it's only the display that is having issues. The app though a little primitive seems to be doing everything it's supposed to and I have chicken on it as I type. BTW after 2 days of trying to reach them they FINALLY called back. Said it could be as much as 2 weeks before they can get new panel ordered. Apparently common issue. Hmmm, just like what happened with my Member's Mark. Though after asking they sent me another new hopper assembly complete. Auger, motors, control panel and so on.
Bob Erdman
TVWBB Pro
How did the bird turn out? Nice score on the extra parts for your aggravation.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The cook on the bird pieces was excellent. The spare hopper assembly though is for the Member's Mark not for the Z Grill. Makes me curious. What percentage of people have "bad luck" or "dislike" their purchase of a pellet cooker they chose (regardless of brand) to indicate their dissatisfaction in a review. I.E Z Grills has a smaller bother to the one I just received called the ZGB705 same grill only about the same size as an EX4. Noted on Amazon, less than 10% reviews below a 3 star. And many of those complaining of something other than operation i.e. "everything covered in shipping oil" or "too heavy to move easily". Nothing to do with how it actually operates. Yet well over 70% 4 or 5 star glowing reviews. Also many major YouTube "influencers" give glowing reviews of this very same model or the little brother model
So I wonder how much feedback other brands like Traeger, Weber, Camp Chef, and so on get the same kind of feedback and am I being too "picky" over what may be a simple mfg defect? Because quite honestly I am very much considering telling Sam's to cancel the shipment of the new one to replace this damaged one, refunding me and perhaps looking for a different product or simply getting a second one of the Member's Mark I currently have?
After all it seems the only "real" difference among many of them has nothing to do with the actual "grill" since all the internals on so many of them are simply generic "off the shelf" components. Seems the only "real" differences are in the control boards and the construction of the grill bodies (double walled or not, stack or no stack, etc) The MM and Z push most all the right "buttons" for me. double walled gasketed construction, solid build, no stack, and hidden easy to access grease drawer (no bucket dangling on the side).
I should add BTW, the temp control on the Z is really great. That screen shot was done just after I had opened the lid to check on the chicken. Otherwise it was holding very tightly to set temp. keeping within 5 deg
Bob Erdman
TVWBB Pro
I feel your pain. After the two failed attempts to operate my smokefire I was almost ready to send it back. As long as you have a return window, you do, see how it plays out.