I was not going to post this experience, but after sharing the experience with some friends, we found out they were having problems with the same place! So people should know what they're getting into prior and that is why I've posted the experience.
After purchasing the Big Green Egg the unit was delivered to my neighbor's home with the expectation it would be assembled for delivery to me on Christmas. However, wanting it to be a surprise, the store owner, Larry Traylor, suggested it be assembled in two pieces then transported to my home from my neighbor's for final assembly. However the men who delivered it said that was not a good idea and recommended they assemble the base and we could do the rest Christmas Day. They said it was very easy. Well, maybe so for those who are experienced. Please note, we had no issues with them-they were very polite. It is the owner who is the problem - Larry Traylor.
Well, on Christmas Day, we got it to the point where we needed to add the lid, but were confused because the instructions stated we needed to use spacers, but none were included as we checked all the packaging very carefully. Larry later stated the spacers were not necessary, but, the instructions seemed clear that it was important to utilize the spacers. How To You Tube videos we watched prior to trying to proceed suggested it was important to do it "right". So why include spacers or talk about them in the instructions if they're not needed? What we found on-line suggested proper lid assembly was critical and the screws needed to be tightened in rotation and so tight they bend - this was not explained to us by the seller. So, at this point we got a little nervous and stopped construction.
On Monday my wife called and left a message for the owner - the store voicemail stated they were closed Monday but did not say they were closed Tuesday too. Unusual from my perspective as I've been in retail 30 years and retailers usually open the day after Christmas as it is a huge retail traffic day. Never the less, late on Tuesday, two days after Christmas, we had not received a return call, so we called the store. The owner answered and my wife stated, "I'm not sure if you got my message from yesterday, but we're having some trouble". He proceeded to tell her, that they were not open, and that he had just come by for some paperwork and happened to answer the phone. He said he wanted to deal with this the next day. It was obvious we were bothering him, as he kept saying "I'm not even supposed to be here today." I said, "I just want your guys to come finish assembly" and he stated they would even if they had to do it on their own time. We agreed to wait, but by 11:30 AM the next day I had not heard from him, so I called him (I believe he should've called me). Right? He was defensive and again rude stating he spoke to his guys and they said, we said we'd assemble it. He was raising his voice and being rude, so I told him I was just going to contact BGE Corporate and he replied, "I don't care". At that point, I just hung up. He then called the house and verbally jousted with my wife finally agreeing to send his guys back out Friday, December 30th to complete the assembly.
He stated to my wife "what kind of people are you, I've never had an experience like this before." A lie, based on the results of a brief internet search that showed many unhappy people along with our friends who expressed concerns.
After Larry's horrible customer service, my preference was to have Larry pick up the unused BGE and refund my money, but my wife stated they do not allow refunds on the BGE. How disappointing. So we let the guys finish the job. This was the only positive as the installers were very customer focused and polite.
I did send an email to BGE customer support and I called them. To date, no response from them. I called again today and Dwayne suggested they did not call me back yet because of the holidays and said "it's hard to get to emails because you all keep calling and emailing us" Yes, that's a quote.
If you buy from them, just know, once it's out the door, you're on your own. We're happy with the BGE, but their customer service was also very poor. read more