Pitmaker Customer Service

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bshell7

Knows what a fatty is.
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So as you guys may have seen I posted pics on here of my new Sniper Magnum.

As pointed out you can see no intake vent in the pic...well they put it on the backside of the cooker. For the life of me I can't figure out why...Pete from PM said it was to improve the draft vs. in the door. That doesn't seem right either but even if that is so why not at least put it on the FRONT side of the smoker and not the back.

PM knew this was going to be mounted in a BBQ trailer so not sure how they thought I was going to climb over it to adjust the damper. I offered the solution of sending me a new door with damper built in. At my expense I would remove the old door, take it to a fab shop and have the new one welded on. This cooker is about 1000lbs and that is no small task. If I didn't have trucks at work to do this I wouldn't be able to move it. I even offered to send the door on it back to them. That was on Monday. No returned call. Several unanswered emails.

Has anyone else had poor service from them? The craftsmanship is great but the guy running the welder is not the guy answering the phone and dealing with the customers...

Was told today by a different guy they are all at some big Rodeo BBQ contest with no cell service and no internet..uh this is 2014 bro...I'm not believing that one. When I asked how long it would take to get me a door I was told 2 weeks!! So I'm going to be almost a month out from the time it shipped to me.

Pete is supposed to call me Monday. I emailed he and Victor twice twice this week. I hate being a dxxk but you can see what I paid for this thing and I expected a little better service than what I'm getting. Just a heads up. I will post the resolution as it happens.

The only upside is it really does cook great. I've done a couple fatty's and two racks of ribs after work. Going to cook a Brisket this weekend.
 

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I have never heard anything bad about the CS other than getting a call returned when they are short staffed. I don't have Cell service at my house I have to drive 5 miles to hit the Tower so... If you're mounting it in a trailer why not add an extension handle to the intake seems like that could possibly solve the problem. Were they aware of it's final resting place before you ordered it? Did you show them the trailer layout and where the pit was to be located? That should have sent off a few bells or did you just assume it was located on the door? That do make a difference.
 
An unhappy customer should be priority ONE.
Why they have not at least responded to your concern with an acknowledgement of receipt is poor customer service.
Social media can be beneficial or damaging. Your issue will now live forever in cyberspace.
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I can tell you that they are the Houston Livestock and Rodeo this week and there probably isn't anyone at the shop. They do a huge production there and usually win best booth.

They really are great folks. Give them till Monday and try again.
 
I am too afraid to speak.. but maybe you should wait a bit.

:)
 
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Oh no...sorry... this is a much better way to tell you this.

Bigmista said:
I can tell you that they are the Houston Livestock and Rodeo this week and there probably isn't anyone at the shop. They do a huge production there and usually win best booth.

They really are great folks. Give them till Monday and try again.
Click to expand...


Here is Victor's big day

1794809_265055680337206_936519972_n.jpg
The Pitmaker Vendor Tent Going on as we speak!
 
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Hey he has a legit beef. I agree that he should wait till Monday and see what happens. To some of us spending that much money on a smoker is a once in a lifetime deal and to wait all that time can be heart breaking when it shows up not how you wanted it. I went to there web site and the pics show the damper in the door. He is just frustrated and I get that. Lets not bully up on him yet. I am sure when they do get back to him, he will update what has happened. Until then let this ride out.
 
Taking away the slow response time... the issue seems legit. Pretty crappy if the web is showing pics of vent on firebox door and they made design change and didn't update the pics.

As far as response times.. I get they are at a big show, but someone should have a cell phone and be able to deal with a customer issue for spending that kind of $.


Now, if there were hot girls in yoga pants under that party tent with poledancers, then Donnie is absolutely correct, and I can completely understand why a response might not be available until Monday...
 
padge31 said:
Hey he has a legit beef. I agree that he should wait till Monday and see what happens. To some of us spending that much money on a smoker is a once in a lifetime deal and to wait all that time can be heart breaking when it shows up not how you wanted it. I went to there web site and the pics show the damper in the door. He is just frustrated and I get that. Lets not bully up on him yet. I am sure when they do get back to him, he will update what has happened. Until then let this ride out.
Click to expand...

x2. You were a little harsh on him. In today's day and time, immediate customer service is expected. Whether that is reasonable or not is up to the individual.
 
The part where the guy tells you 2 weeks to get a new door is what blows my mind. That and having to track them down all week after purchasing a $4,000 product from them. Personally, there is no way I would settle for having a 3rd party cut the original wrong door off and weld on a new one to a pit that expensive that was built incorrectly or not as per the photos on their site.

As someone who deals in sales and ecommerce, it gets me really frustrated when I have to go out of my way and get loud and argumentative just to get a business to give me the proper service they should be giving me all along. Why do I have to become an @sshole to get someone to do what they should just be doing from the beginning.

And by the looks of the events and parties they are throwing and their expense budget, and the big ticket prices on the equipment they are selling, there is no reason for them not to have at least 1 guy back at the shop manning the phones, or spending $40 a month for a phone forwarding service like grasshopper. This is 2014, and if you are going to use the internet to spread the word about your product and use the internet to reach customers all over the world, you should also be using it to service these customers as well. A $3-5,000 bbq pit is a luxury item, and you need to have a certain level of customer service if you are going to operate in that market.
 
I can understand the original posters unhappiness. but give the principals of the company a chance to get back and address the issue before going online and flaming them. Was there an original purchase order that may have indicated the door being located on the back? Could that have been missed by the buyer?
I realize that $4,000 is a lot of money, but I would imagine that the Pitmaker guys have stepped away to enjoy themselves (why shouldn't they) and will get back to business after one of their biggest weekends of the year. It is a smoker for christ's sake, not a replacement heart. Sometimes people need to step back and take a breath, take the high road before pushing the nuke button. Maybe the poster works 365, 24/7 and doesn't think people are entitled to enjoy their lives. I always believe that there are two sides to a story and we have only heard one. Those that say the customer is always right, are wrong. The customer is usually right, and can absolutely be wrong. "The customer always being right" went out the door when people stopped being understanding, courteous, and respectful. If more people would give that a try they might see that they end up happier as a customer.
 
Baraqueda said:
I can understand the original posters unhappiness. but give the principals of the company a chance to get back and address the issue before going online and flaming them. Was there an original purchase order that may have indicated the door being located on the back? Could that have been missed by the buyer?
I realize that $4,000 is a lot of money, but I would imagine that the Pitmaker guys have stepped away to enjoy themselves (why shouldn't they) and will get back to business after one of their biggest weekends of the year. It is a smoker for christ's sake, not a replacement heart. Sometimes people need to step back and take a breath, take the high road before pushing the nuke button. Maybe the poster works 365, 24/7 and doesn't think people are entitled to enjoy their lives. I always believe that there are two sides to a story and we have only heard one. Those that say the customer is always right, are wrong. The customer is usually right, and can absolutely be wrong. "The customer always being right" went out the door when people stopped being understanding, courteous, and respectful. If more people would give that a try they might see that they end up happier as a customer.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Lets stop this thread and move on. I am sure it will work out in the end. What is everyone cooking this weekend. I plan on doing some summer sausage with cheese and jalapenos.
 
i got a headache trying to follow this crap..now that the bullcrap is scrubber, if you have nothing constructive to add to this, DO NOT POST IN IT. Next and any other worthless post gets a 10 day lockdown.


yes, i left the yoga pants on purpose.
 
Thanks. I like the door system on that smoker. I watched the video on it and if I were to go back to an offset I would seriously consider that smoker.
 
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