3 month old Englander 55SHP-10... already a dissatisfied customer...

[imacman]

You simply need to look it up either 411 or yellowpages.com

I'll say it again.....if it's any harder than just looking in the owners manual to find the number, it's pretty obvious that they really don't want to talk to a customer.

 

[fmsm]

You simply need to look it up either 411 or yellowpages.com

I'll say it again.....if it's any harder than just looking in the owners manual to find the number, it's pretty obvious that they really don't want to talk to a customer.

They were still helpful

 

[Ogilvy]

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician.....

Just curious....where did you find that number?? I looked at your owners manual and didn't see it.

If it's any harder than looking in there to find the number, it's pretty obvious that they really don't want to talk to a customer.

Englander's phone # is printed in very clear lettering on the front cover of the owners manual.

You simply need to look it up either 411 or yellowpages.com

Thought it was kind of odd that the opinion was a phone number was hard to find. Figured i'd find it in about 10 seconds on Google..... man was I wrong!
Harmans website is (in all fairness) just like many companies.... full of info but lacking a phone number. Email, facebook,twitter...etc. but don't call us the phone!

411 provided this:

Harman Stove Co

352 Mountain House Rd
Halifax, PA17032
(717) 362-9080

which is fine but a 1-800 number would be nice......

Fortunately i have a simple PP38+, few things to go wrong and a local dealer that provides fair service if needed.

 

[wil lanfear]

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician.....

Just curious....where did you find that number?? I looked at your owners manual and didn't see it.

If it's any harder than looking in there to find the number, it's pretty obvious that they really don't want to talk to a customer.

Englander's phone # is printed in very clear lettering on the front cover of the owners manual.

You simply need to look it up either 411 or yellowpages.com

Please post the number that you used to contact Harman. Thank you

 

[fmsm]

Will do when I get out of the Hot tub

 

[Petewood159]

I had a couple problems with my Englander but luckily I have had some good guidance here on this forum. I haven't called there customer service line since joining here and I wouldn't bother. I get so many people with experience on this forum willing to offer suggestions that I've had no need for any other help. My stove runs like a champ and I'm currently burning approx a bag a day . There is definitely a learning curve with these stoves and it hasn't been a plug and play appliance.You'll get to know your stove and figure out all it's little quirks. It's not what I was use to either but I think I have it figured out and so will you .
Good Luck & Happy New Year !
Pete..

 

[TLHinCanada]

May I say that you have possibly posted the best statement of all time.

 

[Emac68]

....But the OP was quite frustrated to have the unit not working on the coldest night of the season to this point.......

Yep, that is frustrating. I understand that and it's unfortunate that the problem occurred just prior to the cold weather, but that wasn't the fault of the manufacturer.

A couple of questions....when you bought the stove, did you pick it up at the store, or have it shipped to your home? Was the stove brand new and still in the sealed carton, or was it a customer return stove that had been used and returned? ( I have seen these in my local Lowes, and (unbelievably), they had the stove priced the same as a new stove).

imacman - thank you for the additional replies...

1 - I had it shipped and delivered from the delivery truck (although, not sure that is all that comforting)
2 - I had a dickens of a time pulling it from the carton because of all the straps and such but my wife and I managed. Yes, I believe it was a new unit.

UPDATE - we have been successfully using the stove since about 6 PM. The settings seem to be much more correct now as before I was getting satisfactory heat on 1 and 2, now we are at 5. So based on some of the other minor issues I have been having since November, the adjustments have made a difference.

So - yes - thanks to Jeremy at Englander for getting my stove registered (finally) and helping me rectify our issue so we could ENJOY our stove again! Both Jeremy and the gentleman I spoke to yesterday were very energetic and interactive - so great guys.

My concerns (trashing?) still remain: 1) the unit is still less than 120 days old with only consistent use over the last 60 days - will I have more problems when the temp drops again? ... and 2) 8-5 customer service hours (I was told to call) are - IMO- business to business hours, not business to consumer hours.

 

[fmsm]

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician.....

Just curious....where did you find that number?? I looked at your owners manual and didn't see it.

If it's any harder than looking in there to find the number, it's pretty obvious that they really don't want to talk to a customer.

Englander's phone # is printed in very clear lettering on the front cover of the owners manual.

You simply need to look it up either 411 or yellowpages.com

Please post the number that you used to contact Harman. Thank you

717-362-9080 or 717-896-8077

here's the link http://www.yellowpages.com/halifax-pa/harman-stove-company?g=Halifax,+PA&q=Harman+Stove+Company

 

[DexterDay]

Now that you know what settings it should run at?? You shouldnt have to call customer service.

Just make sure when its dark, that you dont press a bottom button (1 of the 3) and then up the heat level.. All should be well if you maintain and keep up with the stove..

Frustrating things can try even the calmest person. You will one day look back on today as a great learning experience. Whether you got positive or negative feedback.... You learned. Period. And you got to know your stove a little better.

Congratulations on the good running stove. Englanders (some) may take a little more love than others. But still a good stove. Enjoy.....

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Glad the OP solved his issue...I would be just as upset if my 4 month old stove had issues, and I had trouble getting it fixed, even if I had caused the issue. ( I did have problems..not caused by me and the dealer and manufacturer were great) It has been noted numerous times on this forum that Englander has very helpful customer service, but I am sure there is room for improvement, and sometimes it is probably sub-par. However, I wouldn't even compare them to other manufacturers...what sense does it make if the rest sucks and won't even provide a number??? I guess shame on us for still buying those stoves???

It should be noted that Mike has offered his advice many times on this forum and that should mean something to current and future customers. His presence on this forum is one reason I am looking into adding a second stove, occasional use, Englander, however the wife is currently not allowing it :-/

 

[fmsm]

Glad the OP solved his issue...I would be just as upset if my 4 month old stove had issues, and I had trouble getting it fixed, even if I had caused the issue. ( I did have problems..not caused by me and the dealer and manufacturer were great) It has been noted numerous times on this forum that Englander has very helpful customer service, but I am sure there is room for improvement, and sometimes it is probably sub-par. However, I wouldn't even compare them to other manufacturers...what sense does it make if the rest sucks and won't even provide a number??? I guess shame on us for still buying those stoves???

It should be noted that Mike has offered his advice many times on this forum and that should mean something to current and future customers. His presence on this forum is one reason I am looking into adding a second stove, occasional use, Englander, however the wife is currently not allowing it :-/

Getting off topic but here goes..... Englander sells a product that by design and distribution requires the owner of the product to be more hands on. They do an excellent job of providing advice/support so that the product owner can accomplish many repairs and maintain their product themself. A company such as Harman is priced higher and distributes through a dealer network, as an authorized dealer the manufacturer relies on the dealer to be the technical support line, parts department, and general face of the company. There are some fine dealers (I would classify Eric from OH after reading many of his posts as the type of dealer I would want) and there are some poor dealers. My dealer is somewhere in the middle and it is frustrating when you can't get a simple question answered. Not because they do not want to help, but because they lack the knowledge.

Dealing with a franchised dealer is sort of like dealing with a car dealer.......... Dealing with Englander is like dealing direct with Ford (if you could).

 

[bcb1]

I feel the need to defend 2 companies here.

1. Englander: I owned a 25epi until 2 months ago when I got sick of the amount of attention it needed on a daily basis. It was MY decision to sell the stove and replace it. While I did have a few parts fail over the 2 years I owned it Englander's customer service was fantastic! Maybe I lucked out but the longest I ever waited was about 20 minutes.

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician, I waited about 10 minutes on hold the other day to have a conversation. He adressed ALL of my questions and concerns, never telling me to call my dealer. I feel that I received great customer service from Harman.

That said it's time to throw a few more barefoot's into the hopper and bunker down for a cold night. I am really liking these barefoot's! Great heat and VERY low ash.

I had the same experience with Quadra Fire (Hearth & Home Technologies) back in 2005. My 8 month old stove suddenly started non-stop feeding of pellets - resulting in a gigantic fireball that filled the entire inside of the stove. Seriously, the only thing you could see was one huge fireball when you looked inside. Very scary that the stove didn't shut down immediately - maybe it would have eventually, but luckily I was home, I heard this very strange noise in the next room, and that's when I saw what was happening.

My local dealer was worthless. They had just started selling Quadra Fire stoves and they didn't have a technician, or an install crew or anything. You literally had to buy the stove and you were on your own. I tracked down HHT's phone number and eventually worked my way through enough people to actually talk to a technician, who was very friendly and helpful. It was a bad control box. They didn't send the box directly to me, they sent it to my dealer, who I had to pick it up from.

That was back in '05 so I don't know if things have changed since then, but back at that time they were pretty good to deal with. It is a little bit disturbing that a major company like Quad and Harman doesn't have an easy to access troubleshooting email address and phone number though. Some dealers are great; but some really suck. A customer should be able to call the company for tech support if they need it.

 

[fmsm]

I feel the need to defend 2 companies here.

1. Englander: I owned a 25epi until 2 months ago when I got sick of the amount of attention it needed on a daily basis. It was MY decision to sell the stove and replace it. While I did have a few parts fail over the 2 years I owned it Englander's customer service was fantastic! Maybe I lucked out but the longest I ever waited was about 20 minutes.

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician, I waited about 10 minutes on hold the other day to have a conversation. He adressed ALL of my questions and concerns, never telling me to call my dealer. I feel that I received great customer service from Harman.

That said it's time to throw a few more barefoot's into the hopper and bunker down for a cold night. I am really liking these barefoot's! Great heat and VERY low ash.

I had the same experience with Quadra Fire (Hearth & Home Technologies) back in 2005. My 8 month old stove suddenly started non-stop feeding of pellets - resulting in a gigantic fireball that filled the entire inside of the stove. Seriously, the only thing you could see was one huge fireball when you looked inside. Very scary that the stove didn't shut down immediately - maybe it would have eventually, but luckily I was home, I heard this very strange noise in the next room, and that's when I saw what was happening.

My local dealer was worthless. They had just started selling Quadra Fire stoves and they didn't have a technician, or an install crew or anything. You literally had to buy the stove and you were on your own. I tracked down HHT's phone number and eventually worked my way through enough people to actually talk to a technician, who was very friendly and helpful. It was a bad control box. They didn't send the box directly to me, they sent it to my dealer, who I had to pick it up from.

That was back in '05 so I don't know if things have changed since then, but back at that time they were pretty good to deal with. It is a little bit disturbing that a major company like Quad and Harman doesn't have an easy to access troubleshooting email address and phone number though. Some dealers are great; but some really suck. A customer should be able to call the company for tech support if they need it.

I blame the manufacturer! They should set minimum standards for their dealers AND hold them accountable! I should never have to contact the manufacturer, not if the dealer is doing a proper job.

 

[bcb1]

I blame the manufacturer! They should set minimum standards for their dealers AND hold them accountable! I should never have to contact the manufacturer, not if the dealer is doing a proper job.

Well that is definitely true - the manufacturers should make sure the dealers can actually service what they sell - and do a good job of servicing it. But just because they SHOULD do it doesn't mean that there aren't some crappy dealers out there. And if you're one of those customers that has a local dealer that is no good at troubleshooting your problem, or is too busy to talk to you or can't get to you for three weeks....then the customer should have some way to get in touch with the manufacturer directly.

I know they're not going to fly a tech out on the next plane to visit you and fix your problem. But completely closing off their company to any & all customer problems, comments, etc is just wrong.

I saw in a previous comment above that dealing with Englander is like dealing directly with Ford, whereas dealing with Harman and Quad is like dealing with your local Ford franchise dealer. True enough I guess - but you know what? You can always contact Ford directly no matter who you are, dealer or customer. You can call, email, there are plenty of contact forms on their website, etc.

For Harman and Quad? Good luck. Having to track them down from a local phone book listing is certainly not very customer friendly.

 

[fmsm]

I blame the manufacturer! They should set minimum standards for their dealers AND hold them accountable! I should never have to contact the manufacturer, not if the dealer is doing a proper job.

Well that is definitely true - the manufacturers should make sure the dealers can actually service what they sell - and do a good job of servicing it. But just because they SHOULD do it doesn't mean that there aren't some crappy dealers out there. And if you're one of those customers that has a local dealer that is no good at troubleshooting your problem, or is too busy to talk to you or can't get to you for three weeks....then the customer should have some way to get in touch with the manufacturer directly.

I know they're not going to fly a tech out on the next plane to visit you and fix your problem. But completely closing off their company to any & all customer problems, comments, etc is just wrong.

I saw in a previous comment above that dealing with Englander is like dealing directly with Ford, whereas dealing with Harman and Quad is like dealing with your local Ford franchise dealer. True enough I guess - but you know what? You can always contact Ford directly no matter who you are, dealer or customer. You can call, email, there are plenty of contact forms on their website, etc.

For Harman and Quad? Good luck. Having to track them down from a local phone book listing is certainly not very customer friendly.

You're 100% right, it could be better. That being said I did feel that when I called Harman and spoke to their technician I was treated well. This was after I tried speaking to my dealer and felt I was getting a little bit of a run around. I have in the past TRIED speaking with GM about issues with my Cadillac----Yes you can get somebody, somebody who gives you a large run around!

 

[bcb1]

You’re 100% right, it could be better. That being said I did feel that when I called Harman and spoke to their technician I was treated well. This was after I tried speaking to my dealer and felt I was getting a little bit of a run around. I have in the past TRIED speaking with GM about issues with my Cadillac——Yes you can get somebody, somebody who gives you a large run around!

Ha, you're right. Getting hold of someone at a company that can actually help you is the key, and sometimes that can be very difficult to do. I've learned that lesson quite a few times in my life.

 

[smwilliamson]

Quit your job and become a pellet service tech...welcome to my world.

 

[smoke show]

...I have in the past TRIED speaking with GM about issues with my Cadillac...

you need a better dealer.

 

[fmsm]

Quit your job and become a pellet service tech...welcome to my world.

SHHHHHHHHH you know my dealer

 

[webbie]

Englander's phone # is printed in very clear lettering on the front cover of the owners manual.

Big boxes FORCE vendors to do this........or the boxes won't buy or sell the product.

Just saying.........that's part of the deal there. It's a whole different thing than dealers who are sussed out, trained, set up the stoves on-site or in their warehouse, etc.

Neither are better or worse - but they are different.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I feel the need to defend 2 companies here.

1. Englander: I owned a 25epi until 2 months ago when I got sick of the amount of attention it needed on a daily basis. It was MY decision to sell the stove and replace it. While I did have a few parts fail over the 2 years I owned it Englander's customer service was fantastic! Maybe I lucked out but the longest I ever waited was about 20 minutes.

2. Harman: If you track down their phone number you CAN speak to a technician, I waited about 10 minutes on hold the other day to have a conversation. He adressed ALL of my questions and concerns, never telling me to call my dealer. I feel that I received great customer service from Harman.

That said it's time to throw a few more barefoot's into the hopper and bunker down for a cold night. I am really liking these barefoot's! Great heat and VERY low ash.

I had the same experience with Quadra Fire (Hearth & Home Technologies) back in 2005. My 8 month old stove suddenly started non-stop feeding of pellets - resulting in a gigantic fireball that filled the entire inside of the stove. Seriously, the only thing you could see was one huge fireball when you looked inside. Very scary that the stove didn't shut down immediately - maybe it would have eventually, but luckily I was home, I heard this very strange noise in the next room, and that's when I saw what was happening.

My local dealer was worthless. They had just started selling Quadra Fire stoves and they didn't have a technician, or an install crew or anything. You literally had to buy the stove and you were on your own. I tracked down HHT's phone number and eventually worked my way through enough people to actually talk to a technician, who was very friendly and helpful. It was a bad control box. They didn't send the box directly to me, they sent it to my dealer, who I had to pick it up from.

That was back in '05 so I don't know if things have changed since then, but back at that time they were pretty good to deal with. It is a little bit disturbing that a major company like Quad and Harman doesn't have an easy to access troubleshooting email address and phone number though. Some dealers are great; but some really suck. A customer should be able to call the company for tech support if they need it.

I blame the manufacturer! They should set minimum standards for their dealers AND hold them accountable! I should never have to contact the manufacturer, not if the dealer is doing a proper job.

.
Agreed....in the event of a bad dealer the manufacturer should also always be helpful

 

[redhot1]

Last year in spring I purchased a new Englander 25-EPI. After waiting I finally got the chimney liner and the OAK installed. During the install process I followed the directions going over each step as directed by the very informative DVD the manufacturer sent. I was ready for the first fire up of the stove. Granted, even though it's only been a short time since I first fired the stove up, I have been running the stove 24-7 this week, and it's done exactly what it's supposed to do never missing a beat!

I have also used this forum to ask questions of others who have the experience and knowledge because I had some typical install supply questions. The people who follow what is going on jumped right in and helped me so much, I was really blown away by their kindness. Not only did they deal with my first question, they followed through and asked me many more questions so I didn't make any mistakes, or get left out in the cold! It was after reading about the different stoves here on this very forum last year that I decided on and purchased an Englander stove because of the support and build quality. The stove wasn't cheap, but you get what you pay for!

Also wanted to say because I have been following this posting very carefully, I wanted to say thanks to the people at Englander who built this stove, and thanks to those on this forum who have helped me in the past. All too often we hear of bad things out in the manufacturing world. That some of us (myself included) don't take the time to thank those who build a quality product, and the customer is satisfied!

Thanks again to the people at Englander, and all who help us that need a little advice here on this Forum!

 

[tjnamtiw]

Just sat through reading all the posts and my neck is sore from shaking my head in disbelief. The OP wants and demands World Class Customer Service. Where do you find that any more? He's lucky he was even speaking to an AMERICAN when he called customer service, and not some Filipino sitting in a shack in Manila. It's even crazier to expect such service at a fast food place, where they pay their MANAGERS $8 an hour (my daughter in law is a manager at Burger King) and expect them to be on call 24 hours a day. Just not reasonable.

And then he's upset because PERHAPS a switch was in the wrong position when shipped and he trashes the whole company because of that. I wonder how he would respond if he had bought one of Government Motor's Chevy's that were just shipped with NO front brake pads!! GIVE ME A BREAK! After reading all the threads here on how well people are treated by Englander, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to buy one. Unfortunately down here in Georgia, we evidently are just below the cut-off locations for Lowes and HD to stock them. Also I needed inserts.

Finally, the support for their stoves here on the forum has been quick and helpful from what I've read. When you buy from a box store, you can't/shouldn't expect support from them beyond returning the product, if they agree to do so. If the OP did any research here, he should have quickly realized that these pellet stoves in general are not plug and play units. They demand far more attention than a wood stove or an HVAC unit. If he wasn't ready or able to reason and work through inevitable problems, then he should never have bought one. Just another guy frustrated at his job, which is listening to people bitching at him for the crappy products his company makes, and in turn decided to trash Englander.