I've been struggling with this concept after my bad experience with Woodmans Parts Plus. I ordered a specific appliance adapter for the Elena that their website said they had. I received the wrong part - twice - so I am out shipping costs on the first order and the cost to ship back the wrong parts twice ($20 approximately + whatever portion of the original shipping for a $40 part). They did refund the full second invoice with shipping but why am I still out the cost to return parts that were not my mistake? This is little stuff compared to other stove owner problems but it speaks to the same integrity problem.
Some stove manufacturers use a dealership system. This keeps the manufacturer at arm's length from their product. What vetting are they doing for their dealers? We know all dealers are not created equal... When you have problems with a product, is the manufacturer truly standing behind their product or dumping the problem largely on the dealer. When stove companies are sold, what happens to the warranty provided from the original company? Is the new company honouring these warranties? This became a question when Northland Distributing went bankrupt (where we purchased the Elena). Luckily, we have not needed to worry about this but there were comments that you could be left hanging...
Then there are companies who handle their own customer service or become involved due to serious issues. Sometimes the stove owner receives ambiguous responses if you get answers at all...
Some stove manufacturers use a dealership system. This keeps the manufacturer at arm's length from their product. What vetting are they doing for their dealers? We know all dealers are not created equal... When you have problems with a product, is the manufacturer truly standing behind their product or dumping the problem largely on the dealer. When stove companies are sold, what happens to the warranty provided from the original company? Is the new company honouring these warranties? This became a question when Northland Distributing went bankrupt (where we purchased the Elena). Luckily, we have not needed to worry about this but there were comments that you could be left hanging...
Then there are companies who handle their own customer service or become involved due to serious issues. Sometimes the stove owner receives ambiguous responses if you get answers at all...