I'm out

[Sundeep Arole]

Just wrote a letter to my dealer and cancelled. Bought stove in August, floor model, but he just wasn't willing to give it to me. Wanted me to wait till the new ones arrived. ETA just kept changing, and what irked me is when I learned a neighbor of mine got his (exact same Lopi model) even though he ordered from the same dealer after me. I think I will have better luck next summer when there is a better supply.

After receiving the letter the dealer was quick to call me back and consider I change my mind. Other times, he didn't have the time to call back. All of a sudden, he was willing to release his floor model. I was persuaded initially, but later had a bad feeling and decided to cancel anyway. I learned that the dealer is critical in this business. The dealer is the manufacturer's customer service, as I learned recently. A dealer who is a jerk means that is likely to be the kind of future support you will get. I thought it wiser to just get out and have an opportunity to consider a different dealer later.

I did feel bad for the salesman who sold me the stove. He had spent a lot of time explaining the various stoves to me, and I really would have liked him to chalk up one more sale to his credit. But, in the end, I have to look out for myself as well.

 

[BrotherBart]

I am proud of you guy. For weeks I have wanted to reach through the monitor and shake you for putting up with that guys crap.

Find you a good stove and dealer and be happy that you didn't put up with this guys BS anymore. The manufacturers are catching up and he is out the cash and that floor model will sit there for a long time.

Go in every once and a while, grin at it and leave.

 

[Michael6268]

Thats a bummer! Ditto on the dealer thing. Seems like dealers (not all but more and more) dont give a crap anymore, now that they are rolling in newfound riches! Dealer in my area that I bought a new gas stove from late last summer, was so nice to me when I was buying it. I installed it myself (yes permit and all) and one of the direct vent pipes had a big patch of paint rubbed off on it. Went in to see if I could maybe get a half empty can of paint from their install dept. and was told "you have to pay 8.95 for a new can"! Just spent 2500.00 and they give me damaged pipe and I am not entitled to a crummy can of paint? I should have just brought the whole pipe back but inspector was coming out next day and I didnt have the time. (found a perfect match from another dealer) I just feel that they should be a little more grateful....

 

[Roospike]

This Is kinda the issue i had with my dealer when i bought my Pacific Energy Summit ( flame shop - lincoln , NE. ) The salesman was real nice answered a lot of questions and such .

Started off with the smaller stove but i wanted the larger Summit in the end. This was on Thurday Oct 6 $1000. down for the $2100 stove and also $1000 in all new pipe and said it would be in the following Monday. Ha , Monday came around and he never called so i called him back Tuesday to C when was the best time to pick it up .......Well , a , u know its like this . We cant get it untell 2 weeks but " your first on the list with this model. Not happy but what do you do. 2 weeks came and went and no call again so i called him back. Well . a , u know ......It will not be in untell the second week in November . Not happy once again but what do ya do. U know the story ......... second week in November came and went , no call , i called ........Well , a , u know . Wont be in untell the last week of December! Really got upset this time. I called Pacific Energy myself and told them all that was going on. If might of been different if i was not BS time after time , week after week ect....and was told the truth in the first place. Pacific Energy gave me the # of his warehouse and i told them the story and they told me I was to only contact the sales shop and should not of contacted Pacific Eneryy them selves .... bs , bs , bs . Fine , I called Pacific Energy again and said to forget the pipe & cancel the order , i just also found out that other Summit buyers have been waiting sence Aug. on the stove and the BS had to stop. I called the Flame shop where i bought the stove and told them i canceled the order with Pacific Energy and to refund my $1000. I was not going to wait another month and a half again to be told another date . ( this was mid November ) The next day the flame shop called and said the Pacific Energy call the warehouse and on down the line and ........." MY NEW STOVE WILL BE IN TOMORROW" HA , Funny how things work when $2100. stoves are getting canceled. I never did buy the $1000. in pipe from them. I went down the road and bought it just for spite . What is , is , what is. Dont BS me every time i call. Great stove ! Pacific Energy came through once i got a hold of there ear about the stove. The service and all the BS from the stove seller ( Flame Shop ) was a very bad taste and they need to get out of the biz. The problem i think that might of happened is........ that some poor sap that has been waiting for his new stove sence August just got screwed out of his stove when mine all of sudden came up when i canceled the order. BUT that might of been my case every time i was told one date and it got changed to a different date. hummmm

 

[DavidV]

Story of my stove. Picked up the trading post. called around on the stoves listed. found one that sounded good. went to look at it. Looked good. negotiated the price down from 250 to 225.(learned a lesson there also. For some reason I assumed the husband was the one to talk to. IT was the wife who had listed the stove in the paper.....sheh was getting rid of it to instal gas logs. But it all worked out). came back that weekend with a borrowed pickup and an appliance dolly. heafted that monster into the truck. drove home. covered stove with tarp because it was about to rain.(ended up paying an extra $12.50 on the dolly rental so my total stove cost at that point was 250. next day broke stove down in the driveway and cleaned it as completely as possible. Old cats were somewhat degraded but I used them anyway for the first year. I dragged that beast inside and stuck it into my fiieplace. have put new combustors in it and done a few patches to the warped damper extender. Current surface temp is 500 degrees. I thinkthe blower is a bit loud. I'd like to have a stove that stuck out of the hearth a little more to get more radiant heat, and also to have a decent surface to cook on. I have just enough space for a steamer, or a small pot of tea or stew. Can't really make bacon and eggs like my mom did on the wood stove we had when I was a kid. Next year I am adding a full chimney liner. Probly burn this same stove for 3-5 more years before I am willing to pony up the $$$ for a non cat insert.

 

[Heatmiser]

I've been having a similar experience here in NH. I ordered an Enviro 1700 insert back in Oct and was told that it would be in a 3 weeks by 2 different salesmen. When I called around the 3 week mark I was told that the stove might be in early January or later and that none of the salesmen in the shop would've ever told me 3 weeks. Likewise, it would be easier to take if we knew right up front instead of being strung along by salesmen with attitudes. This type of story seems common place this year. This shop has Avalons that are still in stock but I can't afford the extra $600 or $700 dollars, especially when I think that the Enviro may be a better insert. I looked into going to another shop but they are the only Enviro dealers in the area. Good to hear that some of you guys are having some luck pushing back. Are there any Enviro users in this forum?

 

[bruce56bb]

my story...
lurked on this board all last winter and kept my eyes and ears open for a used stove.
finally in may one popped up for sale in a semi-local paper(100 miles).
talked to the seller and he told me make, model,etc. (earth stove 2800ht mid 90s)
looked at stove and it was as described and struck a deal and brought it home.
at home it sat in the garage as i checked it out and gave it a fresh coat of paint.
scheduled sweep to install liner and stove in august when theres not much work for them.
rough cost 1300 (500 for stove 800 for liner)

 

[Shane]

Man some of you have had some bad experiences. I may beable to shed some light though. I have had on backorder 4 remote thermostats for over 2 months now. Every 2 weeks I was very diligent about calling the distributor and checking status then getting back to my customers with thenew ETA of "2 weeks". After telling them 2 weeeks for the past two months I got irked and asked whats going on? Turns out I cant get those remotes for 2 1/2 more months! I'm upset because I've been made a liar in the eyes of 4 customers on top of that I have to tell them February to get what is in my mind a crucial component for their brand new stoves. I think manufacturers and distributors need to get their acts together (which they are working to do by increasing output dramatically and the distributors are gearing up more for the wood and pellet side) and the rest would fall into place. As for you cancelling your order on the Lopi that's reasonable. If your dealer promised you the floor model he should have delivered it in my opinion.

 

[elkimmeg]

Like Brother Bart I almost reached threw the monitor to shake sense into you. Some observations here, it seems that inserts are in huge demand, and the most problematic for availability.

I suggest we establish a Penguin award for the person who takes the most BS gets lied to and most abused by his stove retailer. Make that award to the worst retailer relation’s story posted on Hearthnet. Hot flame award to the worst manufacture’s pr. Brother Bart help me out here. The poll for older stoves, would have definitely been won by EPA approved stoves, if buyers could get a hold of one. I mean this is as bad as the check is in the mail.
My homework got chewed by up by my dog.

I think the dealers and manufactures need a book of 100 excuses

No wonder I install and repair everything myself. Refurbish older things to equal of better than new.

The top ten worst excuses

#1 Billy Joe Bob got drunk and ralphed on the production line and stopped the essembly

This post was generated on a G4 Mac using Yellow dog linux

 

[Shane]

Most companies have ramped up production 40% or more for wood & pellet stoves. I honestly think they are doing the best they can. I know that I am getting product as quickly as possible and installing it as soon as it gets here. Sounds like some of you out there have some pretty idiotic dealers. As for the information I've been giving people its the same information that I've been getting from the factory and or distributor. In fact if they tell me two weeks I've been telling customers 3 just to be on the safe side. I don't think that all dealers are lying to people and hoarding stoves as some feel. It's not in their best interest. I wish that there were not faulty lead times given as that would fix alot of folks frustration. I can only speak for myself but if there are any of my customers on this board rest assured that as soon as I get your stove, control board, fan snapswitch or whatever else we've both been waiting for I will be there to install as soon as it arrives. The industry just needs to catch back up with demand, I'm afraid this won't happen until warm weather lessens demand.

 

[Roospike]

I have been in sales sence i was 15 ( 20 years ) and now have my own biz . My thoughts are this wood stove stuff is not that hard , I mean damn ,,,,,,,,,, its not like there making bread that only has 1 week shelf life. If they are running at 40% above normal making stoves.... shouldnt they of not started this years ago ? Why cant stove makers get a year ahead ? not that this is going to happen this year . If the stove Co's would of been smart they could of been one year ahead on making there stoves ...........and they would of had 3 things . #1 stoves #2 happy buyers #3 they would of have all the stoves made with the lower cost of steel before steel prices went up ( way up as it has ) but took there retail up when steel prices went up and say thay made 30% they would of ended up making 60 % profit these last 2 years. I mean DUAH ! BTW this is my second year getting a stove ......... last year i gave up. I ask a few stove Co's why they were so short last year and more than once i was told that the local store makes the order before the seasion and the stove Co fills the order. When the local store is out of what they ordered " too bad , so sad" . This was stove co for like the box stores , farm stores and such not the big guys. I asked the stove co guy on the phone .....why they would let an $8. an hour employee at some local farm store run there stove sales on what to make and why in the world could they not make a few stoves ahead. "thats just the way we do things" i was told. Unreal. Somebody need to get there head out of there a$$ and start thinking ahead. Just my thoughts.

 

[Shane]

I think the main issue this year is that stove companies were geared up for gas not the pellet and wood. All indicators (until Katrina) pointed towards another strong gas year. If you've been selling tons of one thing are you going to focus your pre season manufacturing on that or on something that has seen declining sales for the past 2-3 years? Upwards of 70% of the entire hearth industry is gas units, there was no way to see this rapid increase in the popularity of pellet and wood stoves. Manufacturers are trying their best, any stove dealer worth his salt is trying his best but the facts are simple demand has outpaced supply this season. As for last year I don't know what to say I had very few backorders last year, it was a pretty smooth year. Also I'm not trying to defend dealers who are morons and don't know how to do business, but for those of us who are simply doing the best we can I hope that consumers can have some level of understanding. I understand the consumer frustration, this entire situation is not good for the industry in general.

 

[Sundeep Arole]

What??? Gas? Who in their right mind would have thought gas stoves to be a banner year? Oil prices were quite near $70/barrel even before Katrina. Nat gas was following right behind. If the stove companies were hoping to sell gas models big this year, boy, were they seriously wrong!

 

[Sundeep Arole]

Like Brother Bart I almost reached threw the monitor to shake sense into you. Some observations here, it seems that inserts are in huge demand, and the most problematic for availability.

I suggest we establish a Penguin award for the person who takes the most BS gets lied to and most abused by his stove retailer. Make that award to the worst retailer relation’s story posted on Hearthnet. Hot flame award to the worst manufacture’s pr. Brother Bart help me out here. The poll for older stoves, would have definitely been won by EPA approved stoves, if buyers could get a hold of one. I mean this is as bad as the check is in the mail.
My homework got chewed by up by my dog.

I think the dealers and manufactures need a book of 100 excuses

No wonder I install and repair everything myself. Refurbish older things to equal of better than new.

The top ten worst excuses

#1 Billy Joe Bob got drunk and ralphed on the production line and stopped the essembly

This post was generated on a G4 Mac using Yellow dog linux

I am way behind on posts since being on vacation till Jan 2. However, I think the idea of a penguin award is a great one. I for one, will be happy to post a detailed account of my experience. BTW, if any one of you lives in MA, I'll be happy to let you know the one dealer I absolutely know you should avoid. I don't think it is apporpriate to post the name here, but if you want to know privately email me. I may not be able to reply right away, since I am travelling in a remote area where net access is pretty hard to find.

 

[Mike Wilson]

I don't know about penguins... but I just got back from my walk on the beach (conveniently located in the back yard), and the dog found a dead harbor seal. You want for me to mount it on a stick and send it to someone ;-) ???

- Mike

 

[annette]

Hotflame, I think you should post the store name here. If others read this thread at a later date, it will be good if they know whom to avoid!

When I was reading stove reviews, someone in the Chicago area complained about a dealer that really screwed them over, but didn't name names except for the suburb. There's more than one stove place in that suburb, so who should I trust?

As long as you state simple facts, I think it's totally fair to name the store. Maybe we should have dealer reviews as well as stove reviews? (I know there's a line in the review about dealer satisfaction, but we also shop several dealers as we shop for a stove)

 

[elkimmeg]

I want to know the dealer It is possible I too have had problems with the same store ,please e-mail me the name thanks