Update:
Friday, October 09, 2009
I just received an email this morning from my dealer contact:
This is the email I received from ### [the distributor]. Please remove the unit as quick as possible and we can get it over to a welder to get it repaired.
Thanks so much for your time.
I just got off the phone with him and he said that I need to remove the stove and get it to their dealership for the repair. He stated that if they were to remove it, I would have to pay for the labour. As today is a bit short notice and I need to seek extra manpower, I asked if I could bring it in tomorrow. But according to him Saturday is not good, since they will only have the sales reps working. So it looks like Tuesday is the only realistic day (Monday is the Thanksgiving holiday for us) after work to bring it in. I also asked if they are going to do a thorough inspection of the firebox, to ensure that there are not additional cracks. He sounded a bit reluctant to that request, so I will have to be very explicit as to making them aware of the locations of the cracks and will have to inspect the work thoroughly, once conducted.
Also, I asked about how long the repairs will take and he couldn't give a timeline, other than stating that they shouldn't take too long. He then asked if I had a gas furnace, which I stated yes. I also reiterated that I am spending additional money on gas, while the stove is not in operation. He also explained is that they pay upfront for the work and then bill the distributor, which is something other posters have also stated and a possible reason for a lot of foot dragging.
However, here is where things get a bit interesting. I noticed that in the email that he had sent to me, it had the previous correspondances in a thread, starting with my initial email on September 28. According to the time/date stamps, the dealer contact did not forward my email to the distributor until October 1, after I had called that day to ask if he had received any response from the distributor and after I had sent the online form query to PE asking if the warranty claim had been received.
Also the distributor responded on Wednesday, October 08 stating:
"Hi #### [dealer contact]
Please forward a quote to weld this unit
Thank you,"
So according to the email thread, the dealer contact failed to email or telephone me on Wednesday, October 08 that the distributor had a response. More importantly, the dealer contact failed to tell me this yesterday, even though he saw me at the dealership and he was told that I was there to see him. He did not take a momentary break from dealing with a customer to make sale, which I am sure he could have (I was at the store for about 25 minutes). If I had known sooner, I could have had the stove out and in their hands before the weekend.
So now it seems, that the dealership contact was negligent too, in his duties. On top of that, his tone over the phone today was one of annoyance. He seems somewhat new at being a salesman. Hopefully, he will learn that a good business not only depends on sales, but on continued customer service too after the sale.
On another note, I still have not received any direct contact with the distributor or PE. No one, other than the dealership, asked me if I had overfired the unit etc. Also, no one came to inspect the stove. I also have to ask if lifetime warrany applies to the repaired firebox.
I will keep you posted on the future developments.