Unbelievable

[begreen]

Wow, That’s just scary. I think I will avoid them.

The dealer can make a big difference. We are fortunate to have Tom Oyen as our dealer. He is one of the best and guarantees satisfaction.

 

[heavy hammer]

See if they can swap for a new one I wouldn't want that one.

 

[Ludlow]

I wouldnt take it even at half off.

 

[Sodbuster]

I’m definitely not keeping the stove even if I have to hire an attorney..

Did you pay by credit card, hopefully?

 

[Sodbuster]

PE is a horrible company customer service wise. Call the company, good luck getting a call back, if they answer at all. The only way to get a hold of them is through your dealer via their rep. If your dealer goes out of business, like mine did, good luck having the rep pick up your problem. No one want's to deal with a stove they didn't sell. This is from, personal experience. I wish they had a rep that monitored this board.

 

[Woody Stover]

PE is a horrible company customer service wise. Call the company, good luck getting a call back, if they answer at all. The only way to get a hold of them is through your dealer via their rep. If your dealer goes out of business, like mine did, good luck having the rep pick up your problem. No one want's to deal with a stove they didn't sell. This is from, personal experience. I wish they had a rep that monitored this board.

Oh cheeze, now ya tell me. I guess if I need service, I'll go through Tom Oyen, and slip him a few bucks on the side to make it worth his while..

 

[Woody Stover]

I don't expect to need any customer service, however..stove seems built like a brick chithouse, and it's simple, not much can go wrong.

 

[Sodbuster]

Don't get me wrong, it's a good stove, but for service and parts, they don't shine. If I where a rep, I'd monitor this forum, and give my company a fair shake. It's free to give advice.

 

[Sodbuster]

I don't expect to need any customer service, however..stove seems built like a brick chithouse, and it's simple, not much can go wrong.

Case in point, my baffle warped and cracked to the point it would barely stay on the steel that runs along the baffle. Showed it to the dealer, who said it was faulty and needed to be replaced. He forwarded the picture to the rep who said it was faulty and needed to be replaced. A few summer months go by and I stop by the dealer. The doors we're lock with an Out of Business sign in the window. Tried to contact the company directly, zero luck. Finally, months later I get a message to contact a central dispatch center in KY or somewhere. Called and spoke with a guy there who found my file, and was sending my request in for a new baffle. Two months later, I call to check, and was told he no longer works there. Was finally given a Supervisor who pushed the paperwork through, and I got my baffle.

 

[Woody Stover]

my baffle warped and cracked to the point it would barely stay on the steel that runs along the baffle

Yeah, if you look at my T5 thread you can see that the baffle has bellied down. Couple of super-hot secondaries might crack it. How much can it cost though, even if you didn't get them to cover it like you did?

Finally, months later I get a message to contact a central dispatch center in KY

Hey, great, I live about ten miles from KY!

 

[Sodbuster]

Yeah, if you look at my T5 thread you can see that the baffle has bellied down. Couple of super-hot secondaries might crack it. How much can it cost though, even if you didn't get them to cover it like you did?Hey, great, I live about ten miles from KY!

I believe at the time it was $375 plus shipping, and you know as well as I do that sucker is heavy.

 

[Woody Stover]

I believe at the time it was $375 plus shipping, and you know as well as I do that sucker is heavy.

Oooof! Yeah, you'd want that to be covered.

 

[Dean66]

I’m really disgusted I should post there customer service emails on here so you can see how they treated me. I’m giving them 3 more days to make it right and that’s it. I’m going to set there stove on my back patio and cover with a tarp and they can pick it up or let it set and rust I’ll definitely cancel payment which is on hold right now.

 

[begreen]

I’m really disgusted I should post there customer service emails on here so you can see how they treated me. I’m giving them 3 more days to make it right and that’s it. I’m going to set there stove on my back patio and cover with a tarp and they can pick it up or let it set and rust I’ll definitely cancel payment which is on hold right now.

I can understand your frustration. Your dealer should be backing you up and it sounds like they are not.

 

[Ludlow]

File a dispute and dont pay a penny toward it. One good thing about credit cards. Tell them you arent open to any resolution short of returning the stove and a full refund as you will never feel safe for your family.

 

[thunderhead]

Man, this sounds rough. Should this make me reconsider PE stoves? It sounds like many manufacturers don't have customer service though and only go through local dealers? How do they compare with Lopi?

 

[Mech e]

So far, customer service and support by SBI for their products has been outstanding.

 

[Woody Stover]

Man, this sounds rough. Should this make me reconsider PE stoves? It sounds like many manufacturers don't have customer service though and only go through local dealers? How do they compare with Lopi?

Yep, most makers won't deal directly with customers.
If you talk to your dealer and ask questions about interactions they've had with various stove makers, you might get a better feel of how it may go if you have a problem. Webby had problems with a Lopi he tried out, and even though he works at the shop, Lopi was dragging their feet when he tried to get it resolved. That said, I got the T5 for my SIL, and I think the quality of both Lopi and PE are top-flight.

 

[begreen]

Yep, most makers won't deal directly with customers.
If you talk to your dealer and ask questions about interactions they've had with various stove makers, you might get a better feel of how it may go if you have a problem. Webby had problems with a Lopi he tried out, and even though he works at the shop, Lopi was dragging their feet when he tried to get it resolved. That said, I got the T5 for my SIL, and I think the quality of both Lopi and PE are top-flight.

Many of the top stove companies like Jotul, Lopi, etc. work this way. A good dealer is worth a lot here.

 

[Sodbuster]

Yep, most makers won't deal directly with customers.
If you talk to your dealer and ask questions about interactions they've had with various stove makers, you might get a better feel of how it may go if you have a problem. Webby had problems with a Lopi he tried out, and even though he works at the shop, Lopi was dragging their feet when he tried to get it resolved. That said, I got the T5 for my SIL, and I think the quality of both Lopi and PE are top-flight.

I was in sales / general management for years, and dealing with the end user versus strictly the dealer has it's advantages and disadvantages mostly disadvantages. First their needs to be a good flow of information between the dealer and the end user, there should be no reason for the end user to feel the need to reach out to the manufacturer's rep, unless they're dealing with a complex question, and the dealer doesn't know or it's too much trouble to find out (lazy)

It really always boils down to the the sales/general manager. If they aren't hearing about these problems, they are not doing their job, and need to address these problems.

 

[Ludlow]

Seems like stove manufacturers are just welding/fabrication shops. Nothing more. They make their dealers earn their cut. Actually nothing wrong with that provided a competent dealer network exists.

 

[Hogwildz]

Oooof! Yeah, you'd want that to be covered.

$274.00 online includes shipping at friendlyfires.ca

 

[Ashful]

I know a lot of you guys here swear by PE but wait until you need them for something there customer service is the worst I’ve ever seen.

People tend to base their opinion of a company based on events too distant to be relevant to how the company operates today. We see this every day with automobiles, you buy a GMC because your last GMC treated you well. But the staff, management, and entire company culture have often changed in the period since that prior purchase, and the principles applied to the design and manufacture of the product you get today may have little to nothing to do with the prior.

So, begreen has a decade-old PE and loves it, as with many others on this forum. It doesn’t mean they haven’t retired or otherwise lost some key quality and manufacturing people since, in fact it is almost a certainty, and that those responsible for the same product today are doing their job. I have seen this many times in my own career as a design engineer, working for companies going through such cultural shifts.

Vermont Castings, anyone? There is a company that has been thru some radical cultural shifts. Some of the companies who have owned this name over the last few decades have marketed this previously-noble name, known for high quality and performance, while turning out some poorly designed and manufactured products. It has taken many years (decades) for them to take the shine off that name, and even today, some who aren’t stove nerds will still see that name and think they’re looking at a product of similar relative quality to what their parents owned in the 1970’s.

 

[begreen]

That's a pretty abstract comparison. We see the few people with complaints and issues more than anything else here. That does not represent the market as a whole, any more than fanboys posting that their stoves are the best.

 

[Sodbuster]

The only part I'm not happy with is the baffle system. I've been heating with wood for 27 years. I've had Lopi's, Quadrafires, and now the PE Summit. My Summit was the only stove to have the baffle fail according to the dealer, rep and factory. Still took almost 2 years to get a replacement.