We only used it a few times last year, then covered it for the winter, and have used it once or twice a week this summer, at most. About two months ago, the electronic ignition quit working, so we turn on the igniter burner and light it with one of those long lighters. Not a big deal.Monday, I planned to use the grill and asked Gerry to light it so it would be warm enough when I came out with the burgers. I stepped to the door a couple minutes later, and asked him where the knob was for the right hand side. He didn’t know what I was talking about.
See that black and silver piece of charcoal on the deck above? That's not charcoal - it's the former knob. I found it laying on the deck, mostly charred, with one lone flame dancing from it.
You can also see the damage around the place it belongs, the high yellow flames in the grill, and the scorching of the handle on the lid for the grill.
Gerry called Char-Broil the next day. Apparently, it’s all our fault – you are supposed to clean the burners twice a year, or they can back shoot like this. The customer service rep was very cavalier about the whole thing when Gerry talked to her, and told him it didn’t matter how little we used it, maybe there were spider webs in the burners (wouldn’t they burn out?).So – be warned. All I can think about is what a shock it would have been to be standing there and have flames come shooting out the hole for the knob. It obviously flamed in a big way. Oh, and just in case you are as clueless as I was – the electronic igniter has a battery! We replaced that and it works fine now.
And - according to the customer service rep, we are never to leave the grill alone when it is lit. Never. I'm wondering what one does if you slow cook a roast or put a chicken on the spit. And don't forget to read your manual cover-to-cover. Don't you dare skip a page or think that you know anything. Sure am tired of "customer service" people treating me like my brains leaked out. Since we are going to replace the grill, and it won't be a Char-Broil, I wonder if we should call customer service for the other places before we buy and see how they treat us.
9 comments:
A good lesson in Internet marketing and how not to treat your customer.
I did a quick search and found that this complaint is pretty common. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/char-broil.html
Customers like you now have the ability to tell the world about shoddy products or customer service (or a great experience) and your complaint can now be heard by millions.
Char-Broil can blame you for their problems all the way to bankruptcy.
Wowzers! Gee, if you had been standing there like the rep said you should, you could have been a crispy critter too! Glad you're okay!
Oh good grief! That's scary, Sue. I will have to go see if ours is a Char-broil but I don't think it is. I think you're right about checking with Customer Service ahead of time before you replace it. You'd think they would be more careful NOT to offend customers in today's economy!
o.0 dangerous, glad no one was around to get hurt.
I never leave a bbq alone, no matter what type. just seems foolish to leave the flames by themselves. should be able to at least see the bbq in case things like this happen.
yes the customer service was rude and very unhelpful though! good idea to talk to some other companies too, not just to see how they treat their customers, but to get a better idea of their products.
good thing it was only the knob that got incinerated.... but, I'm sure it could happen to anybody....
perhaps they need to rework the design.... so we don't have to babysit a BBQ ... there must be a way...
yeh...I'd shop around...for better service and better diplomacy at the very least...
Oh my goodness you had a lucky escape there. That product certainly seems to have a healthy and safety issue. Do you not have a watch dog for consumers where you can report these sort of items and companies that sell items that could be dangerous?
I am so glad no one was hurt. How dangerouse. I am over customer service as well.
It looked like a lovely BBQ aswell.
Don't think I'll buy one from them anytime soon and I was looking too. Sure glad nothing more than the knob burned. You and your home are safe.
Geez Sue, thats rotten! You would think with the economy the way it is, they would not want an exploding grill story floating around! Thats awful, but I'm glad no one was hurt.
karen
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