Lone Star Grillz Vertical Insulated Cabinet Smoker-For the new Owner

Smokedawg86 said:

I would say comparison of build quality and lead times are apples to oranges. I understand the frustration. Part of your anxiety stems from being excited about receiving said quality product, which says a lot about their pits. Having to adjust delivery time vs using a completely different quality metal is not a fair comparison. You maybe waiting a couple weeks longer for the product vs getting a completely different product is really not at all the same discussion.

I hope you get your pit ASAP. There are just variables that come into play. What if LSG randomly gets 100 orders tomorrow. Whatever they quoted at the time will obviously change, so be patient brother. They aren't purposefully misleading anyone. It's just the nature of doing any business. If they could tell the future, believe me brother, they would give the exact second that every single smoker would be delivered to every single purchaser.

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You are completely missing the point... three days after the end of my 10 week wait Chris posted on this forum that the Insulated cabinets were running 10 weeks, how could that be. A full week later, when I inquired of Chris and Amber I got a simple reply that may build was still 2 to 2-1/2 weeks from starting the build.

Shouldn't potential customers expect to be told that the build times have been extended.

This is like the proverbial 15 to 20 minute wait at a fine restaurant. 45 minutes later the table is ready.

I am done with this chain. I am happy to wait for my LSG vertical, just concerned that others should be given good information.

kkegans said:

I am happily willing to wait, that isn't my complaint. What I am trying to bring to the table is that they are quoting 10 weeks on the same week that my 10th week passed and telling me that my build will not start for 2 to 2-1/2 more weeks. I don't think that is fair to prospective customers, or good business. I did give them an opportunity to respond, and the response was simply "we are running a bit behind". Yes, I would say that 40% over the quoted time is a bit behind, but more importantly they are still quoting the same 10 weeks, knowing they are actually running at 14 weeks at this time.

As for the paint booth, with an average humidity of approximately 73% in their part of the country, and the fact that almost all automobile paint that is legally used these days is water based the paint booth is almost a necessity as water-based paint does not dry well at humidity levels above 50%.

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You got an email that you didn't like so rather than call the man or go see him to find out the reason for the delay you just bash him on an open forum. You continue to do so.
That doesn't sound like giving him much of a chance to respond. At this point I would bet there is more to this story than what your one sided posts are suggesting.

cheez59 said:

You got an email that you didn't like so rather than call the man or go see him to find out the reason for the delay you just bash him on an open forum. You continue to do so.
That doesn't sound like giving him much of a chance to respond. At this point I would bet there is more to this story than what your one sided posts are suggesting.

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This is one of the more difficult parts of our business, managing expectations. While we did have delayed paint times back in May from 3+ weeks of 100% humidity that has been caught up and yes we do have 2 indoor climate controlled paint booths so this isn't the issue. The problem is that when we are talking about large numbers of orders stretched over 1-6 months (depending on the item) it becomes less of a exact science and much more best guesstimate based on the information at hand. We have been doing this long enough to pretty much know how many units we can produce in a given time frame. So here's how your lead time is figured, total number of orders divided by average produced per week plus a little extra for margin of error. There is also weight given to the rate that items are currently being finished in relation to the number of orders in line. Sounds simple and straight forward and shouldn't ever be off more than a little and that's true if the orders were received in a steady and never changing pace. For whatever reason maybe a blog post, Facebook, TV, or just a seasonal increase orders can come all at once and if we get 20 orders in one day as opposed to 1 per day for 20 days that will swing the time line drastically one way or the other. Mind you that the overall number of orders in the stack hasn't changed, there is still for example 10 weeks worth of orders but the 20 that were ordered in one day will defiantly not all be done at once slowing down that group. This is why a week or so ago I posted that the lead time is still 10 weeks give or take because we still have 10 weeks worth of orders in line today same as we did 10 weeks ago. We try to account for unusually high order rates in short times but its very difficult to factor in and seams like we either under shoot or over shoot. In fact because of the change in order rates we can have 10 weeks worth of orders in line but some may be done in less than the estimated lead time (which is strange but sometimes this also is unwelcome news to customers that its done sooner than expected). We sincerely apologize that there are a couple groups of orders that are running a little behind the original estimated lead times. We are doing everything we can to stay caught up on these couple groups but its hard because we refuse to compromise on quality or cut corners, about all we can do is give the guys as much overtime as they like and hope we stay semi caught up. Trust me when I say it more stressful on us when we get behind because no one likes being wrong and none of us like answering those phone calls.

Hopefully this helps clear things up a little.

Thanks
Chris

Is the remodel that is going on currently having any effect on the shop's production ability?

fjaggie07 said:

Is the remodel that is going on currently having any effect on the shop's production ability?

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The remolding of our new office/showroom is being down 100% by contractors and on a building that doesn't have anything to do with the production of pits. It would be easy for me to use this or any other number of things as an excuse but the truth is no more or less than what was stated in the post above.

Thanks
Chris

kkegans said:

You are completely missing the point... three days after the end of my 10 week wait Chris posted on this forum that the Insulated cabinets were running 10 weeks, how could that be. A full week later, when I inquired of Chris and Amber I got a simple reply that may build was still 2 to 2-1/2 weeks from starting the build.

Shouldn't potential customers expect to be told that the build times have been extended.

This is like the proverbial 15 to 20 minute wait at a fine restaurant. 45 minutes later the table is ready.

I am done with this chain. I am happy to wait for my LSG vertical, just concerned that others should be given good information.

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I am not missing anything. You are upset that you might get your pit later than expected. This is not a restaurant, but yet you choose another non-applicable comparison. I'm glad that you're done with this chain. If getting a pit two weeks earlier or later is a decision maker for you, then we just operate on different priorities. Email Lonestar with complaints instead of being passive aggressive and "giving others good information". again, I hope you get your pit as soon as possible. Lonestar is probably burning both ends of the candle to satisfy everyone. Build time is a complete guess with a thousand variables, so be patient while they construct everyone's builds. It will be better from the diligence.

I ordered mine a little over a month ago and told Amber to take their time. I sure don't want mine rushed.

Thank you Chris for clearing that up.

I got the E-Mail yesterday, my LSG Vertical Smoker shipped and is on the way. :-D It shipped exactly 12 weeks from the order date. I know there's been some talk here lately over delivery dates. Chris told me when I ordered it would take about 10 weeks, but that it could run shorter or longer. We had a pretty long discussion on lead times, fabrication delays and the business in general. Am I excited my unit was 2 weeks late, definitely not. But I am excited that both Chris and Amber were always super professional and polite. When Amber provided the two options for metal art, I liked them both but wasn't sure which one would look better cut, so I asked her to run them both. I agreed to pay and make a choice when they were both finished, whichever one I liked most, we'd put on the smoker and the other they would ship in the smoker and I'll use it for something else, she happily obliged. Halfway through the wait, I called and added some other options for more racks and a lower winch ring, again, they happily obliged. Even though these are standard cookers, they have a lot of custom options and LSG seemed to make every effort for me to walk away happy. They never seemed to rush our conversations or answers to my questions. As a business owner myself, I strive to make my customers happy and I appreciate a well run business that tries to do the same. Here shortly, we'll see if I love the smoker as much as I think I will.

I got my cabinet from LSG in Novembee after a 15 week wait. Chris took my order and I was told ten weeks.

Sounds like 12-14 weeks is the norm. They have a very good product though.

I'm 5 weeks into a 20-22 week wait on my trailer rig. Every time I have called or emailed to add/modify Chris and Amber have been more than accommodating. Giving opinions on layout and custom options I have requested.

The first thing they tell you once you place your order is completion date is an ESTIMATE. Based on my experience thus far and all the testimonials and post on this forum there is no question LSG is dedicated to customer service.

Sometime you need to "pump the brakes" and think before you post on an open forum and bash someone.

cfspence said:

I'm 5 weeks into a 20-22 week wait on my trailer rig. Every time I have called or emailed to add/modify Chris and Amber have been more than accommodating. Giving opinions on layout and custom options I have requested.

The first thing they tell you once you place your order is completion date is an ESTIMATE. Based on my experience thus far and all the testimonials and post on this forum there is no question LSG is dedicated to customer service.

Sometime you need to "pump the brakes" and think before you post on an open forum and bash someone.

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One only needs to read this thread to see exactly what kind of folks the Goodlanders are. In particular start reading at post #28

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=225545&page=2

In preparation for a "no electricity allowed" competition, I've been running my LSG without my Stoker. It's been humming along at 250 (with water) with no issues. It might even run better, and I use much less water. The only downside is the recovery is quicker with a fan. Maybe I need some manual bellows to pump for 5 min after opening the door.

I use t-plates. I run kingsford comp, with fist sized wood chunks. Any wood I add after the
Initial load, I pre light on a propane burner to avoid sooty smoke.

Brisket lately is 4 hours at 250 till mahogany, wrap in foil, then 4 more hours till tender(196-202). Then vent for 15 min, seperate the point, and rest 2 hours minimum. 1 hour before serving, I put the cubed burnt ends back on to crisp them up.

My LSG Insulated Vertical is scheduled for delivery on Tuesday 7/4/16, one delivery day short of being a part of our large July 4 celebration, :sad:

Damn the luck, but another day to celebrate. I'd just take the week off...

FrankH a couple of questions
Do you have the mini or the large vertical smoker ?
What size blower 10cfm or 25 cfm do you use with your Stoker ?

TomRaz said:

FrankH a couple of questions
Do you have the mini or the large vertical smoker ?
What size blower 10cfm or 25 cfm do you use with your Stoker ?

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I have the large Vertical.

I first tried 10 cfm, which will work. But two 10cfm fans twinned has a much better recovery. Last 6mo I've been using a single 25cfm blower, which I'd say is the appropriate fan size.

Frank, thank you very much

Thanks for the help!

So after reviewing 95 pages of this thread, I pulled the trigger on the large LSG Insulated Smoker. Now just to figure out a good trailer to move it around. I hope approximately 10 weeks is 10 weeks, but willing to wait for a great product!

Congrats jwbwx1 on placing your order

It's kind like a bunch of people in a waiting room at the hospital

I have seven weeks to go and can't wait, but of course I have to

jwbwx1 said:

So after reviewing 95 pages of this thread, I pulled the trigger on the large LSG Insulated Smoker. Now just to figure out a good trailer to move it around. I hope approximately 10 weeks is 10 weeks, but willing to wait for a great product!

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Congrats. You will not find a better cooker IMHO. We are at a comp now waiting to fire ours up at 4.