Weber Summit E6 Kamado Customer Service

[mcyork28]

I know Weber has taken a little flak lately. Mostly because of the SmokeFire roll out and now there is an issue with the updated Summit Kamado wobbling after assembly. I detailed the wobble in my initial post after putting it together.

The VP of quality called me today to chat about my experience so far. In short, they are sending me a whole new cooker with a revised base and taking the old one away. That is far and above anything I would expect from them and shows their commitment to keeping their customers happy.

I will definitely be a Weber customer for many years to come.

 

[70monte]

Weber always has had great CS. I read their announcement on their website about this. I'm glad that they are taking care of you.

 

[QB-Wan]

It is reassuring that Weber is making revisions to the 2nd generation units. I applaud their quick and honest response.

I do wonder about some of the other aspects of this grill. The grate for example. I've not seen it in person, but I've read it is thinner and weaker than the original version, and I've seen a video of the handle falling off it. Other aspects of the grill were also changed.

The original version seemed like a fantastic grill- sort of a hybrid that could work well both as a charcoal grill and a Kamado style smoker. The price seemed high, but at least quality was not really in question (although some had problems with the gas starter).

The price of the second generation made much more sense. But- how much of the changes in the second generation were done simply to lower the mfg. cost, vs. changes made to differentiate it from the original version and not alienate buyers of the original?

Seems like Weber mis-played this twice. The original was a great unit- but $2K for a double walled kettle on a cart? That limited their market for sure. The pricing was spot-on for the second generation, but too many corners were cut. Couldn't Weber have discovered the wobbly base issue before releasing it?

Take the gas starter away from the original base model, give it a realistic price, and Weber has a big hit on their hands. Hopefully it's not too late.

Regardless, better to produce a quality product and have people complain about the price, than produce a flawed product, and have people complain about the quality. I'm keeping an eye on this, as I'm definitely an interested potential customer!

 

[mcyork28]

I'm not sure if there is a difference in the grate or not but it's definitely fairly heavy. It's not a thin cheap grate.

The handle comes pre-attached to the lid. Not sure how it would fall off, mine seems very solid.

With the exception of the wobble (which they are addressing) , I am very pleased with the performance and quality of the grill.

It is reassuring that Weber is making revisions to the 2nd generation units. I applaud their quick and honest response.

I do wonder about some of the other aspects of this grill. The grate for example. I've not seen it in person, but I've read it is thinner and weaker than the original version, and I've seen a video of the handle falling off it. Other aspects of the grill were also changed.

The original version seemed like a fantastic grill- sort of a hybrid that could work well both as a charcoal grill and a Kamado style smoker. The price seemed high, but at least quality was not really in question (although some had problems with the gas starter).

The price of the second generation made much more sense. But- how much of the changes in the second generation were done simply to lower the mfg. cost, vs. changes made to differentiate it from the original version and not alienate buyers of the original?

Seems like Weber mis-played this twice. The original was a great unit- but $2K for a double walled kettle on a cart? That limited their market for sure. The pricing was spot-on for the second generation, but too many corners were cut. Couldn't Weber have discovered the wobbly base issue before releasing it?

Take the gas starter away from the original base model, give it a realistic price, and Weber has a big hit on their hands. Hopefully it's not too late.

Regardless, better to produce a quality product and have people complain about the price, than produce a flawed product, and have people complain about the quality. I'm keeping an eye on this, as I'm definitely an interested potential customer!

 

[mcyork28]

I was curious so I went out and looked at how the handle attaches. It's two screws, don't really see how that is going to fall off.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[QB-Wan]

I was curious so I went out and looked at how the handle attaches. It's two screws, don't really see how that is going to fall off.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

I was speaking about the handle on the cooking grate, not the handle for the lid.

I'm glad to hear yours seems of good quality! Hopefully the grate is the same as gen 1.

 

[kenrobin]

My understanding is that the only differences are the stand (which is being addressed by Weber), the diffuser plate and the removal of the charcoal igniter. The grates are the same & the damper at the top of the dome are the same (some have said that the damper is thinner).

 

[QB-Wan]

My understanding is that the only differences are the stand (which is being addressed by Weber), the diffuser plate and the removal of the charcoal igniter. The grates are the same & the damper at the top of the dome are the same (some have said that the damper is thinner).

Good info- thanks! I've read the same thing about the damper, but couldn't see any difference in photos. Nice to hear it and the grate are both the same! (there's also been talk about the grate being thinner too) I really hope this works out well for Weber as I think this is a good concept.

 

[sudsandswine]

Seems hard to believe these issues wouldn't have been flushed out in beta/QA testing. If there's already a re-designed base, that means the original is flawed, yet it made it to the marketplace?

 

[Happy Hapgood]

I too think Weber has the best CS out there. Yes they are going with new grills and there have been some growing pains. This is why I always wait 2 years on Vehicles, computers and everything else. I was driving when the Ford Pinto came out. We older folks know what happened with that.