My Kamado is Great

[Nemesis]

Well, at least one of these claims was put to legal test...

Richard Johnson was ordered to pay damages for crashing a stolen yacht into a bridge and sinking it, then blaming the whole thing on the bridge operator!

[tcoliver]

My story is clearly documented here, please read it. If you want a copy of the documents I was going to serve on The Johnsons I can send them to you. As posted earlier I had already been taken for $40,000 and I was only willing to spend another couple thousand to chase them. I had a couple "servers" try to serve them in Mexico but as most people know that is very difficult not to mention Richard knows there are many people after him and basically has been hiding for the past several years. All along I knew I probably would never get a dime from them since they are very good at hiding what little money they have and probably don't even have much in the first place. When I was in business with him all he kept complaining about was how broke he was. This however wasn't the point, I still pursued it and spent more of my money because I didn't want this crook to steal from anyone else. I think it is documented here that this forum has saved a couple people from going down the same road I did. This not only hurt me, but it took from my family (especially my kids). So don't come here acting like YOU know the facts because obviously YOU don't. And by the way I never had any problems with my cooker and loved the way it looked and cooked; however I did sell it and bought what I believe to be far SUPERIOR product. I tell you what, I have $8,000 worth of Kamado Stock, If you think this company is so great I will sell you this stock for $1,000. Now that should be a great deal for someone who has such pride in a Kompany right? How about it?
Have a nice day.
Tony

[Admin]

[fishtail-99]

I suppose it should be also pointed out that this forum, in a way, IS an attempt to bring balance to the discussion of Richard Johnson, his company, and his failure to honor his warrantee. There is NO balance on the Kamado forum. As we have documented here time and time again, if you post anything whatsoever on the Kamado forum that even mentions customer service, the post is deleted and your account is suspended without explanation or communication from Kamado. The only way anyone can discuss the problems with Kamado is to come here and post and read. So, this forum does indeed help to produce a balanced discussion of Kamado cookers, Richard Johnson's actions and Kamado service. The fanboys post the good over on the Kamado forum, and the people who have been hurt by Richard Johnson post here. I'd say that is about all we can expect in the way of a balanced discussion considering Richard Johnson will simply not allow any discussion on his forum that doesn't positively portray Kamado cookers and customer service.

[Nemesis]

One thing to consider when looking at the numbers...Sure, there are a hundred and some people here, so what does that tell you? Since only the most angry will invest the effort to carry on the fight, how widespread do you think the non-existent service is??

If we have a hundred, you can bet there are several hundred more that did exactly as you propose, and just take the hosing and walkaway.

[Johnnyboy]

K Fan,

You're happy with your K, that's great. No one is contesting that.

So then; why are you giving those of us who've had problems a bad time?

If you think I'm lying about the problems I've encountered within 3 years; look around your own forum (K forum); I've left plenty pictures, and repair instructions (and in the beginning was encouraged to do so by RJ himself; then he started suspending me).

1. Wheel shafts bent. (Purchased/replaced initial set myself. In fact RJ asked me to post how I lifted the K to replace them)
2. Draft door stuck. (Used hack saw to cut slits in the tubes, then expanded them to give more room for the rods)
3. Draft door frame assembly broke out of the K. (Wire brushed, cleaned, and re-mortared it in myself).
4. Tiles fell off dome and body. (Lots of them)
5. Huge crack completely through the body. Runs from rim, down the side, under the bottom. Plus bunch of smaller cracks.
6. SS parts/bands rusted.
7. Side table flimsy/un-level; heavy items slide off. Had to Jerry Rig a fix myself.
8. 360 lbs of moldy charcoal (shipped after it was known fact there was a mold problem.)
9. Many-many derogatory emails from RJ.

So go ahead and post your satisfaction. Doesn't mean the rest of us have had the same.

And QUIT making it sound like those of us with problems are lying!!! I've got pictures and emails if you want to see.

Good luck to you when you need to exercise your lifetime warranty.

[fishtail-99]

Jboy,

I'm sure KFan doesn't think that those who have problems are lying. After all, Richard Johnson himself admits that one tenth of one percent of his cookers have had problems, LMAO. No, I think KFan doesn't believe that Richard Johnson:

1) Stole the Nam Sang
2) Stole $10,000 from BBQ Guru
3) Stole $40,000 from Tony Oliver
4) Stole 4-5 containers of charcoal from Sandy
5) Refuses to honor his warrantee
6) Deletes posts and suspends users for no legitimate reason
7) Fled Indonesia in the middle of the night leaving his creditors high and dry and his workers without a job
8 ) Failed to remit CA sales tax
9) Shipped moldy charcoal and refused to refund anyone's money
10) Lied that the current coconut charcoal is the same formula as the original Philippine charcoal
11) Lied that Kamado now makes their own charcoal
12) Lied that he had moved production to Singapore when his own customers were posting photos of shipping crates that showed they came from Indonesia.
13) Doesn't answer emails or phone calls for months at a time
14) Tells his customers to fix problems themselves rather than honor his warrantee

You see, we don't have papers indicating that a court of law has made a finding that Richard Johnson actually did these things. We made them all up, apparently. I wouldn't be surprised if all of you hate Richard Johnson so much that you accuse him of inventing AIDS.

I'm sorry, but I can't help it. To deny that Richard Johnson did anything bad because we don't have court papers to prove it is like denying the sun rises in the East and sets in the West because we don't have a letter from God saying it is so.

[Sesquipedalian]

Makes you wonder who the poster really is.

Before I bought a cooker I had seen pictures of a breakdown of parts that made up the cooker being compared against another brand and I have to say the quality of the parts of the Kamado were absolutely ridiculous. Maybe I should try to find that and post it here for all to see.

If you take a look at all the parts and materials that make up the whole, especially past models I think you have to admit it is poor quality. Take a look at a picture of the old top damper threaded piece for starters. There are many examples of problems with the quality of the product along with all the customer service problems.

Everybody has a right to choose what is best or what they believe is best for themselves. It is not my goal to rank down people for liking something different than me or just to be abrasive but if you take an honest look at the facts such as the parts and materials I think the conclusion is obvious whether or not some people have no problems or not.

All you have to do is monitor the Kamado forum closely and watch the posts that are begging for help after being ignored over and over again that are quickly deleted and a bell ought to go off in your head. Yes, there can be issues with any cooker or any product you buy. How many of these posts do you see at the KK forum about being ignored or refusing to answer emails or poor customer service? The only time you will see that is if the owner is away and even then you might not. The Kamado forum has consistently had many more of these posts than any other forum that I have seen for these type cookers.

How many companies have you seen jump from one location to another like the K company? First they tell you they are moving because it will bring about improvements. Then they move back to the previous place and tell you that will bring about improvements. The signs are there and quite frankly it is beyond my comprehension when people can be so totally unaware of or just refuse to believe things that are so obvious.

[fishtail-99]

Indeed! When RJ first moved to Indonesia, he praised the quality of the workers. Then when he fled Indonesia in the middle of the night due to money problems, he blamed it all on the inferior quality of the workers. Then he moved to Mexico. He used to berate Big Green Egg for making their cookers in Mexico. All of sudden Mexico was a wonderful place with a long history of ceramic craftsmanship. When he fled Mexico due to money problems, again he blamed the Mexican workers. So, then he said he was moving to Singapore, but his cookers were being shipped in crates that indicated they were coming from Indonesia. Sure enough, RJ has moved back to those low-quality workers in Indonesia. You can see photos of his "factory" posted elsewhere on this forum. Amazing!

[mpit]

As I have said before, I own a K7 and K3. The 7 has been very fun to use and hasnt lost any tiles. When I orderd the #3 a couple years ago I expected another nice cooker but what i got was a complete runaround full of lies and deceptions from Kamado.

the post that suggested there are hundreds more out there jsut like us complainers on this site is 100% accurate. I just happened to stumble on this site a month or so ago because I was looking for help finding much needed parts for my#7 and #3.

My main reason for posting here is trying to warn others about getting ripped off by Kamado in hopes it wont happen to them too.

K Fan, when i posted "you can lead a horse to water but can't force them to drink it" it was ment for people like you. There are 100's of people here trying to keep others from getting ripped off. Do you actualy think they are doing it for no reason?

If you continue to deal with Kamado it will happen to you as well.

[tcoliver]

Kamado Fan must have seen the light and realized he was completely wrong in his post since he hasn't responded to any more of our posts. He probably tried to order something from Kamado.

[Johnnyboy]

I agree, wondering who's really behind the post.

As folks gather around the table with honest problems/issues hoping to protect others from the same; it's beyond me why anyone feels the need to make contrasting posts like I've had mine 7 years and no problems. I mean really, what's the point Kamado Fan?

[fishtail-99]

I think Kfan indicated that the "point" of his posting was to add some balance to this forum. But, as I pointed out:

[jchan]

[Kamado Fan]

I intentionally went away for a week just to see what would happen. Also, I have a life. Some of you seem pretty consumed by what is, at the end of the day, a guy that sells cookers. Have you nothing better to do?

As I suspected, there was a hurling of personal attacks, people questioning who I was, and generally not a lot of advancement in the arguments.

I doubt you get many like me questioning you on this forum because, frankly, you attacked me.

I find it odd that so much of this forum is about how you can't possibly buy a Kamado because they suck, but a great many of you have disavowed that statement and instead said "But, but, you still have to hate him because he's a crook." Well, fine. A great many people we buy our daily goods from are crooks. I hope you all are out there investigating each one, pulling your money from their pockets, and setting up forums.

I honestly and from the heart have to tell you folks something - nobody looking to buy a grill gives a rat's ass about some boat that sank. It's not your strongest argument, that's for sure. Show the product sucks, show that he ripped off customers and the BBQ community, etc...some of your posts do that, many don't. Pick a horse and ride it because, frankly, some of the rants here come off kinda nutty.

Now, as for the BBQ Guru folks - I generally respect you. You're the only person I feel any connection to. I do have to say that I'm upset that your temp probes could be better made and your Kamado draft door fits for crap, but otherwise you are an innovator. Why the units cost as much as they do still amazes me - I hope you keep a lock on the device, because competition could really drive your profit margins down. I mean, I can buy a laptop computer for the price of your wireless unit - come on. I also like the Dizzy Pig rubs. Your golf club tool is cool too - works very well. So, you won't see me setting up a complaint forum - I paid the price, and you are in the business of taking as much money from me as I'll spend for your unit. Fair enough, I guess - or is it? I will say to you that if you hate Kamado so much, stop selling devices meant for the Kamado. I personally wouldn't have bought a Kamado if I couldn't have used your device on it. I would have gotten a BGE as it is too much trouble for me to deal with temp. regulation on any of these cookers.

Now, given the types of people that this forum seems to attract, I of course am not going to reveal who I am. I will tell you that I feel for you if you've had difficulty serving Kamado folks with service of process for a lawsuit. It is safe to say I'm an expert in such matters and leave it at that. Your service of process for someone in Mexico should be performed under the Hague convention. You should be able to find any number of process servers that will perform the service for under $1000. I have to tell you though, if you stopped the legal work at a $2,000 bill, you don't have the stomach for the long term litigation anyway. Better to cut your losses, even if they hurt, and move on. Never let anyone get into you for serious stock or other assets - keep your invoices current and your payment on time. A hard lesson nearly everyone in business has faced - not to defend Johnson in the least, but someday ask the mom-and-pop restaurant owner that just closed down what they owed their suppliers before they locked up - you'd be shocked. Then, promptly take your morals and make sure you never eat wherever those folks ever open up shop again, even if they were your friends. Because, they're evil, right? Better start a forum against them...

As for the Naked Whiz, I respect his reviews greatly. I fortunately still own a great deal of the old charcoal (Philippine extruded), but I wouldn't buy the new stuff - looks to be crap. I suggest that people here should follow the Naked Whiz format of challenging Johnson - be rational, don't look like you wear tin-foil-hats, and be objective. That's the only way to make sure nobody buys a bad product. Out of everything here, that made me question Kamado the most and convinced me not to buy a charcoal unit from them. Still going to buy the draft door alternative kit they are now selling for the guru because, as I said, the door from guru kinda sucks. I also like some of their newer racks. Post something useful if you find they are made out of lead or something, and I'll be sure to avoid buying them.