My Kamado is Great

[Nemesis]

David, My question to you is this;

If there was an alternative rack available from a reputable supplier (one who actually stands behind his product) - a rack that was constructed from better materials (doesn't rust like the Johnson racks), and ready for immediate shipment, would you buy this alternative or take your chances on getting lucky (receiving product) from Richard Johnson?

I dont even think that George Leonard himself would want to debate any of the points above, even if just for sport. We know that there are serious service issues with anything Kamado related. I submit my own photos in the hall of shame as evidence of how the Kamado cooking grates will form a rust patina, and lump baskets plain rust away. Finally, there are enough reports here for most reasonable individuals to deduce that there is a significant risk of non delivery, and almost certain prolonged delay and inconvenience when dealing with the Johnsons.

Thats not a challenge, just a question...you can certainly demonstrate your loyalty to the Johnsons with your credit card number.

Or, if you find the above facts compelling, you can send an email to KomodoKamado detailing what pieces you need. You will get a credible delivery date, and that grate will not rust. As I have both, I think I am qualified to make this comparison. [EDIT: You missed the boat. Dennis has declined to make/sell POSK parts anymore - too much demand, it detracts from his KK efforts.]

I am curious though, are you being as objective in your purchase as you expect the rest of us to be in this discussion?

[outlaw99]

I had to reread your post to even understand it. We are talking about BIG TIME FRAUD here. Not your local restaurant owner trying to make a go of it and not quite making it work. The boat IS an issue because it speaks to character. I would estimate that RJ owes at least $100K to people who invested in stock, loaned him money, performed work that they were never paid for and tried to buy inventory to sell. I have a Kamado from 99 and it works like a champ. A few tiles have fallen off, but no big deal. However, WE DO KNOW RJ's methods. He WILL be asking for another round of financing SOON, and we just hate to see more people get taken.

[somebodyelse]

K Fan,

Since documentation seems so important to you can Richard Johnson provide any valid documentation that he paid the Guru folks? Or Tony Oliver? Or the charcoal supplier? He could easily post them here to refute the claims, no?

As far as the Nam Sang that directly goes to address the character of the people behind the company. Personally I would not trust my credit card, checking account or personal info to such people.

I could address other issues such as crumbly,smelly,moldy underweight charcoal, worthless warranties and horrendous customer service as well but I get the impression that my efforts would be wasted on someone such as yourself. Not meant as an insult, just an observation based on your replies to others here.

BTW my decision to not do business with the Kamado Co. was not influenced by this website IN THE LEAST. I based that decision on reading the Kamado forum on THEIR OWN WEBSITE for a few years and seeing how they handled their customer service issues.

The bottom line for me was when some poor customer was begging for a response on the forum to the numerous unanswered emails and countless unreturned phone calls he had made and Richard responded that the forum was not for business and the person should call or email him.

[Fetzervalve]

Davey,
I have never owned a K - okay I did "own" a half, by way of deposit for a few weeks. When I was unable to get any response from the Johnson family, I got nervous and canceled the charge with the card company. I am one of the lucky ones.

Read the full story here.

I read the posts of substandard customer service on the K site, but since one of the J girls had actually called and spoke with my wife about a tile sample, (pre-deposit) I assumed that it was only a few trouble makers and it wouldn't happen to me.

I became aware of this site after the fact and now realize how lucky I really was (I still have my money and a great [KK] grill).

[foxhound]

kamado fan wrote:

[Sesquipedalian]

Moderator
Post Number: 2174
Registered: 4-2002
Posted on Saturday, March 17, 2007 - 11:14 pm:

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
I appreciate the honest and informative comparison between the BGE and our Kamado in this forum thread. My many years of personal cooking experience have been eclipsed many times over by our Kamado customers. This is clearly evidenced by the expertise found on this forum and for that matter, on the BGE forum’s cooking experts. They are both great products and I am proud that I designed and patented the original Kamado also known as the BGE design.

For this reason, I will leave the operational or cooking difference between the BGE & the Kamado up to the experts. However, since I made 1000’s of both, I would like to call attention to some technical and manufacturing differences, as well as the costs of manufacturing between the two.
1. All Stainless Steel Kamado hardware vs. Black metal on the BGE. Our Kamado s/s material and manufacturing costs of the metal alone are more than the entire manufacturing cost of a BGE. Stainless Steel doesn’t make the Kamado cook any better, but there is no comparison in appearance and durability.
2. All Kamado hardware is many more times heavier, thicker and stronger than BGE.
3. Kamado weighs approximately three times more than a BGE. The raw material costs are much the same and therefore you and Kamado are paying three times more for the benefit of the addition “heat sink” and heat retention. Functionally, the wall thickness is the single most importance difference in performance between these products. It is truly a huge difference in performance. The pain and delivery expense seems to disappear after the first few cooks.
4. Kamado accessories are made with expensive stainless steel and it's durability without concern for manufacturing costs. From an expert mass marketing approach this is clearly wrong. However, we sincerely hope our accessories are worth every cent in the long run.
5. Kamado has accessories not found in BGE.
6. Aesthetics don’t make the Kamado cook any better but I have always said it "makes you feel better". Applying over 3000 tiles on a #7 Kamado or buying them, for that matter, is neither cheap nor easy and it is worth it, at least we hope so. On the other hand our textured Kamados are less than a BGE with many of the Kamado benefits, excepting immediate delivery, of course.

Thank you all for sharing your ceramic cooking experiences and hopefully preventing an expensive "Gasser" mistake.

Richard



Kamado s/s material and manufacturing costs of the metal alone are more than the entire manufacturing cost of a BGE

expensive stainless steel and it's durability without concern for manufacturing costs.

(different poster)

I have a neighbor who has a BGE. He sooooo has Kamado envy it isn't even funny. The Kamado quality exceeds the BGE by factors of 10.



How can you possibly question the product quality and RJ when he builds his products like this?



You should all be ashamed of yourselves.

[Admin]

[foxhound]

Admin..you have a pm

[tcoliver]

David, not that it matters but we know who you are and we know where you practice and I now know its not worth continuing this thread with you.

[Sesquipedalian]

The easiest way to respond to someone who thinks people are picking on the K company or RJ to my way of thinking is this.

Do you see a GD fraud forum, BGE fraud forum, Primo fraud forum or KK fraud forum? The answer is no. Isn!t it strange that people would decide to pick on one company and the owner of that company for no valid reason whatsoever.

Smarten up people, there is a reason why there is a k a m a d o fraud forum.

[fishtail-99]

Indeed! I imagine you can search and find a "Best Buy Sucks" website, a "Circuit City Sucks" website, a "Frye's Sucks" website, a "Fresh Market Sucks" website, and on and on. All major retailers have a "name-of-store Sucks" website in their honor. But why does only Kamado have one? Because all the rest tell the truth to their customers about their products. All the rest honor their warrantees. All the rest let owners ask questions about problems on their forums. All the rest have shipped quality products with few major problems. It's pretty obvious why their is a Kamado Fraud Forum.

[Big Jim]

I bought my Kamado in 2003 and love it. Have not had a problem with it at all.

HOWEVER, I can attest to the lousy customer service. Emails to Richard ignored ad nauseum. And his advice about banging a grid while hot to fix a heat warped grid bar was classic.