RTFM!!!

I think Eric was just venting about how stupid some people can be! Some people don't do their research before or after the sale! Any body that has had to deal with the public will have all kinds of stories!!
Gary

 

You are in the great minority, unfortunately.

 

The person who left my stove didn't even leave the manual! I had to go only line, but not until I was on the forum did I come to appreciate what that cleaning a stove really was. Kroozer had something in his old signature that related to most all problems with the pellet stove were related to being a dirty stove. also, had it not been for the forum, I doubt I would have attempted to take the stove apart to do the cleaning that I do on a regular basis. Smokey told me about proper venting issues and the use of OAK. We have come a long ways since 2008. Being retired, I have to be a bit more careful because my income is fixed. The ups and downs of fossil fuel raise hell with a budget. With pellets, my cost is much more predictable.

 

"80% of stove problems are due to a dirty stove" - the Krooser

 

I know that if I was in a certain business I would try to refrain from posting negative things about potential customers on public internet forums.

my.02

 

We have started adding to the invoice that the customer has to initial next to it that they will read the manual. The current owners manual is around 50 pages for QuadraFire and 30 pages for Harman. There are a lot of pretty diagrams and pictures so that is not all those fancy letters and technical jargon.

Eric

 

I would never post anything that I did not tell a customer directly to his face.

Eric

 

all great input above, from BOTH sides of the counter!

but, as I am on the same side of a different counter as Eric, maybe I can clarify it somewhat, without sounding so negative and nitpicky- I'll give it a shot, and ahead of time, please don't take offense, as none is intended herein.....

The manual is produced in an attempt to inform the end user of many things, such as operation, spare parts, troubleshooting, warranty (whats covered and what isn't covered), correct installation, what testing the unit has undergone, etc. All of this errata is stuff the stove operator should want to know, now, whether they care or not is another matter. Now, when the stove stops working on that cold night, they certainly begin to care, don't they? Unfortunately, by that time they are mad and frustrated, and maybe not in the frame of mind to listen to someone suggest they *might* want to read their manual.

As a dealer, we spend a lot of time explaining things to folks which is actually in the manual. When we do this, this is time spent away from other things we should be doing, things that make us money. We spend time explaining how to clean a unit, when there are instructions in the manual and online as to how to properly do so. We spend time trying to help folks out in troubleshooting possibly broken parts, which, frankly, isn't so easy over the phone, particularly when the end-user doesn't have a rudimentary knowledge of what they are doing. Now, I know, some of this is "part of the job" (even when we didn't originally sell the unit), but when a guy (or gal), finds themselves on the phone for literally 25-40% of their day doing the above, well, maybe you can understand a bit of the frustration. Don't forget, the dealer also makes money fixing broken units as well, and sometimes, its actually easier to fix something that try to figure out what the issue is and talk you through fixing something with the parts you bought off Cheapstoveparts.com on the Internet.

As for future sales, you wouldn't believe how much we end up trying to help folks out who never bought from us. Some folks are great, and they will tell you they didn't get it from you, but that the dealer they bought from is a jerk, or wont talk to them, etc. When asked why they didn't buy from us, its usually that we were more money (ironic now though, that we are spending OUR time (and money) talking to another stove seller's customers)......

The end user could possibly save themselves quite a lot of money if only they would take the time to properly care for their unit. The first step in doing so is to read the manual.

Anyhow, I apologize if this post sounds negative or trite, but, its simply another viewpoint, take it for what its worth. If your viewpoint is the famous quote "the customer is always right", then you wont understand this, and I will come off as another nasty stove salesperson, with poor customer service skills and a bad attitude.

 

This is great. The amount of time other people have to answer to this post is awesome. I get on here to rant every so often and it does help to vent. I am not in business to pizz to many people off or I would not be able to make rent. I do like to get my point across that the manual is not perfect but does have the basics for answering questions.

 

Well, its my day off (I worked at the store Saturday and Sunday).....kinda....just finished plowing, getting ready for our NEXT storm, tonight.

 

Did you stock up on extra pellets, bottled water, and batteries?

 

I stocked up on Beer

 

nah.....don't need no bread or milk, batteries, or bottled water. Got a creek nearby for water, deer in the freezer, and the neighbors have a couple dogs I can catch and skin out in pretty short order......Im good.

 

http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671723650

Dealing with people ?
"Read the manual"

 

tried it.....it didn't work.......

 

"I don't have an attitude problem, you have a perception problem"

Words I live by.

 

It helps if you don't have a display of your torture chamber equipment on the wall behind you and to smile .