Barbecook Cock-up

Barbecook is a Belgian manufacturer of barbecues. About ten years ago we bought a barbecue from them: the Puuur model. One of the reasons we chose it was because it has a ceramic bowl that holds the charcoal.

It’s given us good service, but this season I noticed that the bowl had developed a large crack, and another crack is developing. It will only be a matter of time before the bowl starts falling apart.

I went to the Barbecook website to look for a replacement bowl. While the Puuur model is apparently no longer available, there were still spare parts for it listed, including the bowl, so I ordered it, at a cost of €146.88.

A few days later a large box was delivered, which rattled alarmingly. I opened it, and sure enough, the bowl had been smashed in transit

Very comprehensively:

Naturally, I emailed Barbecook’s Customer Support, and got a reply back apologising and saying “I will send you a new ceramic bowl and ask our warehouse staff to pack it extra securely”.

Great, thought I, good customer service. At least I did until the second bowl arrived:

Sigh – broken in transit again; just in two halves this time. So much for the “extra secure packing” – which was exactly the same as for the first time. The issue is that the packing material they use (air bags) gets punctured in transit and the heavy bowl then rattles around in the large box and suffers damage.

I emailed Customer Support with this observation and photos on the 7th August. It’s now two weeks later and I’ve not had any reply. It looks as though I’m €146.88 out of pocket on this particular learning experience. I’m not best pleased, and if I do need to replace our barbecue, you can sure it will not be with a model from Barbecook’s range.

Addendum 24 August 2024: Perhaps it is pure coincidence, but a day after I posted this, I got an email from Barbecook Customer Service apologising for the delay in replying to my last email and offering to either attempt sending a third replacement or to refund my money. I’ve replied that I don’t want to run the risk of a third disappointment, so I would accept the refund…