Viking VGBQ4122RENSS Grill

(Los Angeles, CA, USA)

In one word, the grill sucks!

I've had it for less than 6 months, it's already been repaired twice and I just placed the third call for warranty repair.

The problem is the electric ignitor. This is the first model with the electric ignitor, the problem I keep having is that the ignitor keeps firing while the grill is on. It's not what you expect from a $3500 grill.

What makes matters worse is the fact that Viking will not replace the grill or provide anything for the inconvenience of having it repaired for the third time in the span of less than a year. The customer service agents you talk to simply don't care.

This will be my last viking purchase. Should have purchased a Wolfe instead.

41 inch top of the line built in grill Viking VGBQ4122

by Eugene
(NEW YORK)

by far toe worst value on the market! I bought what i thought was going to be the best and last me the longest and boy was i wrong. with in the second season (18 months) i had to start replacing burners, grill grates starters. i have a built in Weber grill that is 5 plus years at our second home and this was the first year we had to do any service work. what a rip-off. looks great all shiny and new on the outside however it cooks terrible due to the fact the burners only work in certain areas. grates are totally rusted in the middle where we cook the most due to the metal being exposed from the heat burning the finish off. i called the company and they state sorry you are only covered for 1 year!

buyer beware

Viking VGIQ4103RT1L Propane Grill Issues

by Teddy
(Lemont,, IL)

I stumbled upon this blog by accident. I could never find a forum of consumers who purchased Viking grills, only sites that sell them. I cannot be the only consumer with a Viking grill problem.

I have owned this propane grill since May, 2004. I hate it, but it cost too much to give up. I have contacted Viking many, many times and I have had countless service calls, one as recently as 2 weeks ago.

The problem has never been corrected. The TruSear burner will not stay lit. It goes out with a loud bang and has to be relit several times to finish a steak. Happens every time. I don't dare walk away from it while it's on. The latest service man said it should not have two gas regulators, one on the grill and one on the propane hose, because it steps down the gas flow too much causing the burner to go out. He said take one off. I called Viking, they said I am supposed to have two, don't take one off. Their "certified service reps" don't even know their products!

Bottom line, Viking doesn't give a r@ts a** about my problem because all customer service advises is "have another service call." I will never recommend or buy another Viking product.

Viking VGIQ4103REIN

by Jason
(Denver, Colorado)

May 27, 2010

In May of 2009 I walked into Denver’s Home and Hearth Outfitters showroom looking for an outdoor kitchen. I was approached by a sales employee named Justin Smith. Justin was very friendly and helpful as we walked around the showroom with a blank piece of paper “data sheet” and a pen picking out various Viking cabinets, a BBQ head and a Wok. He wrote the prices and a total on the paper which I took home with a Viking Catalog to think about it over the next week while I was traveling. I called Justin back and decided to go with the entire package. At that time Justin sent me an official quote via email and I noticed that the total from his hand written paper was different from the official quote so I simply sent him an email asking why?

 
Hey Justin,
 
Thanks for putting this together for me.
 
One question: Last week in the data sheet that you provided the Wok cooker is quoted at $2449 yet this invoice is at $3029. Can you tell me what the difference is? All the other quoted prices match.


Jason

Justin replied within minutes with this response:

Jason,
I hope that the travel has been good!  I realize what I did when I wrote down the $2449 price for the wok.  I was reading off of the wrong line in the Viking book, and priced out the outdoor 24” range top.  Because of my mistake I will honor the price of $2449 for the wok.   I apologize for making the mistake, thank you for catching it!
 
Safe Travel,
Justin Smith
Home and Hearth Outfitters
Denver, Colorado


Had Justin’s answer been, “I made a mistake, the actual price is $3,029” then I would have had an opportunity to make a decision that first week of June, 2009 to either accept the new price, or change my order. Instead his FIRST response was to “honor” the price. I honestly thought nothing of this discount assuming there was some play as a sales employee to close the deal. On a $18,000 BBQ, I expected some sort of room for negotiation. Justin DID mention to me over the phone that because of the relationship with Viking he was not able to maneuver the price on the invoice because they would get in trouble but he would find a way to make it happen. Again, I thought nothing of this practice assuming this was standard business for Home and Hearth Outfitters. Justin required half down to start the order which I paid off the official quote, knowing it did not reflect the discounter price.

8 weeks later, a few days before delivery Justin called me for final payment. I reminded him that I had no official invoice reflecting the discount he mentioned. (Notice I even suggested he leave the invoice as is):

Justin,
 
Remember this conversation below?
 
I realize that it was a simple mistake and you nor your company should be penalized $600 for such. On the other hand it is a $18,000 purchase of which I paid full price and never asked for any discounts. I'm sure that's unusual. I always thought of this as my little 3.3% discount.
 
I don't want this to come from your commission, I hope you have some room to wiggle with company prices.
 
Here is my recommendation. Leave the invoice as is but make me a deal on the refrigerated drawers that I can't refuse. Sell them to me at cost and turn me into a Home and Hearth sales guy. I've already had a neighbor come over and tell me he had similar thoughts for next summer.


Jason

His response:

Jason,
My Apologies!  I forgot to change it in the system, and in turn forgot all about it.  Again, thank you for catching it, I hope you don’t think I was trying to pull a fast one.  The difference will be taken out of the remaining balance left.  I will touch base with you next week about it.  Have a great weekend!

He then called me on the phone, insisted on removing the $580 and took my credit card number for the remaining balance minus the $580. On the day of delivery in late August my countertop was not yet completed by my contractor so the delivery team was scheduled to simply set the components on my patio and return for installation.

Since then, I’ve been out of the country. I’ve just returned for the summer and my contractor completed his job over the winter. I called Home and Hearth to do the final last step and they are telling me that Justin did not have authority to give a discount, they are refusing to deliver my gas regulators nor complete the installation until I pay them $580.

I am the type of customer who pays all of my bills on time. I am also ethical and painfully honest. From my perspective, I made a perfectly logical and ethical consumer purchase with an employee of a Viking reseller. I paid my bill in it’s entirety on the day of delivery. I’ve thought nothing of this transaction for 10 months. I now understand that Home and Hearth has since FIRED Justin because of this and other like deals he made while employed there. I understand that I was dealing with an unethical sales man and it’s an unfortunate position for Home and Hearth. However, I strongly believe that it’s the responsibility of Home and Hearth to take responsibility for their employees actions. I think it’s unethical for Pete, the owner of Home and Hearth, to return to the customer 10 months after the sale to say “Our employee made a mistake and now you have to pay for it”.

I am NOT trying to take advantage of a typo. I would NOT have held Justin to the handwritten quote had he not offered to honor it and continue to honor it throughout the entire sale. I never once felt he was being dishonest nor insincere about the quote. I am simply asking that Home and Hearth take responsibility for the situation, quit blaming the customer, quit accusing me of falsifying emails (from Justin) and rectify this situation.

Home and Hearth needs to ask themselves, “why was my order delivered despite missing $580 exactly?”, “Why do I have multiple emails from Justin explicitly explaining the $580 difference?” and “Why are you rudely treating a customer who spent $18,000 and has 2 more Viking cabinets yet to purchase?”.

I would NOT recommend buying anything from this unethical company. HOME AND HEARTH OUTFITTERS in DENVER COLORADO USA.

Jason

Large Viking stainless steel double grill - don't know the model number off hand

by Mary Ellen Giulietti
(Farmington, Ct. 06032)

We owned a Viking grill that was so defective and problematic that we were sent a new grill 4 years ago. Three years ago, when the grill was only one year old, my husband went to cover the grill as we always did after it cooled down. Our grill was always spotless and well taken care of. When he put the back of the cover on, there was an unfinished edge on the grill that sliced open his left middle finger. He had to go to the hospital where he was put on IV, and received 13 stitches. He was bandaged for a week, and they did not know whether this would heal properly. The stitches took, but to this day he has no feeling in the tip of his finger and it constantly has a rough callous on it.

We contacted Viking and they are the most uncooperative people I have ever seen. They sent someone here to look at the grill and he had the pathetic excuse that it was "rusty". A. It is stainless steel B. It was one year old, and C. It was constantly covered since this is how my husband was injured in the first place. This edge was so sharp you could have cut a piece of meat with it.

We have small children here and were afraid to keep this grill as children do get curious and one would have lost a little finger had it happened to a child. We had to get a new grill- bought a Weber- better, cheaper, and efficient.

Viking wanted nothing to do with this case. Their argument that this grill was rusty was a total lie, and we still have this grill in our basement and it is still not rusty. We even sent pictures to show them that they were wrong. And even if it were to rust, then their stainless steel must have been defective!!! After almost 3 years of arguing, they finally paid our hospital bill. They would not give us another dime towards a grill or towards my husband's injury or loss of work time.

I would never recommend one of these Viking grills to anyone. They are overpriced and unsatisfactory. And to top that off, the company is unethical.