Bakers Pride Dante Series

[ares]

They still havent fixed the stamped steel burner price

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On Monday, I informed Emily @ Partstown of the stamped burner after she’d fixed the cast iron one.  She sent me a new case number on it yesterday.

 

Middleby was slower to respond, but they emailed me yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon:

 

“Hello,

 

Let me check with my purchasing team and I will get back with you about this within the next day or so.

 

Thank you,

Angie”

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I’m beginning to regret suggesting to my boss that we should recommend buying an entire cook line of Southbend stuff.   Which we have…and has been delivered.

 

WHY?

Because Middleby does INDEED seem to have problems with customer service.  They said they’d get back with me “in a day or two” over a week ago about this Baker Pride part pricing debacle. 

I just now replied to THAT email…over a week later…to tell their – uh (AHEM)…CUSTOMER SERVICE – that “I’m hearing crickets chirping”.

 

On the other hand, Emily @ PartTown has been great!  She’s kept me informed either daily or every-other-day, stating  that they’re still pursuing the problem (as of today). 

FWIW: On Monday, she said, 

“Our Purchasing team was told that this is the correct pricing, but we are sure this cannot be the case so we are pushing back to Baker’s Pride to confirm this pricing again. Per Baker’s Pride, they are looking into this and I will let you know once we hear back with a new update from them.”

 

So Middleby doesn’t see their pricing error of $1761.80 for something I can find elsewhere on the internet for a price well shy of $100!

 

What a HOOT!

[jbm]

Both Partstown & Allpoints are showing List Price of $158.39 as of right now, My pricing is $102.95 & $70.00.

So maybe that was a misprint that has been corrected on the website.

[ectofix]

Yes, they corrected the price of the cast iron burner (part number L5027V) about ten days ago.  However, no corrections yet on the round, stamped burner (part number L5019X).  It still shows THIS as of today:

 

 

 

Here’s the link:

https://www.partstown.com/bakers-pride/bkpl5019x 

 

As I’d mentioned before, PartsTown is attempting to get a correction from Middleby Corp., but Middleby seems to demonstrate some really poor customer service.

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I can’t help but to be fascinated by this.  It reminds me of the $435 hammer and the $10,000 dollar toilet seat stories that arose during my twenty years in the military.  It just goes to show that the larger a unified market becomes (especially now due to the internet), the slower that corrections are made due to human mistakes. 

The government is the worst.  Middleby is the biggest in the food equipment market and…funny that Emily @ Partstown didn’t seem to “blink an eye” when quoting me the $3127 price of something that us techs absolutely KNOW shouldn’t cost NEARLY that much.

 

Anyway, in addition to contacting PartTown, I’ve also sent an email to the customer support at Middleby Advantage.  Here’s what I wrote:

 

Greetings,

 

I am a technician who happens to frequently repair Bakers Pride equipment.  I’ve come to discover that several Bakers Pride parts have suddenly been priced at an exorbitantly high markup.  Here are some specifics that convince me that there are some serious pricing errors:

 

Part number L5019X is a basic stamped burner attached to a grease shield with two cotter pins.  You have listed it at $1761.80 on your website and at PartsTown.  This assembly was only about $137.00 just two months ago.

If that assembly is broken down and its separate were bought individually:

L5013X – Tube burner lists for $50.17

H1044X – Grease shield lists for $36.27

Q4008X – Cotter pin is $2.60.  Two are required, so $5.20.

TOTAL = $91.74

How is it that those parts being sold already assembled justify a price of $1761.80?

 

Oh wait!  This gets better…

Part number L5027V is the assembly using cast iron burners.  Your website lists that at $3128.  If broken down and its parts purchased separately:

L5014V – Cast iron burner lists $142.89

H1008X – Grease shield for a C.I. burner is $21.74

Q4008X – Two cotter pins, so $5.20.

TOTAL = $169.83

So…how is there a nearly $3000 markup for buying these parts already assembled?  A technician can put them together in less than five minutes!

 

Lastly, a Bakers Pride model XX-10 char-grill retails as low as $7900.  When its burners fail in some way such as corrosion or warpage from use (which they WILL), then buying ten new burner assemblies at your price would require either x2 or up to x4 investment over the cost of an entire grill!

 

PLEASE look into these disparities.  Once you’ve corrected this, inform ALL of your parts vendors (Partstown, Heritage, Allpoints, FMP, etc.) of the error.  Otherwise, based upon what you’re asking for parts to keep our customer’s Bakers Pride equipment running, we all should probably be recommending new char-grills manufactured by another company.

 

Thank you for your attention on this matter,

Earl C

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W-E-L-L, my PartsTown rep ran into a brick wall too.  She’s been great and has kept me updated almost daily. 

NOT SO with the Middleby Advantage customer service rep.  Virtual SILENCE.

 

Anyway, I expect that this will be the final word on that WAY over priced round, stamped burner – part number L5019X.

 

Hello Earl,

So I have some bad news. Unfortunately, Baker’s Pride has twice confirmed that the price of $1761.80 is the correct list for part #BKPL5019X. This pricing is outrageous and we here all agree that you should just purchase the parts individually at this time. I am sorry for any inconvenience.

 

She’s referring to my simpleton’s math POSTED EARLIER for buying SEPARATE parts and then doing a quick & simple assembly on-site.  The separate parts are:

L5013X – Tube burner lists for $50.17

H1044X – Grease shield lists for $36.27

Q4008X – Cotter pin is $2.60.  Two are required, so $5.20.

TOTAL = $91.74

 

FWIW: Unlike most technicians, I’m in a position where I CAN recommend products from certain manufacturers.  I now know what equipment manufacturer I WON’T be recommending in the future.

Why?

VERY poor customer service OUTLANDISHLY priced replacement parts

[fixbear]

OUCH.