KlJack Posted November 11, 2011 Report Share Posted November 11, 2011 Hi, I'm new buyer and this is my first post to the forums. I thought I'd write about my personal experience with the intent of helping anyone that might be lurking the forum looking for unbiased information about the ownership process. I set about purchasing the KK as the final solution to a long line of what I found to be less than satisfactory gas smokers and pellet grills. The purchase: Was harrowing, I've worked in I.T security for over ten years in a research facility. For me to buy a KK unseen after only reading nice things about a product, and then blind wire transfer $4K to Indonesia went against years of training and ingrained suspicions. My local credit union was really nervous with the overseas wire as well. They had to verify information with me three times over the course of an afternoon before making the transfer. Dennis, free advice is worth exactly what you pay for it. With that being said, I'd like to suggest that maybe KK sets up a U.S account for purchases, once the deposits are made, you could automate the wire transfers to your overseas accounts. Dennis is great, he very patient and his interactions were like conversing with an old friend. Shipping: Came as a bit of a surprise to me. I thought shipping would be an exact science. Its not, so be prepared to be patient. Our kk was a little slower than i had anticipated in customs. Our shipping estimate from Road Runner was 4 business days to arrival. It turns out that their definition was 4 business days until they hand it off to a subcontractor who felt that we'd get it when they get around to it. I owe Dennis an apology, I lost my temper about this point and vented some frustrations. Dennis, I'm sorry. Our Autumn Nebula ultimate arrived three days ago. The crate had damage when it arrived, several of the boards were broken but i didn't see any lose tiles. The driver insisted that I had to sign for it BEFORE it was taken off the truck. I told him I had to note the broken crate on the shipping receipt, I wrote all over it, then pretended to forget to sign for it. I'm glad i did because he almost dropped it off the liftgate. Before delivery I had verified with the primary shipping company and the subcontractor that they were responsible for moving it into the garage. The driver had other ideas.I flipped him a twenty rather than calling his boss just to get it done. Luckily I had seen it mentioned in other forums that its not a bad idea to have some cash on hand for the delivery. The KK arrived on top of an extra pallet. The driver said this was the only way their pallet jack could lift it, and he couldn't do anything to put the KK's crate on the ground. Luckily I had a ramp we use on our pickup truck for moving heavy equipment or it might still be sitting in my garage. Unpacking Taking the crate off was fast and easy. The KK came super well wrapped. It wasn't until we had gotten the plastic off that we really got excited. The workmanship is amazing. At that this point if you had told me that it was made in middle earth by dwarven craftsmen, I might have went for it. If your reading this and considering a KK and have any doubts, talk with Dennis and try to get a reference to someone who will let you see one in person. Pictures and videos are great, but they don't hold a candle to seeing the details in person. Moving the KK After taking the lid off and removing the contents from the interior, my wife and I moved it to the backyard, across a wet lawn, by our selves. We used the method Dennis recommended, rotating floor boards and pushing it on its casters. it was easy and we accomplished the move without even breaking a sweat. pro tip, watch your toes First Smoke I like to use brine chickens as my barometer for gauging smokers. The KK was easy to light. I used 1 Webber paraffin cube in a full basket of Royal Oak mixed with chunks Apple wood. I closed all the vents, turned on my Stoker and set my temps on the Stoker web interface. The family rated it- by far the best chicken I've brought to the table. First sear: We have a thing for Babaganush (sp?) which is a flame seared, then roasted eggplant dip/side dish. This also rated best I've done to date with the fam. Last night I made hamburgers on the gas grill because we got a late start on dinner. I took 20 min of heat from the kids for "not doing it the right way on the new grill (KK)". I have a bone in Boston pork shoulder on right now for pulled pork, which I'm sure will also be setting a new benchmark with the family once its done. Summery for those who just skipped the gory details =) -unnerving to wire money over seas -shipping companies are a headache, be patient, but don't get taken -quality and craftsmanship is second to none -very well packaged -can easily be moved by a coordinated husband and wife team -easy to use and produces superior results One happy camper and new KK enthusiest Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Glad you love the KK. As far as a wire transfer, why didn't you use Paypal? Safe,secure and recourse in the nonexistent event of fraud? Shipping anything can suck!It's the one variable in doing business and I would bet it's given Dennis headaches! Welcome to the family! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNakedWhiz Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Dennis prefers wire transfers but can accept credit cards if you insist, as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fcnich Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Hello! Welcome to the forum. Your first cook, mine and everyone else who purchases a kk are surprised at the results when you use the best! My wire transfer took about 20 min start to finish, but I suppose we all have different experiences, shipping is shipping I did the 20 spot too. Let us know about the pork butt!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paswesley Posted November 12, 2011 Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Welcome to the family. I, too, gave the tip. I had to wait for the shipping company. The wait actually served to increase my pleasure when Mable finally arrived! For me, the bottom line is that Dennis delivers in a super premium way, everything that he has direct access to and direct control of. Working with Dennis is one of those rare instances in which a truism actually holds true. "Good things come to those who wait." Enjoy your new culinary partner and don't forget to post pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KlJack Posted November 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2011 Re: The KK has landed For me, the bottom line is that Dennis delivers in a super premium way, everything that he has direct access to and direct control of. Working with Dennis is one of those rare instances in which a truism actually holds true. "Good things come to those who wait." I couldn't agree more. My wife and I were talking about the KK over dinner last night. We are impressed to the point that if something strange were to happen to it today and it was destroyed, we wouldn't flinch to reorder another tomorrow. The shipping caught me by surprise, only reason I thought it was worth mentioning was to publicly apologize to Dennis, and to give new buyers a heads up so they don't have to repeat my mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisLinkletter Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Heylo Ken, Thank you for all the kudos.. I of course understand well all the hurdles involved and the necessary ones are there for very specific reasons. With the fall of the US $ in the last two years which hit 24% at one point, we were forced to really count and recount our beans .. One of the piles of beans that did not add to the delivered product was the credit card processing and bank transfer fees to get the funds over to Indonesia. The plan was to do everything we could to not have to raise the cost of the grills. Years ago this would have been impossible but with an impeccable online reputation what harm would there be in asking? I still offer the credit card processing to those who would feel better using it. Paypal has it's problems, I do maintain a paypal account but have issues with them after they froze an account of mine and held over $25k for 7 weeks "for security issues" which were never disclosed.. (google "paypal sucks" for more details) I have a good processing company that will transfer into overseas accounts but it's expensive (5%) and usually takes about two weeks for me to get the funds. When all is said and done more than 8 out of 10 of my customers send me a transfer and seem to have no problems with it. The internet is great for dispensing information both good and bad.. The bad news travels faster so I'm assuming this is the reason for folks willingness to sent me the transfers. Great sales this year have let us keep the prices at our 2009 prices. Thank you for the apology but not necessary, I completely understand when customers get the week before Christmas pangs for their new toys.. And yes the entire offloading, Customs and now Homeland Security clearance is unpredictable. This lack of control makes it very frustrating for both myself and understandably my customers. I always try to look the other way thinking it will speed things along.. One can definately get the waiting for the pot to boil blues here.. And then I have to hand my children off to the trucking companies and basically shit happens en-route.. Please excuse my language but this shoe fits so well.. So I hold my customer's hand as much as possible, make the best of the system in place, keep everybody updated and it all seems to work out.. Pretty amazing that this can all be done from the other side of the world and it actually runs pretty smoothly.. Thank you all for your support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primeats Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Re: The KK has landed There you go...Dennis the consummate diplomat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryan Posted November 13, 2011 Report Share Posted November 13, 2011 Re: The KK has landed Dennis is as the ultimate grilled steak, Perfect from edge to edge, with no grey area!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
