Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by David Lanning on October 2, 2010 at 5:39am

I was recently in the market for a new roaster, and this is the reason I did not go with Diedrich.

As a potential customer, ready to spend over $20,000 with them, I had difficulty reaching a person to speak to. That was a red flag to me that once they had my money, getting someone on the phone would be next to impossible...

I feel for you Derryl.

Permalink Reply by Derryl Reid on October 2, 2010 at 7:27am

When I paid for my roaster & went to the factory for a course, the salesman that sold me mine, didn't even acknowledge me, I felt a very cold reception from Diedrich staff in general. There were a couple of exceptions and the person who use to deal with tech issues was very kind and helpful.

I won't be banging down their door for my next roaster!

Sad really! cause I really like their roasters.

Here is hoping someone wakes up there!










David Lanning said:

I was recently in the market for a new roaster, and this is the reason I did not go with Diedrich.

As a potential customer, ready to spend over $20,000 with them, I had difficulty reaching a person to speak to. That was a red flag to me that once they had my money, getting someone on the phone would be next to impossible...

I feel for you Derryl.

Permalink Reply by Michael on October 3, 2010 at 11:30am

As you know once you buy a roaster and repairs or tech support is needed if the manufacture does not give customer support or tech support it can cost you thousands of dollars for down time.
When you ask these questions before you buy they will tell you what you want to hear. This has happen to me on my roaster purchase.

Permalink Reply by Michael on October 3, 2010 at 6:24pm

I purchase a Primo roaster in four months I have replaced a drum motor , drum bearings, burner ignitor, thermocoupler, and temp settings broad. I think that is a little to much.

Permalink Reply by Michael on October 3, 2010 at 6:36pm

I guess my question is when do we call the lawyer, or do we just cut our loss and move on?

Permalink Reply by teresa pilarz on October 4, 2010 at 7:24am

Oh boy, this really makes me nervous. If the retail location I'm looking at pans out, I'll be shelling out thousands as well on a roaster and Diedrich is among my top two. So far, the sales rep has answered all of my email questions even if some of them have been pre-formatted sales pitchy responses. And, I'm somewhat familiar with the equipment and quality, but service is super important!

Thanks for bringing this to light Derryl... I'm going to choose carefully.

Permalink Reply by Derryl Reid on October 4, 2010 at 2:05pm

Michael I feel for you!
I would get on some forums and post your experience, maybe it will get the manufacture attention.
Good luck!

Teresa,
I do love my Diedrich roaster, but I would hammer our a service contract with Diedrich before buying. Make them stand behind their product.
Is the other roaster a Toper? I would be interested in hearing your experience with them.
Good luck!

Permalink Reply by teresa pilarz on October 4, 2010 at 7:16pm

Nope not a Toper; I haven't even considered any roasters ultimately not manufactured in the U.S.

The other consideration is Ambex. I've met the owner several times at shows and he seems to be very involved w/ the roaster community at large. They've also won a best new product award from SCAA recently on their new data logging systems. I don't like that the drums are made in Turkey; I still need to find out what kind of steel the drums are made out of. Do you have any experience w/ them?

I would be considering another San Franciscan because I know their quality is tops, but they don't currently offer a 10 pounder and that's what I need.

Permalink Reply by matt on October 5, 2010 at 3:36pm

When did they institute this policy? I recently bought a used ir 12. When I needed technical advice, they were more than helpful there. Now reaching them is another thing... they rarely ever answer the phone at tech support service... but I get the feeling that they are overwhelmed because I have only ever talked to a guy named Jason in tech support.. and I have the feeling that he is the only one. HE does usually call back within a day or two.

I really like my Diedrich roaster and now that Ive taken the thing apart ..to the frame... I know how to fix anything on it.

As far as motors go, If you find yourself in need of a replacement motor... just go to Granger. They supply all the motors that you will find on the diedrich roaster.

Permalink Reply by Jacob L on October 7, 2010 at 9:47am

The folks at Coffeeper are in fact developing a new roaster which might be suitable for your needs. Maybe you should write them and inquire. They are nothing but professional and timely with their replies, unlike the other manufacturer in question.

I myself have written to the folks at Sandpoint a number of times, only to be met with silence. Well, Mr Contreas did reply one time but he must've mistakenly cut and pasted a reply to another inquiry as it contained nothing relevant to my inquiry. I was ready to purchase a sample roaster and was looking for a larger one, but given their lack of a proper response I ultimately picked up the SF-1 from Coffeeper instead. I'm still looking for the larger roaster but you can be sure I'm not looking for a Diedrich.



teresa pilarz said:

I would be considering another San Franciscan because I know their quality is tops, but they don't currently offer a 10 pounder and that's what I need.

Permalink Reply by Chad Kimm on October 10, 2010 at 6:43am

We've owned an IR-12 for five years and have had nothing but good experiences with the people at Diedrich. I will say however, because of the quality of the machine, technical support is rarely needed as long as regular maintenance is preformed.

I do agree with Matt, most of the parts that will eventually need replacement (like motors) can be sourced locally or from companies like Granger. BTW, the motors Diedrich installs are among the best quality made.
The only part that we've had to replace was the cooling bin screen and Diedrich was helpful and responsive in making sure we received the correct one with all of the mounting holes in the right spot.

For the past five years and 1000's of batches of coffee we've been very thankful for the consistent quality and reliability of our Diedrich roaster.

Permalink Reply by Derryl Reid on October 10, 2010 at 7:47am

Chad
I do agree with you to some degree on quality with their roasters! I am very happy with mine, going into my 4th year & have put on over 1000hrs. But that being said my only experience is with Diedrich's roasters.

Motor quality? When my blower motor went, Granger told me they didn't have a replacement anywhere in North America! After searching every shop in my city, I finally found a very knowledgeable shop who had one in stock, they were not impressed with the quality & replaced my motor with a more superior one.

This was only my second tech problem. The first was with a sensor and when I phoned they helped trouble shoot and solve the problem quickly, the roaster was still under warranty at the time.

My more recent issue was entirely different.
To be told the problem is one of two thing & they could help trouble shoot it, but please give us your visa card # before we let you speak to someone, and it will cost you a minimum of $250.00.
It was a simple multi-meter test that I didn't know how to do. I had everything in place to do the test, I just needed 5min of someone's time to guide me. At the end of the day if they felt the need to send me a bill so be it.

Matt,
With orders that have to get out the door, having to wait a day or two for a call back could cost customers, Diedrich of all people should understand this.

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