BBQ Outlet

So I am remodeling my backyard, and my contractor sent me to this store to purchase a door/​drawer combo because they usually carry these items in stock. The night before, I bought a FireMagic grill online from another vendor, at the best price I could find. Anyway, I walked in the store and met Jim and told him what I was looking for. We got to talking and he told me he could save me some money on the grill I just purchased. I asked him to quote me, and to my surprise, he could save me $ 700! So, I quickly called the other company, cancelled my order from the night before and bought through Jim. Since I was saving so much, I upgraded my grill to add the rotisserie and with the difference in savings it just about covered the cost of my door/​drawer combo too. In addition, I also bought 4 chairs, and a cover for my grill. Jim told me some items were in stock and the grill and cover needed to be ordered and would be delivered in a week or so. A week later, all of my items were delivered in plenty of time for my contractor to rough in my new BBQ island. I walked into this store expecting to get a Combo, and walked out with everything I needed for my new built in BBQ. Jim is awesome and advised me of some special touches to ask my contractor for, to ensure my island was built right and would suit my needs for years to come. I took him up on his advice and things are coming along great. I have spoken to Jim a couple of times since my purchase to ask a couple of questions and he has always been super helpful and courteous. I have been using Unilocal for several years and never got around to writing reviews, but the experience with BBQ Outlet and Jim was so positive, I had to write this out. I have already told some friends about Jim and BBQ Outlet and will continue to tell people to go see Jim!

Be warned. Read the other reviews don’t just count on mine. Their customer service is absolutely awful and they don’t care. The manager Jim is a real piece of work. I bought a grill, doors and sink from them a month ago and still haven’t received everything even though it was «in stock» when i bought them. I took the sink and doors when i paid for everything. They said they would deliver the grill with the cover and rotessaire the next day. They did deliver the grill about 4 days later but no cover and no rotessaire. I didnt notice since the grill was being built at the time and I guess since i didn’t say anything they weren’t going to deliver the rest of the stuff. I went to the store since they don’t answer their phone and talked with Jim who told me they were out of stock but a truck would be come in the next day or even that afternoon and he would call me to let me know. So I waited and never got a call. So the next week I went down there since they don’t answer their phone and i talked to Shane who told me they were out of stock but the truck would be in that afternoon and he would call and he did call and told me my stuff was there. It was a Friday afternoon so I told him I would come by on Monday to pick it up and he said no problem. So Monday comes and I go over there and Jim is there. He tells no it isn’t there and its on the truck coming in (wait it for it) that afternoon and he would call me. So of course no call and today I have tried calling about 4 times and no answer. So I guess I will need to go over there and be told it will be on a truck this afternoon.
I would just like to say you don’t run into this level of crappy service very often and most of the time it is incompetence but in this case it is just a I don’t give a crap attitude and absolutely no urgency to fix their screw up.

I didn’t even get a chance to buy what I wanted! I came to the store on a Friday night at 5:10. The sign outside said that it closed at 5:30, so I should have had plenty of time to run in and buy the 2 large patio umbrellas for my new pool that I needed by the next morning. The metal was already across the front door, and the guy said that they were closed already and wouldn’t let me in! Luckily Patio World in Riverside was still open and I was able to spend my money in a quick 5 minutes visit.

I came across BBQ Outlet when looking to build a BBQ island for our recently landscaped backyard. I did some shopping around and stumbled upon this place. When first arriving at the Corona store I was helped by Jim. He was very helpful from the start, educating my family and I on what their BBQ islands have that the competitors don’t, as well as informing us on reputable brands and special features that the BBQ’s have available.
After some time, we finally decided to place an order on a custom BBQ island that included a 30″ natural gas grill, stainless steel door, power outlets, mini fridge, and standard stucco/​tile. Jim came to our residence once to take measurements, and another time to draw up a sketch and receive payment for the purchase. Upon payment we were told that the overall construction and delivery of the BBQ island would take several weeks to complete which was fine with us.
Some weeks later our BBQ Island was delivered. When the two guys who delivered and installed the BBQ brought the unit into our backyard they soon realized that the space for the 30″ grill was too small (either they, or jim/​bbq outlet took the wrong measurements)! The grill did not fit inside of the tile/​stucco hole on the island. They assured us that everything was going to be okay but they needed to go to their shop to grab a saw to do the necessary modifications in our backyard. Because of the cuts they had to make in the BBQ Island, the tile boarders are not as thick as they should originally have been. That issue alone was a big disappointment to us. When the installers were wrapping things up we realized that the grease tray had a large bend/​dent on one corner which was unacceptable to us. Another issue that the installers brought to our attention was that the BBQ was actually missing a few necessary screws… again, unacceptable.
The installers couldn’t really do much except tell us to call Jim/​BBQ Outlet to sort out the missing screw issue and grease tray replacement. From that point forward it was a complete nightmare trying to get ahold of Jim or BBQ Outlet. Jim/​BBQ Outlet either ignored our calls, or gave us the run around in regards to the missing screws and grease tray replacement. It took over 3 months to get an installer back to our house to install the missing screws and grease tray. During that 3 month period we did not use our BBQ at all due to the incomplete install done originally. Also during the 3 month period, we had to contact both the Corona store, as well as Orange store, to track down Jim and receive answers on our problem. To my knowledge, during that period of time, we never actually got into direct contact with Jim; it was always through someone else at one of the stores which I found very strange.
Overall, it appeared that once Jim received our payments, he forgot and neglected us as a customer. I would advise other potential BBQ island customers to go elsewhere to purchase these items based on the negative experience I had with this company.

I ordered a BBQ, double side burner, and fire pit burner from this place. I did receive the fire pit burner at a good price but had to practically chase them down to pickup my side burner. I was told the Swiss Grill I ordered was back ordered for a few weeks. I paid in full anyways and waited. After three weeks I asked Jim to call Swiss Grill in Irvine to check the status of my grill. He replied by text that he would call them. Four days later he still had not made one single phone call to the manufacturer to see if the grill was in. Over the next two weeks I talked to and texted Jim more than five times. He again said he would call however he never did. I called Swiss grill myself and they said they had my grill in stock for over three weeks and nobody from BBQ Outlet had tried to call.
I then called the store in Orange and told them I just talked to Swiss Grill and they confirmed the grill I wanted was in stock and could be picked up directly at their warehouse in Irvine. I told BBQ outlet all they had to do was make one phone call within the next three hours to Swiss Grill and I would go pick up the grill that I had already paid for. They could not even make this one simple phone call. I called a BBQ store in Costa Mesa, gave them my credit card info over the phone and I had the grill in my car one hour later.
Luckily for me I paid with my AMEX and disputed the nearly $ 1,500 I paid BBQ Outlet. However, BBQ outlet just tried to commit fraud and recharge my credit card for the full amount almost two months later.
I contacted the Corona Police Department and showed them a print out of all the text messages between Jim and I as well as all of the time stamped calls from my cell phone. They said to file a fraud crime report if BBQ outlet can’t work it out the American Express. Not only will I do that but I will take them to small claims court. Buyer beware, you have been warned. If they can’t make one simple phone call over a three week period and try to commit credit card fraud why would you even consider doing business with them.

Time, after time, after time, I have given this place a chance and it’s never been a good experience. Do not special order anything from this place. They quoted me 1 – 2 weeks to special-​order a handful of Big Green Egg accessories, but it ended up taking 8 weeks. It might have taken even longer if I hadn’t called them every couple of weeks to check on my order. And worse, when I did call for a followup, I had to remind the same people — over and over — who I was, and what I had ordered. After about 6 weeks I got really frustrated, and I don’t know that they had ever even put in my order to begin with, but to be fair I have no way of knowing that either way. One of the supervisors at the Orange store is very nice and finally got my order processed, but it was still incomplete. I was told that the last item would take another couple weeks, but somehow another mix up resulted in the cancellation of that item. I had placed the original order in August, and the last item was finally available for pickup by the end of October.
Now look, I understand how it works when you order Big Green Egg accessories. The store doesn’t want to lose money on shipping, so they order items together. But just be honest about that. If they gave me the choice to pay for shipping or wait 8 – 10 weeks, I probably would have chosen to pay for shipping.
The other day I went down there to buy some wood chips for smoking, and was told they wouldn’t have any in for at least 3 weeks — a meaningless estimate based on my previous experience. Really? In the month of Thanksgiving? We ended up just going to Walmart a couple blocks away where they had the full variety of wood chips available for $ 4 per bag, which is a shame because I would much prefer to support a local small business over a big corporation like Walmart.
How can a store that specializes in only BBQs and BBQ accessories have so few of those items actually available to buy? Nobody wants to wait several weeks, much less 8, for items that they need right away. The last straw for me was BBQ Outlet not having any, and I mean ANY wood chips in stock, and only a single kind of charcoal available.
I’ve been avoiding writing this negative review for quite some time, trying to give BBQ outlet the benefit of the doubt. I’ve been very courteous, patient, and understanding with them throughout our correspondence… but every time I’ve tried to do business with them, it ends up being more hassle than it’s worth. I don’t want others to share my experience. Unless they have what you’re looking for right there on the shelf, then take my advice and walk away.

A little over a year ago I was in the Corona area visiting my Mom. When I stopped into this store I was quite honestly disappointed. The Gentleman at that time was just not very helpful and I felt as though he was trying to up sell me. I did not purchase anything at that time. Over this past Christmas my mom mentioned wanting to replace her old BBQ grill before summer. So today while visiting her I decided to stop by this store before getting on the freeway. To be honest, it was a bit by accident, as I I accidentally passed the freeway entrance. So there I was, in front of BBQ outlet. Hesitant to go in, I took a chance and went in. Today I was pleasantly surprised. The store looked much more organized and well kept. The gentleman that helped me today was very helpful and informative, his name is Rolo. I was contemplating on getting her the Green egg or possibly getting an Island package. I decided on getting her THE GREEN EGG. What a difference some time and sales person can make. Thanks so much Rolo, you were very helpful.