A man bemoaned the loss of a $200 brisket he placed inside of his Pit Boss after the smoker turned itself off during its 18-hour cooking period.
Influencer Alex Biron (@alexbiron) posted a clip detailing his woes with the appliance and how the business responded to learning of his troubles. Several folks who watched the tragedy unfold wondered why he wasn’t more attentive to the hunk of beef in his smoker.
“Last night I bought a brisket for $200 dollars, and I told my family it was gonna be delicious. I posted an Instagram story of the brisket. I said, ‘See you in 18 hours,’” Biron says in the post, showing off a screenshot of the slab of meat in question.
Pit Boss Experiences A Wood Chip Error
Following this, he shows video footage of his Pit Boss in the clip. But, unfortunately, the product didn’t work as expected. “The smoker turned off after an hour, and it just sat all night. Ruined the brisket because of a wood pellet error,” he tells his viewers.
“I think this … might be it for me. My wife currently makes more—she’s not my wife; she’s my girlfriend—she currently makes more money than me. I’m undoubtedly a chopped ‘unc.’ Being good at barbecue is all I have,” he laments in his video.
He then heaps on even more frustration, explaining how any attempts to salvage the meat were met with an undeniable truth. “I can’t even get ChatGPT to say it’s OK to make this brisket. It’s screaming at me. It says, ‘From a food safety point of view, it’s ruined. You have to throw it out.’ It said, ‘I know this hurts, but you have to throw it out,’” Biron screams to his followers.
To add insult to injury, he then transitioned to an image of the “special grilling apron” he planned on wearing after the brisket was cooked.
At the end of the video, he puts a picture of his sleeping partner and dog on camera to demonstrate the consequences of his failed cooking experiment. “What am I going to tell my family?” he says with a cracked voice.
Brisket Update
In a follow-up clip, he delineates what happened following the “emotional breakdown” he experienced as a result of the Pit Boss error. He says that throngs of other fathers issued comments on how he could’ve avoided the situation. “Look, I get it. I dishonored my family. And I understand that barbecue code states I must ritualistically unalive myself by sitting in hot car until my internal temperature reaches 200 Fahrenheit. To be a Pit Boss, you must not blame Pit Boss. I didn’t use the right pellets, I didn’t stir it properly, and I am trying again,” he says. To illustrate this fact, he shows off a new slab of brisket in the device along with an overview of what he’s doing differently to ensure the same mistake doesn’t happen again.
In yet another video he documented his worry as he prodded the large portion of meat, asking viewers if it’s done yet. And in an additional follow-up, he records himself cutting the meat that he cooked, which appears to have been smoked thoroughly. He takes a bite out of the meat with his girlfriend and raves about its flavor.
After doing so, he informs his followers that the Pit Boss company sent him “a competition level smoker, a bunch of merch, and meat” following his ordeal. On his account, Biron recorded himself trying out different cuts of meat on the Pit Boss smoker, including prime rib, steaks, and pork chops.
What Do Consumers Think Of Pit Boss’ Customer Service?
Depending on who you ask, folks either have a really good or really bad time in dealing with the company. Reddit users who posted to the site’s r/pelletgrills sub said in this forum thread, uploaded in 2022, that they generally had great experiences with Pit Boss reps. One user highlighted how the wheels on their unit were worn out and that they were able to get some “new castors and dry rub” after reaching out to them. “I would say they’re pretty much on par with Weber for service,” they said.
Another person in the same discussion stated that “Pit Boss/LG/Dansons is very good. Only problem is no more email, so you’ll have to wait for weekdays to call or chat,” they wrote.
But there was someone else who stated that they didn’t exactly have a great time having their issues attended to. “I’ve had the worst nightmare experience imaginable with Pit Boss customer service … brag a big warranty in reality it’s a big lie,” they penned.
On the manufacturer’s website, Pit Boss says that it “stand[s] behind [its] quality” and “want[s] the best possible experience for [its] customers.” The business adds that “select wood pellet grills included up to a 5-year limited warranty … [and] the Carbon Series is back by a 3-year limited warranty.”
Pit Boss “griddles and smokers are backed by a 2-year limited warranty,” as per website verbiage.
Additionally, Trust Pilot and PissedConsumer show overwhelmingly negative customer reviews for Pit Boss. With 1.7 and 2.4 out of 5 scores for each site, respectively.
BroBible has reached out to Biron via TikTok direct message and Danson, which owns Pit Boss, via email for further comment.