I doubt it was a return if it was being sold as new.  Much like the owner, the dealer and even the factory..it may not have been seen it right away!  It might have got tweeked in transit, and until someone really had a chance to admire it and look closely it was not caught.  I thought it is just misaligned and could be corrected, but if the dealer cant do it, I am pretty sure you will see both the dealer and Hearthland stand behind their product. Of that I am positive!

But again, I am a biased owner and know the company!

I doubt it was a return if it was being sold as new.  Much like the owner, the dealer and even the factory..it may not have been seen it right away!  It might have got tweeked in transit, and until someone really had a chance to admire it and look closely it was not caught.  I thought it is just misaligned and could be corrected, but if the dealer cant do it, I am pretty sure you will see both the dealer and Hearthland stand behind their product. Of that I am positive!

But again, I am a biased owner and know the company!

I wasn't thinking a return to the factory.  I was thinking a return to the dealer.  The damaged lid isn't what makes me think this, but rather the wrong hardware being used on the wiring harness.  Everything coming from the factory should have the same hardware on it, so if the hardware is different, it sounds kind of fishy.

 
Is there an end to this story?  It is so unfortunate that a premium pit, for what ever reason was delivered to to a customer in this condition.

John,
  Thanks for asking for a follow up.  I never heard back from Memphis.  I am planning on giving them another call today.  The dealer has ordered the new hood and wire bracket hardware.  They said the parts should arrive end of this week and then they will install. 
    I have noticed in using the grill I get a lot of smoke leakage from where the hood does not sit correctly on the grill.  Additionally, the grill is using pellets really fast.  The dealer is not willing to swap the grill even though it was defective when delivered to me.  I asked what happened to the correct hardware for the bracket (was it used for a different step that it was not supposed to be used for) and where the hardware that was used was supposed to go in the grill.  They did not have an answer.  They speculate that the hood warping occurred during shipment.  I am a bit concerned that if the hood warped from shipping- what else might have been damaged/warped.
  I will update once the new parts are installed.  If the new hood stops the smoke leaking/ high pellet usage then I will be satisified but I do think it is a bummer that such a high cost grill was sold to me defective and now will essentially be a refurbished grill.   

I am trying to choose between this and probably its most typical competitor and this might have sealed the deal for me. I would be livid spending that much and them telling me no bueno on an exchange. I am sorry to hear you are having these issues. I hope they make it right for you. Good luck.

No way would I accept that as an acceptable response to a messed up $3k+ grill. I too would be pretty fired up!

 That is not like Memphis. Something is wrong.

 The smoke leak should be rectified with a proper fitting hood to body fit..If the gap is large enough to loose heat, the pellet consumption will be elevated..The Pro is no where being a pellet hog- no way. 

 I would keep CALLING Memphis..I'll PM you a phone # and name..

Can you just tell the dealer you want to return it and let that be the end of your relationship with them?

I called back Memphis.  I spoke to Zach and he was aware of the situation but did not know all the details.  He was going to have his manager Sharla call me back.  I am also going to try the number John PMed me later today.  I have already asked the dealer to do a straight return so that I could go buy it else where and he said no since I have cooked on the grill. 
  The grill is definitely hogging the pellets. I went through a hopper of pellets doing the following cooks (several of them high heat but still seems to be high pellet use):
 * Steaks in OF2 mode
* Hamburger and hotdogs with grill set at 450
*Smoked chicken with grill at 180F for 90 minutes and then finished at 400F for 15-20 mins
*Hamburgers and hotdogs with grill set at 450

I will keep you guys updated.  It has honestly been a very upsetting experience.

BTW- When I asked the dealer why they did not notice the hood was warped during assembly, they replied that they assemble the grills in a dark warehouse and the person assembling probably didn't see that it was warped since it is dark in the warehouse.

Man, I sure hope Memphis is hearing about this kind (lack) of service from
one of their dealers...

BTW- When I asked the dealer why they did not notice the hood was warped during assembly, they replied that they assemble the grills in a dark warehouse and the person assembling probably didn't see that it was warped since it is dark in the warehouse.

That may be one of the worst excuses I've ever heard. Sooooooo, they think it is a good excuse to ADMIT that they purposely assemble high end equipment IN THE DARK???

I was originally watching this thread to see how the dealer would make it right. Now, I'm watching to see if Memphis will make it right and make the DEALER right or drop them.

Update- I have not heard back from Sharla at Memphis Grills yet.  I did hear back from Greg from Tech support at Memphis Grills today (I called him in addition to my other call at Memphis).  Greg said that he would let the national sales rep and regional sales rep know to check in with the dealer and see what is going on.  Greg did say it would be up to the dealer to swap the grills and was not up to Memphis Grills (which is the opposite of what the dealer told me).  I mentioned to Greg this is the opposite of what the dealer said and his response was that the dealer is the one who sold the grill to me (which is actually what I told my dealer).  Greg said it takes a while for them to get a new hood made and it would be a while before I had that part sent. 
  Greg did not seem to be aware that the wrong screws were used for the power plug bracket. 

Your dealer should make this right. If one were to buy a new Ford pickup that ended up having issues the first place one would go would be the dealer.

Unfortunately neither my dealer or Memphis seem to want to make it right so far.    They are both saying they will not swap the grill for a non-defective unit and that they just want to replace the hood.  The hood is a long lead part and it will be several weeks before a new hood gets in.  Meanwhile, the grill uses a ton of pellets when operating due to no seal on the hood.