No foul language, period.  The censor filters will catch most, please don't try an work around them!  No As@Ho#$ amd the like, you are all smart adults, you understand what I am saying. 

Performance evaluation/performance testing.  No member is allowed to post any performance evaluation/performance testing of a pit.  If such evaluations are done, they will be done by Bentley.  All members are welcome to post their personal experiences with a pit, including cooks, modifications, problems, etc.

Evaluations/testing of bbq products and accessories.  This will be evaluated on a case by case basis.  We know most of the current members well and trust their motives, skills and objectiveness.  But this may not be the case in the future if the site grows.  We reserve the right to delete any review/evaluation which we deem inappropriate.

No use of dealer names in posts, threads or captions.

I am gonna drop the hammer on this site from day one, if you do it, it gets deleted.  If you do it repeatly, you get deleted!

We will make up the rest as we go!

Ya don't have to like the rules...all you have to do is abide by them.

The forum doesn't have "customers", it has members.  Perhaps if you understood and recognized the difference you would understand the rule. 

The prohibition on people offering tests and evaluations seems self-defeating.

Customers are attracted to sites because of content, so more is almost always better.

Bentley's evaluations are very high quality and very complete so they are unlikely to be eclipsed by others.  And if they are, so what?  More content & better content = more eyeballs.

It also does not seem likely that other people's evaluations are likely to affect the flow of free grills to the site.  If the site is popular (eyeballs, remember?) the then manufacturer will recognize the value of providing a sample unit.

I am a SCORE small business mentor. If a client came to me with this idea I would do my best to talk him out of it because it is not in his own best interest.

Please don't take this as being arguementive, but the company I werk for has changed drastically over the last few years in the direction you are hinting at. Our sales have dropped 30% in the last 5 years because the big shots have been repeatedly sold a bill of goods claiming to capture the world market. It's a multi billion dollar company that has locations all over the world. You see, everyone wants to think they're the next Amazon, and no one can actually compete.

Due to this 'thought process' (we can be all things to all people), we've bitten off more than we can chew, and our former customer base can see/read/feel it loud and clear. There was once a time we could explain to a customer that good service, quality products, and attention to details came at a price. Put simply... You get what you pay for.

This is the recurring mentality everywhere you look today. Folks want all that quality at a rock bottom price. Truth is, it will never happen. If it does happen, it's short lived.

Sorry for being long winded, but Kristen summed quite nicely. I'm not a 'customer' on this site, and if it ever came to that recognition, I'd go elsewhere.

In this particular case, I trust Bentley to provide an unbiased critique of the item tested. And I don't believe that the testing rule applies to everything. I seriously doubt he'd be concerned about me offering up my views on newest version of a rub injector/vacuum sealer/sous vide machine, etc.

He can correct me if I'm wrong; but I think the whole idea is to prevent backtard (sp) cowboys from spamming the site for their own material gain.

Pelltfan.com is not an advertisers forum at this time and likely never will be.

In summation; this site exists for the pellet cooking enthusiast. All are welcome to join if they're serious. Does the site need to accept everyone? No. Steady growth is healthy. Pandering to the masses is a proven way to fail in most cases.

 

 

There's the rub. Your experience promoting the idea, and mine of living with the results.

Peace.

from a lifetime of managing and consulting with businesses,.....

Well, as I said before (and I would think a truly experienced management consultant would have comprehended) we aren't a business trying to expand our customer base.

No.

Yes.  To be frank and blunt, there are a few on PH, that will never be welcome on this site.  Harsh, yes, but reality!

All are welcome...

Does the site need to accept everyone? No.

Looking at this rule from the perspective of an enthusiastic community member, and someone in the middle of their lifetime of managing and consulting, I will say that I appreciate knowing there is no hidden motive or economic bias in the performance tests. They are thorough, clear, and complete. When considered along with the experiential opinions and comments of other community members, they serve as a valuable tool for deciding which cooker to purchase, which is for many of us, the initial reason for coming here. When I purchased my Memphis Pro, it was a somewhat extravagant move. I started out thinking I was going to buy something from Green Mountain Grills, then took a hard look at Yoder, then almost pulled the trigger on a Mak (wife shut that down on grounds that it looked like a "hillbilly contraption"), and finally settled on Memphis. I did so confidently, in large part because I trusted the performance tests and comments from members. I didn't have to spend a lot of time wondering about interests or goals that might not align with mine. Of course, I did end up spending almost 10 times what I intended on a pellet grill, but that's a whole other thing.

Thank you!

My only point, from a lifetime of managing and consulting with businesses, is that the rule on tests and evaluations does not appear to me to be in your best interest.  But hey, it's your deal.  I was only trying to help.

Not to mention as a manufacturer I see test results from time to time for users that aren't the most accurate no matter what grill is being evaluated. The only way to get true results is by having rules on the tests and how they are conducted. This site is trying to do just that. If it works it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't. However I think we all can agree that the way in which Bentley conducts the products tests are fair and accurate.