Bighorn Stove & Spa

Bottom line: This vendor is both highly unprofessional and highly unethical—I would give them negative stars if it were an option. I purchased a $4000+ Mendota gas fireplace from this vendor in February 2011. During my initial visit to their showroom, their salesman claimed the unit was equipped with electronic ignition—a claim I would discover to be untruthful only after it was installed in my home. More recently, I traced to this fireplace unit a long-malfunctioning ground fault on an electrical circuit in my home. I initially contacted the aforementioned salesman for assistance in troubleshooting the issue--and he promptly told me to go “kick rocks” (exact quote). I then contacted a different (and more professional) local vendor for assistance. Turns out that the original wiring installation done by Bighorn Stove & Spa was so shoddy that a complete disassembly of the unit and significant destruction of the surrounding stucco work would be necessary to replace a failed transformer unit which was clearly designed to be both accessible and replaceable through the unit’s front access door. The unit has never worked properly due to the incompetent installation and shoddy workmanship on the part of this vendor. The list of grievances I have with this outfit is too lengthy to relay in this forum, but suffice it to say that I will avoid them like the plague going forward and I would NEVER trust them to work in my home again. At one point during my discussions with the owner, I pointed out to him that I'd noticed that several other (likely former) customers of his had posted on a yahoo blog relaying their experiences with the unprofessional customer service at Bighorn similar to my own and that it might be an opportunity for him to make some improvements in this area. He then proceeded to threaten and 'turn lawyers loose' on me. ( For precisely what, I am unsure of to this day. I am an attorney and an engineer, so I found this tactic to be rather peculiar on his part.) The OEM (Mendota) makes a very good product, but clearly its association with a dealer of this caliber carries the risk of causing reputational damage to their own fine brand.

We shopped around different stores and compared products, service, and pricing. Opted to go with Bighorn. Purchased a Pellet Insert. Bighorn team showed up (early every time-- very punctual!) and spent the whole morning removing our old gas fireplace & inserting the Pellet insert. The install team was very polite to wife and kids, they were careful with our "stuff" and put a mat down on the carpet to work and keep clean. Explained the stove & operations very thoroughly. Problem: we had a smoke leak somewhere. The house got smokey. Resolution: The guys came back twice without any balking or questions. Usually within 1-3 days after we reported the problem. Fixed the problem and they are absolutely standing behind their work and product! WONDERFUL team, great experience, fantastic service. Would use them again. Note: Price may seem a bit high for a "stove" but when we factor in the removal, install, and post-install support they provide, it's worth every penny.