gobee
Amazeballs Herps
I'm afraid this thread has been a long time coming. Due to all the glowing reviews that RBI seems to have floating around online I was really reluctant to make waves but this situation has just gone from bad to ridiculous. I realize I've probably done some things wrong in this whole process but hindsight is 20/20. In December an Iris CB70 rack was purchased for me as a gift. When it arrived, I noticed that the tubs stuck immediately. It wasn't even out of the box yet, but I assumed the tubs had been fixed in place so as not to shift around during shipping. So I took it out of the box and got it set up, only to discover that the tubs still stuck. They all did it to an extent but the bottom one was the worst by far. With some finagling and shifting I could get the middle and top tubs out but I really had to get forceful with the bottom tub.
So when I managed to get it open I took it out entirely and noticed the heat tape was sticking up out if the recess and that the tub itself had hard ridges on the bottom that would snag on the heat tape when I tried to pull the tub out. So I smoothed the edges of the heat tape down, back into the recess, and it seemed like that fixed the problem. The tub didn't stick, even after opening and closing it several times. So I put a snake in it. Needless to say the problem wasn't fixed and the tub stuck as badly as it ever had, to the point where I had to outright rip it out of the slot. And of course that pretty much destroyed the heat tape. I realize now that I probably should have contacted RBI with this issue as soon as I noticed it, but like I said, hindsight is 20/20. I definitely reached out to them after this, and unfortunately I don't have those first few emails. I honestly don't know what happened to them, as they literally disappeared while I was trying to be stealthy on my phone one day at work. I'm assuming I managed somehow to permanently delete them as I've searched my inbox high and low for them with no results.
Basically, someone named 'Bobby' answered my emails and began asking me questions and wanted pictures of my setup, which I gave him. He said the rack needed to be on a level surface or it wouldn't function correctly. So I put a piece of chipboard between the two racks and sent him a picture of it then, only to have him claim the chipboard was not level and the rack wouldn't function properly on it. I said it was the best I could do at the moment, at which point he asked me to call so we could troubleshoot, yet he was only available in the mornings. At the time, I worked full time hours starting in the mornings, so that was not convenient for me. I also live in an area where I often have to drive half an hour one way for errands and so even on my days off I was often gone most of the day.
I have the emails from this point forward so I will include them following the initial post. I managed to get him to agree to send me replacement heat tape, but then almost two months went by with no shipping info or confirmation, no contact whatsoever, and no heat tape. I reached out again and said if the heat tape was too much of an inconvenience, a partial refund of $99 to cover the cost of the unusable slot would be acceptable as well. I got no reply, which I can honestly say I kind of expected at that point. I considered making this thread then but ultimately decided to let it go because RBI seems to be remarkably popular with an abundance of good reviews. I assumed my situation was probably a fluke.
But then a little over a week ago, I discovered that the heat tape in the top slot had not only actually melted a hole through the bottom of the tub, but burned a hole in the heat tape itself. I contacted RBI again regarding this issue, providing several images of the damage and various temps, which I will provide in a following post. At this point, this $300 rack is unusable except for the middle tub and my last email, like the one before it, has gone unanswered. Personally, aside from the fact that this rack was a waste of money, the fact that it's also apparently a fire hazard is alarming to me, though not quite as alarming as the fact that RBI doesn't seem to care. I realize everything electrical is a potential fire hazard, but this rack is only about five months old and has never worked properly. It's a shame that a company with such widespread good reviews has such terrible customer service.
Incoming screenshots of emails and images sent.
So when I managed to get it open I took it out entirely and noticed the heat tape was sticking up out if the recess and that the tub itself had hard ridges on the bottom that would snag on the heat tape when I tried to pull the tub out. So I smoothed the edges of the heat tape down, back into the recess, and it seemed like that fixed the problem. The tub didn't stick, even after opening and closing it several times. So I put a snake in it. Needless to say the problem wasn't fixed and the tub stuck as badly as it ever had, to the point where I had to outright rip it out of the slot. And of course that pretty much destroyed the heat tape. I realize now that I probably should have contacted RBI with this issue as soon as I noticed it, but like I said, hindsight is 20/20. I definitely reached out to them after this, and unfortunately I don't have those first few emails. I honestly don't know what happened to them, as they literally disappeared while I was trying to be stealthy on my phone one day at work. I'm assuming I managed somehow to permanently delete them as I've searched my inbox high and low for them with no results.
Basically, someone named 'Bobby' answered my emails and began asking me questions and wanted pictures of my setup, which I gave him. He said the rack needed to be on a level surface or it wouldn't function correctly. So I put a piece of chipboard between the two racks and sent him a picture of it then, only to have him claim the chipboard was not level and the rack wouldn't function properly on it. I said it was the best I could do at the moment, at which point he asked me to call so we could troubleshoot, yet he was only available in the mornings. At the time, I worked full time hours starting in the mornings, so that was not convenient for me. I also live in an area where I often have to drive half an hour one way for errands and so even on my days off I was often gone most of the day.
I have the emails from this point forward so I will include them following the initial post. I managed to get him to agree to send me replacement heat tape, but then almost two months went by with no shipping info or confirmation, no contact whatsoever, and no heat tape. I reached out again and said if the heat tape was too much of an inconvenience, a partial refund of $99 to cover the cost of the unusable slot would be acceptable as well. I got no reply, which I can honestly say I kind of expected at that point. I considered making this thread then but ultimately decided to let it go because RBI seems to be remarkably popular with an abundance of good reviews. I assumed my situation was probably a fluke.
But then a little over a week ago, I discovered that the heat tape in the top slot had not only actually melted a hole through the bottom of the tub, but burned a hole in the heat tape itself. I contacted RBI again regarding this issue, providing several images of the damage and various temps, which I will provide in a following post. At this point, this $300 rack is unusable except for the middle tub and my last email, like the one before it, has gone unanswered. Personally, aside from the fact that this rack was a waste of money, the fact that it's also apparently a fire hazard is alarming to me, though not quite as alarming as the fact that RBI doesn't seem to care. I realize everything electrical is a potential fire hazard, but this rack is only about five months old and has never worked properly. It's a shame that a company with such widespread good reviews has such terrible customer service.
Incoming screenshots of emails and images sent.
