recteq Academy December 2020

[Greg Jones]

Wow, what a blast! Academy is officially over, the truck is loaded, and we are headed back to Kentucky in the morning. I’ll post more later on this incredible event.

 

[charlesrshell]

Awesome @Greg Jones

 

[mooncusser2k]

Looking forward to hearing about it. Are you opening a dealership with all that gear?

 

[Greg Jones]

Looking forward to hearing about it. Are you opening a dealership with all that gear?

One might think that! The Bullseye was an exchange for my old one, as I had enough problems with it over time that they offered to replace it. I’ve been thinking about the Wyldside for a long time now, so we had pretty much planned on bringing one back.

The next two items were a bit of an impulse buy, yet are perhaps the most practical for us. My wife was really wanting a 340 for herself at home, and while we are not campers, there are times when we want to grill out when we travel. This week was a good example-we are not comfortable dining out with COVID, and out daughter and SIL came up to Augusta from Florida so we could have ‘Christmas‘ this week. I cooked for us in our room, but it would have been nice to grill out for the four of us. Now we have the 340 and an Icer cooler, so in the future we can do that even when things are more ‘normal’ (whatever that looks like).

We haven’t been anywhere for the last 9 months and haven’t eaten out at all, so we had built up a little more in the ‘fun fund‘ that made the entire week possible. It also helps that recteq gives Academy attendees 15% off anything for the three days we are here. So the 340 was 15% off, still eligible for the $50 off pellet deal, and then 15% off the balance. The discounts combined with the fact that the grills often get damaged in shipping, this was the time to buy.

 

[C. Keeper]

One might think that! The Bullseye was an exchange for my old one, as I had enough problems with it over time that they offered to replace it. I’ve been thinking about the Wyldside for a long time now, so we had pretty much planned on bringing one back.

The next two items were a bit of an impulse buy, yet are perhaps the most practical for us. My wife was really wanting a 340 for herself at home, and while we are not campers, there are times when we want to grill out when we travel. This week was a good example-we are not comfortable dining out with COVID, and out daughter and SIL came up to Augusta from Florida so we could have ‘Christmas‘ this week. I cooked for us in our room, but it would have been nice to grill out for the four of us. Now we have the 340 and an Icer cooler, so in the future we can do that even when things are more ‘normal’ (whatever that looks like).

We haven’t been anywhere for the last 9 months and haven’t eaten out at all, so we had built up a little more in the ‘fun fund‘ that made the entire week possible. It also helps that recteq gives Academy attendees 15% off anything for the three days we are here. So the 340 was 15% off, still eligible for the $50 off pellet deal, and then 15% off the balance. The discounts combined with the fact that the grills often get damaged in shipping, this was the time to buy.

Did you have to return the old Bullseye to Recteq?

 

[Greg Jones]

Did you have to return the old Bullseye to Recteq?

I did, yes. I sincerely believe they want to give it a serious look at what caused the issues I had. The old one has been dead for a month. Originally they offered to ship the new one and have me ship the old one back in the box. I offered to just wait and swap it out at Academy, as I really didn’t want to dissemble the old one. When I dropped it off, the tech I had been working with went through a checklist with me of every challenge I had with it, starting with the initial assembly.

 

[charlesrshell]

Glad you had a nice time @Greg Jones. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ericm007]

Hi Greg, picked up my Stampede yesterday and it looked like ya'll were having a great time. They wouldn't let anyone downstairs with the event going on, and I didn't want to shout and look like a gomer, so I just got some rubs and my grill. Glad you had a great time.

 

[C. Keeper]

I did, yes. I sincerely believe they want to give it a serious look at what caused the issues I had. The old one has been dead for a month. Originally they offered to ship the new one and have me ship the old one back in the box. I offered to just wait and swap it out at Academy, as I really didn’t want to dissemble the old one. When I dropped it off, the tech I had been working with went through a checklist with me of every challenge I had with it, starting with the initial assembly.

I had / have issues with my new Bullseye, Recteq offered to replace it but I was to frustrated to repack the old grill to return it. As a option Recteq offered and few accessories and the replacement part for my time and trouble which I graciously accepted.
As mentioned by all, Recteq customer service is second to none. As soon as I get a little more funding I'll be purchasing the 700.

 

[Greg Jones]

Hi Greg, picked up my Stampede yesterday and it looked like ya'll were having a great time. They wouldn't let anyone downstairs with the event going on, and I didn't want to shout and look like a gomer, so I just got some rubs and my grill. Glad you had a great time.

View attachment 7452

I would have heard you! I’m in your picture! Only one other than my wife wearing a mask, over by the middle Bull banner, blue shirt/kaki shorts. Sorry we didn’t get to meet up!

 

[Greg Jones]

Recteq Academy December 2020, Day One

Day One of Academy was an optional meet and greet that ran from 4-8 PM. The parking lot is on higher ground than the main building, and there’s a walkway over the drive and recteq deck on the first level. The parking lot is where they set up a huge screen to show movies for the community on Friday nights. They also have built a great playground area next to the parking lot for the kids, and there is a frisbee golf course. Everything, everywhere on the property is trimmed in recteq/Georgia Bulldogs red and black, including the playground. I have no pictures of the lot during movie night, as they canceled it at the last minute due to storms in the area.

When we reached the entrance to the walkway, I noticed there were pellets stacked off to the side. It seemed like a curious place to leave pallets, until I later learned free pellets are an employee benefit. Pick up a bag on your way home as you need them! I saw several examples of where recteq appears to treat their employees with the same respect and attention as they do their customers.

Crossing the walkway, you can see the right side of the deck on the lower level and the second level is the showroom. I didn’t get a picture of the left side, but the second level is offices for Ron, Ray, and Ben, etc. and they have doors to the balcony, and there is a Bullseye outside each office.

Looking down to the right side of the deck, you see the cooking area for the Academy. There were 10 new Bullseyes on one side and 5 RT-700s and a Bullseye on the other, along with 3 prep stations. I’ll cover more about the grills, what they were for, and what happened to them on Days 2 & 3.

Inside the showroom, there were all the grills, rubs, etc. on display. There were duplicates of the grills that had options, like the competition cart, smoke box, etc. and all the t-shirts, mugs, etc. were behind the sales counter. My wife immediately gravitated to the RT-340 and did her best Vanna impression.

 

[Greg Jones]

Recteq Academy December 2020, Day One (continued)

We then went downstairs to the Durty Girls bar and classroom area. Not in the pictures was a buffet set up for us where they had brisket burnt ends, shrimp, and a ton of other food. At that point, the burnt ends were the best I have ever eaten, and we were just getting started!

After a presentation of the history of recteq, they took us out into the warehouse. Massive describes it, 65k square feet and just rows and rows of inventory just like this. The drone of forklifts moving back and forth was constant for the next 3 days. The facility used to be a magazine printing company, and recteq bought it and converted it for their use, and moved here in 2019.

We were then give a walk-through of the customer support area and offices upstairs, and then we went back down to the classroom. While we were gone, they had moved the whole hog into the room to describe the process of butchering the hog, and pointing out where the various cuts of meat are on the hog. The hog was about 7 months old, around 225# before dressed, and the local farmer that raises these pigs was at the event if we had any questions for him.

The hog then went on The Beast, where it would cook overnight. There was a band that played out on the deck, and we also learned that the bar Is open to employees every day after work. Everything is free to them, and like the pellets, there is a lot of trust that the employees will act responsibly. Oh, and we had open bar available to us every day, from first thing in the morning to last event of the evening. We didn’t stay long for the band, as we wanted to rest up for the next day. I’ll post about Day 2 tomorrow.

 

[wrecktech]

The rains on Friday night put a kink in my smoke activities too. I had to shut my 590 and 340 down after they got nice and heated. Ended up waking early the next morning and starting everything. At least Saturday was great weather for it

 

[Greg Jones]

Saturday’s weather could not have been more perfect!

 

[Greg Jones]

I almost forgot to include this on Day 1-swag bag! Lots of nice stuff here, including a Thermapen MK 4! Rubs and sauces from sponsors, coupons an apron, gloves, etc. Also not pictured, we each received a complete Durty Gurl box containing all their mixers and spices. Technically the hat and shirt were not in the swag bag-they were handed out with a ‘diploma’ at graduation!

 

[Beerlord]

Greg, thanks for sharing your trip. I'm jealous!
It does seem that they 'walk the walk' and the fact that they care so much for their employees only enforces how they care for their customers.
Looked like a great time and some great swag too!

 

[Mike]

Sounds like a really awesome time!

 

[gwrace1]

I'm pleased to hear they treat their employees so well. That seems to be a dying breed of company these days.

 

[C. Keeper]

I'm pleased to hear they treat their employees so well. That seems to be a dying breed of company these days.

The company I use to work for had a philosophy that a happy employee would result a happy customer. That thought has gone by the wayside.

 

[gwrace1]

Love to support this kind of small business. Makes me happy I purchased from them.