Sent to me by Green Turtle of Ramblings On Cast Iron Blog,  I think she is a bit annoyed!   KD.

Yes, you read the title right. I was banned from posting to the Lodge facebook page!

And yes, I WILL tell you all about it, on my blog. After all, they certainly cannot ban me from my own blog.

Many people post to the Lodge facebook page, with questions about their product;
Since I use Lodge cast iron on a daily basis, I am very knowledgeable, and can answer many of the questions.

One lady posted that she tried to use the Lodge double burner griddle on her induction stove, and it would not work, because there was not enough contact
between the element and the pan, to turn on the burner.

She stated that she called the Lodge customer service department, who suggested that she "try heating it up very slowly, so it will heat evenly."

Well obviously, that suggestion did not work, because the burner would not turn on in the first place, let alone heat evenly.

So I explained that they gave her the correct answer, to the wrong question.

The stated solution was for using the double burner griddle on ELECTRIC stoves, not induction stoves; The employee had misunderstood her question.

Now, as you can see, that was a FACTUAL statement. It was not in any way slanderous, nor derogatory in nature.

However, the company was offended by that comment, and as a result, permanently banned me from ever posting again.

What was most troubling, was that they didn't bother to tell me. I figured it out three weeks later, when I found that all of my comments had been deleted, and I was no longer able to post.

So I emailed Lodge, to be told "Yes, you have been banned. Our communications
committee decided to ban you after a negative comment about our customer service
department."

No apology whatsoever.

They could have deleted the comment, if they didn't like it. Or at the very
least, contacted me.

Does this heinously unprofessional and disrespectful behavior toward a fiercely
loyal customer, mean that I will boycott Lodge products?

Not that it would mean anything to them if I did, obviously.

I still have to admit, it is the highest quality cast iron cookware you can buy.

But, I can always buy it from a third party ebay seller. That way, the company
no longer benefits from my purchases.

I realize that the hundreds of dollars I've spent on their product is just a
drop in the bucket to them.

But if this is how they treat someone who has been a loyal customer for years,
imagine how they regard someone who has never bought their product!


http://ramblingsoncastiron.blogspot.com.au/

Kingsthorpe David wrote on Nov 26^th, 2012 at 7:33pm:

Sent to me by Green Turtle of Ramblings On Cast Iron Blog,  I think she is a bit annoyed!   KD. Yes, you read the title right. I was banned from posting to the Lodge facebook page! And yes, I WILL tell you all about it, on my blog. After all, they certainly cannot ban me from my own blog. Many people post to the Lodge facebook page, with questions about their product; Since I use Lodge cast iron on a daily basis, I am very knowledgeable, and can answer many of the questions. One lady posted that she tried to use the Lodge double burner griddle on her induction stove, and it would not work, because there was not enough contact between the element and the pan, to turn on the burner. She stated that she called the Lodge customer service department, who suggested that she "try heating it up very slowly, so it will heat evenly." Well obviously, that suggestion did not work, because the burner would not turn on in the first place, let alone heat evenly. So I explained that they gave her the correct answer, to the wrong question. The stated solution was for using the double burner griddle on ELECTRIC stoves, not induction stoves; The employee had misunderstood her question. Now, as you can see, that was a FACTUAL statement. It was not in any way slanderous, nor derogatory in nature. However, the company was offended by that comment, and as a result, permanently banned me from ever posting again. What was most troubling, was that they didn't bother to tell me. I figured it out three weeks later, when I found that all of my comments had been deleted, and I was no longer able to post. So I emailed Lodge, to be told "Yes, you have been banned. Our communications committee decided to ban you after a negative comment about our customer service department." No apology whatsoever. They could have deleted the comment, if they didn't like it. Or at the very least, contacted me. Does this heinously unprofessional and disrespectful behavior toward a fiercely loyal customer, mean that I will boycott Lodge products? Not that it would mean anything to them if I did, obviously. I still have to admit, it is the highest quality cast iron cookware you can buy. But, I can always buy it from a third party ebay seller. That way, the company no longer benefits from my purchases. I realize that the hundreds of dollars I've spent on their product is just a drop in the bucket to them. But if this is how they treat someone who has been a loyal customer for years, imagine how they regard someone who has never bought their product! http://ramblingsoncastiron.blogspot.com.au/

David

This really has nothing to do with COCIA and as with many things there are always two sides to every story.

Below is an official response from Lodge posted on the Wagner forum and viralled across many other forums in the US.  I am going to lock this thread as there is no point in this being pursued.


Quote:

"K**** (real name removed, but greenturtle36) I understand you being upset with your ban from the Lodge Facebook page. As I stated, we do have a communications team. It is made up of people from our marketing department who manage our website and Facebook page. I also agree that you are helpful with numerous customers. In 9 out of 10 instances, your posts are accurate and we truly appreciate your help. However, the one instance out of 10 does not represent our brand's position or actual product information and creates confusion among our customers or potential customers. We have thanked you in the past, I sent you Lodge products to thank you and you have won one of our recipe contests with another Lodge item sent to you. No one is perfect. No one answers every question correctly. Our customer service department receives hundreds of calls daily and, along with moderating the Lodge Facebook page, I have numerous other duties, so sometimes our answers may not be adequate for a particular question. On the issue we're discussing, the lady returned the Pro Grid Iron Griddle and we sent a replacement piece free of charge. As you probably know, while Lodge does not have a lifetime warranty on our cookware; however, we do replace the cookware the majority of time at no cost to the customer. We value all of our customers, whether they are from the US, or anywhere in the world, Lodge would not be a 117-year US manufacturer if we did not value our customers. In regard to this specific issue, we were communicating with the lady via Facebook and on the phone. We considered your post negative and counterproductive in that you are not a Lodge customer service representative and could not solve the entire problem. In my communications with other people who moderate Facebook manufacturers'/marketeers pages, they are much more restrictive than Lodge. In many instances the companies have 24/7 coverage of their Facebook page and other social media sites. Lodge does not have that coverage. Lodge, like numerous other companies, reserves the right to delete posts and, in very few instances, ban the person for a short period of time. Your ban is not permanent. In the future, we are asking you to please limit your comments to recipes, which pieces of cookware are applicable to a particular recipe and any links you refer to for information on Cast Iron Cooking or Lodge. Again, we truly value you as customer. We truly respect your product knowledge. We are, however, asking that people post to our site with the acknowledgement that our customer service department/Facebook moderator serve as the communications link on issues related to our products. If our position is acceptable to you, please e-mail me at mkelly@lodgemfg.com on Monday and I will gladly remove the ban. Thank you for understanding. And thanks to all WAGS members who posted on this forum. We appreciate you all and value you as customers and fans of Lodge, the sole domestic manufacturer of Cast Iron Cookware. Mark"