glad i canceled my CE would of felt like crap seeing that on a $12,000 machine

I feel like this issue has been going on for a while.
Should not be difficult to figure it out and rectify it.

I'm going to check my maiden when I get home
I cancelled my wonka ce and may cancel JP

Feeling really uneasy now

Notice there are no graphics under the sling, just white wood

I guess that's what manufacturers are hoping ...

If you got one with issues, you don't care about the %
Washers are just covering up the issues and won't prevent problems in other areas down the line

I fucking love pinball and just want this issue fixed.
Strong ball resistant clear is very possible - the technology exists in other applications
A PF without dimples, blisters, cracking etc ... is doable with the correct products and applications

I personally don't want to pay 7 grand and have to cover imperfections with washers
I don't expect a 100% perfect machine, but I would like a nice PF that holds up for years to come

Can't understand why anyone would buy a replacement PF
A) To fix a manufacturing defect that should be the responsibility of the manufacturer
B) For an issue they have yet to publicly acknowledge and say it's fixed 100%

And when they actually do fix this for good (which at this point I still have confidence they will) then you still need the skill and hours required to do a PF swap
Can you imagine if Ford had a recall and not only made you buy the new part, but shipped it to your home for you to install.

The arguing in this thread is ridiculous. There are obviously some people that are not concerned about the issues. That's awesome, continue to enjoy your games and play or route them as desired. It's just absurd trying to convince others that they should do the same. For me, PF issues are a non starter. I can't swap or easily repair a PF like I can plastics and other parts. I am not buying NIB until I am confident issues are fixed. If you could 100% tell me the pooling around the posts will not turn into chips or spread, then yes, I would be able to accept it as a small defect. But, we have already seen it turn into chipping on some pins. Will this ruin pinball for me? No, of course not. I will continue to enjoy the machines I have in my house and those on location.

That's awesome - basically saying we can't build a defect free game so deal with it
From the experts I have heard on clear coating, you can build a smooth, dimple free, puddle free, chip free PF if you use the correct products and you use them correctly
Even with a pinball rolling around the PF - it's possible but may be cost prohibitive

Agree, there is already a Wonka for sale in a regional thread and the seller had to advise that there is pooling around the posts

Yup.... Zero harm on consumer's end to wait this out and hold off on NIB purchases.
All this pinball is a want, nothing is a need.

His statement does not make me feel any better at all.

Sorry, they missed the boat on being proactive
Proactive would have been taking care of the issue before Wonka shipped, now they're being reactive to all the noise being made on pinside.

The more I read Jack's statement and listen to the recording, the more I get annoyed
Here's my reading between the lines

Jack's statement transcribed from the podcast -
"Alright, well first off I just want to apologize for the delay in speaking about this matter publicly as we sorted through things internally and we understand that some of our customers are concerned to see and hear of clear coat chipping around posts on our Willy Wonka game.

This has been going on for a long time and were hoping it would not be a big deal to customers but now that it is and we never addressed it in the past were were not sure what to say.

The number of actual cases we have seen with true playfield chipping is extremely low and we're in the process of developing a program for anyone with documented damage and will work with those customers on a case-by-case basis and, you know, feel free to call Tech Support or call me directly if you feel your machine has true chipping or damage. And we want you to feel confident and comfortable with your purchase, always.

You complaints are in the minority, you are making issues out of something that should not be. We are trying to figure out how to respond to people in the correct way and tell them what they have is normal and we can sell them a PF if they really think it's an issue

We want to notify customers NOT to take apart their machine, remove posts, etc, for the sole purpose of looking for chipping or problems under the posts. If you truly need to remove any part of the machine, we recommend contacting JJP Tech Support for instructions on how to do this properly. And for those customers who see rippling or pooling around any post, we want to urge you, this does not mean your game will chip.

Please don't look for issues in your games. We are shipping games with washers to hide the issues and we don't need you pesky owners discovering things our engineers have worked hard to cover up. If you happen to see issues, don't worry, all is good in the world and the pooling will never end in chipping. If it does end in chipping, we hope it's after you sold the game so we are not accountable to the second owner

We're diligently working with our vendor and engineers day and night on correcting any pooling moving forward. We have no reason to believe any games out there in the field are inadequate in any way, shape, or form. You should continue to enjoy and play your amazing game.

Please keep buying our machines and paying us ridiculous amounts of money despite our quality issues. If you got a game with "issues" it's fine, don't complain because it doesn't interfere with your enjoyment. Please just ignore the issue like we have.

Our company's put countless hours and efforts into making Willy Wonka a fun experience for you and your loved ones to appreciate for years to come. I mean really, our people work hard every day with passion to design and create amazing games for you to play. As we always have, we will stand by our product and support our loyal customers and I can tell you that'll never change.
Thank you"

Every since pinside made a stink about this, we have been figuring out what to say. Our games are the best and you can still play the game with a chipped PF. If you are not happy with our defective PF's we will stand behind them and sell you a new one for $500

I'm sorry, but at this point you have to be insane to give JJP $12,500 for a CE. My props to RichieWrench for being vocal and leading the charge of not buying another JJP game until current owners with defective PF's are taken care of. I feel bad for Jack, it's a difficult situation for a company to be in and can cost them a lot of money. But, if they spent some money after the POC issue to find and fix it then, it would of saved them even more money now. I love this hobby, but it's only a want for me, not a need & I definitely don't need to deal with bad PF's.

This is a huge opportunity for someone to come in and steal JJP's thunder ...... DeepRoot?

Yes, I can tighten screws, replace plastics and will even try some light soldering if required, but I lack the skill and time for a PF swap.
Also I expect some wear on machine after several hundred plays, not new out of the box. I sort of expect most things to be working and in good condition when I take my $8,000 toy of of the box. I realize things work themselves loose during shipping, humans make mistakes during assembly, but I just can't accept a NIB PF that is not near perfect out of the box before a ball starts rolling around on it. I understand you are fine, but there is no way anybody in this forum will get me to accept a NIB that has chipping after a low number of plays. I'm just gonna go back to buying used, and if you are one of those that accepted a machine with a sub-standard PF, please don't offer to sell me yours at a discount.

I feel like we sort of get what we expect in this hobby. Consumers hold all the power. We are buying toys that are a want not a need. We could all stop buying NIB today and it really won't impact our lives. I didn't think I would be one to jump on the bandwagon, but I just don't need this kind of stress from a hobby. I want to come home and just play some pinball. I want to see a new title that excites me and call my distributor to order one. If I drop $8 grand on a new toy, I expect it to be defect free out of the box, if it's not I assume the manufacturer will make it right. In any business, customer service is %100.

$12,500 is a big crap shoot ... hope for a 7 or 11

No of course the did not.... but they did make a conscious decision to ship machines with bad playfields.

Bottom line: Kudos to Jack for making personal calls and offering replacement PF's (not good enough in my book) but JJP was well aware of this issue after POTC and Wonka PF's should of been 100%. In no way, should Wonka's shipped with PF issues after they were aware of issues POTC owners are having.

Great if a new PF makes you whole. Wouldn't do squat for me - it would just sit in my basement - I lack the time and skill to swap it and don't feel I should have to pay someone $1500 to do it for me. Now if JJP is offering the PF + covering the swap cost = all is good.
Anything less than that, are they are getting off the hook easy.

I had a deposit in on a CE and canceled it - I would love to be back in on a future JJP title but that all depends on how they handle already affected customers - so I am watching this thread carefully.

Also have a deposit down on a JP2 Premium - waiting to see how Stern handles current customers and the quality of the LE PF's.

Anybody's interest in these issues doesn't depend on them owning a Wonka. How JJP treats current customers with these issues, could be predictive of how they treat future customers with similar issues. If they are going to just send out free PF's - I'm going to pass, that's not an acceptable solution to many. If it was me, I would really rather have a $500 refund (or whatever the full value of a pf is), then an extra PF sitting in my basement collecting dust.

I have always been an admirer of JJP games - I hope they do the right thing.