B&M Horror Stories
Jetmech_63
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 3,384
Here is a place to post your horror story about a b&m that really pi$$ed you off....so without further adeiu...
I got a real bone to pick with CIGARS LTD of FRESNO CA. I go there the other night for the CAO event with Tim Ozgener. I was stoked. But from the moment i walked in the door not a single person would pay any attention to me(the paying cigar enthusiast). I brush it off and go to get my 1/2 price CAO(advertised as 1/2 off your first stick smoked inhouse). Go to checkout and the guy...who nver greeted me, charges me full price. I told him i thought it was half off your first one and he asks for my ticket....what ticket....the ticket your supposed to have for your first cigar.....dude what ticket....you didnt get a ticket when you walked through the door....no i was too busy being ignored. Grudgingly he hands me half of a green ticket and as soon as i take it he snatches it back and said....there, now were legal. I think wtf and brush it off and step over to the ashtray on the counter where most people cut their cigars. I place my stick in my mouth(i enjoy a quick lick of the cap before i cut it...not like i was giving it head or anything) and he goes off about how its ruded and improper to lick your cigar before using the community cutter. Thats about the time i silently retrieved my own Xi2 out of my pocket, held it up and clicked it open in a manner as close to giving him the finger as possible. Whatever.....so i go finally find a seat after passing by 8 open but "taken" seats by the good ol' boy club that always hangs around in there who from the time i walked in the door only leered at me with a look that can only be described as "wtf are you doing here(this shop is in the ritzy upsale portion of town, the arrogance was so thick you could smell it over the cigars). I start in on my America when Tim Ozgener walks over and introduces himself....i think finally the night is going to get better. I've met RP, Padilla and Alejandro Cuenca(JDN) and those guys have passion. All of them will readily spill their hearts out about crop planting, fertilizing, shade, harvesting, selection, aging, fermenting, rotation....all the way to how thier rollers and bunchers maintain consistency while practicing their art.....then on about the cigar influences and characteristics....Ozgener was soooo far from that. From talking to him you get the impression that he is pretty far removed from his processes and is really only an administrative oversight. He knew things.....but lacked passion....if that makes any sense. Afterward a call was made to take out your tiket stub for a drawing for a free box.....the same ticket i never got and the guy who checked me out screwed me over on....i ws so righteously pi$$ed i snuffed out my cigar and went home.....and fired up a Decade.
Just a bad experience all around, i'll spend what little hard earned money i have elsewhere.
I got a real bone to pick with CIGARS LTD of FRESNO CA. I go there the other night for the CAO event with Tim Ozgener. I was stoked. But from the moment i walked in the door not a single person would pay any attention to me(the paying cigar enthusiast). I brush it off and go to get my 1/2 price CAO(advertised as 1/2 off your first stick smoked inhouse). Go to checkout and the guy...who nver greeted me, charges me full price. I told him i thought it was half off your first one and he asks for my ticket....what ticket....the ticket your supposed to have for your first cigar.....dude what ticket....you didnt get a ticket when you walked through the door....no i was too busy being ignored. Grudgingly he hands me half of a green ticket and as soon as i take it he snatches it back and said....there, now were legal. I think wtf and brush it off and step over to the ashtray on the counter where most people cut their cigars. I place my stick in my mouth(i enjoy a quick lick of the cap before i cut it...not like i was giving it head or anything) and he goes off about how its ruded and improper to lick your cigar before using the community cutter. Thats about the time i silently retrieved my own Xi2 out of my pocket, held it up and clicked it open in a manner as close to giving him the finger as possible. Whatever.....so i go finally find a seat after passing by 8 open but "taken" seats by the good ol' boy club that always hangs around in there who from the time i walked in the door only leered at me with a look that can only be described as "wtf are you doing here(this shop is in the ritzy upsale portion of town, the arrogance was so thick you could smell it over the cigars). I start in on my America when Tim Ozgener walks over and introduces himself....i think finally the night is going to get better. I've met RP, Padilla and Alejandro Cuenca(JDN) and those guys have passion. All of them will readily spill their hearts out about crop planting, fertilizing, shade, harvesting, selection, aging, fermenting, rotation....all the way to how thier rollers and bunchers maintain consistency while practicing their art.....then on about the cigar influences and characteristics....Ozgener was soooo far from that. From talking to him you get the impression that he is pretty far removed from his processes and is really only an administrative oversight. He knew things.....but lacked passion....if that makes any sense. Afterward a call was made to take out your tiket stub for a drawing for a free box.....the same ticket i never got and the guy who checked me out screwed me over on....i ws so righteously pi$$ed i snuffed out my cigar and went home.....and fired up a Decade.
Just a bad experience all around, i'll spend what little hard earned money i have elsewhere.
Comments
Holy Crap! I guess these can't be "Horror Stories" but bad experiances never the less.
There was a Cain "Event" at a local B&M (I haven't been in a B&M in years 'cause Mass. is very Cigar Un-Friendly). It was the shop Owner, an 80+ year old gentleman and the Oliva Rep. I walked in thinking OK. Cain F, Cain F Nub & Oliva "V". I haven't tried any Nubs yet and with limited funds I could only get somewhat of a "Deal" (considering Ma.'s Tobacco tax and Sales Tax). 6 Nubs. NO Cain F!!!!!!!
That was Friday.
Yesterday feeling a little un-satsfied I decided to try anohter B&M looking for an Arganese Maduro.
So I go in, the guy is nice and within a few minutes of my looking around he asked if he can help me. I ask for what I'm interested in and he says, "You don't want an Arganese". I said, "I don't? I could have sworn I did when I came in a few minutes ago". He then said, "They're an overpriced cigar. We don't carry them anymore." OK. They don't have them. He could have just said that. So, next on my list is the LFD Airbender. Never tried one so I ask about those. He again tells me, "You don't want one of those either. You have to smoke them too slow because if you don't the wrapper will split. They're too densley packed with tobacco and the wrappers are too thin." Now I'm like is this guy F'n with me? I've never been to a place where someone tried so hard NOT to sell me anything. Pissed I leave spending $2.00 more than I should on a Decade. I had to get outta there!
When I got there I started out by checking the case for a good cutter (my old one was going out so...). I was the only person in the place, and still had to ask this guy to help. Finally he walks over and just quotes some prices (which were marked). No product knowledge at all. I asked could I handle some of the cutters - at first he said he wasn't sure, I protested that I wasn't going to drop that much $ without getting a feel for what I liked. So he took out the stuff I asked for, one at a time.
After a bit another guy walks in and looks totally confused. He asks for some guidance after checking prices a bit and this dude just tells him that cheap cigars are on the left of the display. Finally I go over and talk to the guy and steer him into some flor de olivas.
If you are going to run one of these shops - know the people that will wind up working for you. Check with some of your customers to see how that person is handling it. This guy had 0 knowledge and 0 interest in being there. It will put people off.
Fram.
That one and the one in Westboro are the only two I'll even go to.
I was there at about 10:00-10:30 AM. Again nice guy but, thats just what happened. I was absolutley blown away.
LMFAO!!!! That is Freakin Excellent!!!! I hear ya!!! Thats one reason why I get mine mailed to me.
Please PM me who it was in Spfd when you get a chance - Im thru there a lot going to visit family, and I dont want to go to the wrong place next time Im down south if I can avoid it.
My fiance and I have a large liqour strore down the road that we frequent when we need to stock up on wine due to the great selection there. They have a humidor in the back but like most combo stores the focus is on the booze.
So the last time we were in there I told her I was going to look through their stock to see what they had, jsut for giggles. They actually had a fairly nice stock in there, even though there was nothing earth shattering. I was noticing good chunks of full bodied cigars with some bloom on them and was starting to think this would be a great place to pick up some power gars with a good piece of rest on them.
Being lost in the shopping daze as I was I didn't notice anything. About that time my finace says "Huh. Is that normal?" and points at the cieling.
Well their "humidifier" was sitting on a top shelf. It looked like an electric law blower with a water tank on it. Not sure how good it was a humidifying the cigars but it did a great job of putting lots of "PLUME" on the cieling.
I took a second look at the gars, confirmed the third dimension of the plume, sighed sadly to myself and we left. I debated on saying something to the cashier but decided not to.
Wow. Glad I didn't make it there for the 'event'. My dad ended up going out of town, so I put my trip off. I'll be there in a couple weeks. I'll be sure to stay away from that store.
Is the Clovis store any better?