I got treated with disdain....
jd50ae
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 4,109
.....at "Ye Olde Pipe Shop" in Jackson, TN. The shop is very near my liquor store of choice (on Wednesday they give a senior 10% discount) and a customer was having a discussion with the owner about Rocky Patel cigars, and I was interested since every Rocky Patel I have tried sucked. So I said, as a question, that every one I had tried fell apart and had a bad taste. Waiting for a helpful reply he immediately jumped on me for buying cigars off the internet and what did I expect. Who mentioned the internet..? Now, I am standing there with a handful of cigars to purchase an it was all he could do to ring them up, and you could feel the tension. I held my tongue, thanked him, and left. I am going to have to think real hard about going back to that shop.
Comments
Yes, it's great to support your local B&M, I always buy a handful of sticks when I visit mine...but if I bought only from them, I'd be broke! To shame you for buying online is a dumbass move, and is a great way to chase off otherwise good customers!
You must've really hurt his feelings with that Rocky comment! lol!
I had an experience with a local sporting goods store. I told him I researched what I was looking for online and he all but ignored me after that. Hello, I'm standing in your store right now, and I know what I am looking for because of my online research. I left and haven't been back since.
Don't know...will find out.
Screw them, even if they have real Cubans. The cigar business is hard enough with all the bullshit bans on smoking and whatnot, so if they can't treat customers right, then let their business fail. In a similar vein, I visited a cigar store by a friend's place that I make a pilgrimage to every year. I found that they had changed ownership and had become a chain. The woman at the register decided to follow my friend and I into the humidor to watch our every move as if we'd steal something. I bought the cigars and left, and will never return because of the treatment.
He was the only guy I have ever seen in there..tall and dark hair (salt and pepper..?).
A buddy and I were looking around in their walk-in. The lady working the counter came in with another woman who was looking to buy her husband some stuff. The lady said her husband had only smoked Cubans, so she wanted something similar. The worker proceeded to tell her to get Cohiba Red Dots, RyJs, and Partagas. The worker left, and the lady asked out advice. Of course, we recommended totally different cigars, which she picked up instead of the stuff the worker suggested. We all walked out of the walk-in at about the same time, and the lady went to the counter to pay. When the worker saw she had different cigars, in a very hostile tone she told the lady, "Well, you asked for Cuban brands, and the ones I showed you are the old Cuban brands. These brands were never Cuban." The lady replied, "No, ma'am, I said my husband had only smoked Cubans, so I wanted something similar tasting. But its okay, those gentlemen helped me." Man, when we went up to pay for our cigars, she was pissed. She literally threw my change on the counter and left the register.
for me i think it revolves around the fact that i am young for st. louis cigar smokers. Everyone in the lounge areas in 5 out of the 6 shops are in their 50s and above. The only exception is the one that is too far for me to frequent. the guys in there were all my age, and the owners are a little younger than i am.
By all means support your local B&M so you help keep them in business and have a place to go locally. Lounges and events are great fun. My rule is B&M for hard to find singles and online for samplers and boxes. But sometimes you may want to call Ccom and ask about HTF sticks because they are great and working with you and giving you some incredible deals.
I have met a few B&M owners who are complete a$$hats. If you can't respect me or other customers you don't deserve a dime of my money. Lucky for me the one closest to me is great and so are the ones in the KC metro. Haven't run into any jerks here. Some high prices yes but I really like all the owners around here.