Reason you DON'T shop where you do

There is a wine/beer "boutique" shop in Fulton, Maryland that I avoid. Not sure why though.

 

Never really had a bad experience that left me not wanting to beer browse somewhere although I have had favorites I would rather go to just due to knowledge, service, etc.

 

Crazy overcharging gets me every time. Shitty service at beer bars I will NOT tolerate. Also, freshness is definitely a factor.

 

I don't shop where I don't shop either because I don't like the employees/owner, I don't like the prices or I don't like how far away it is. Usually, it's because I don't like the people. It's not hard to smile and say "thanks," so if you can't do that, I'll take my business elsewhere. Next would be ubsurb mark-ups on limited releases or older vintages. I understand that an older vintage can be worth a few bucks more but to double or triple is just dumb. Also, just because you can charge an extra 10-30% more for Parabola doesn't mean you should and also doesn't mean I need to buy it from you. If I wanted to pay ubsurd prices, I'd just do all my shopping on *.

Also, yes, freshness! Makes me chuckle when I see 2011 fresh hop brews and IPA bottle dates from spring 2012.

 

I don't shop where i don't shop because they don't run the AC very cold. Its a good bottle shop with a lot of selections, but I can't trust the freshness because the bottles are sitting on shelves that are hot. I sweat when I go in there.

 

Wait. Why I don't shop where I do? That sentence made my head explode. I suppose I don't shop where I do because I already shopped where I did. I don't shop where I don't because there are better options.

Bonus opinion... I am not sure I like these reactionary opposing threads.

 

It's a shady ass place.

 

if they don't have the product i want or the price i want then i don't spend money there. No need to get emotional. They have a business, we are consumers, it all works itself out. This is like asking "why don't you go to restaurants you don't like?"

 

I don't shop at Perfect Pour in Elkridge/Columbia/Whatever, MD because of their pricing and attitude. There have been stories told on here of BA's I personally know being asked to leave when they simply asked why a beer was priced as it was, and an almost infinite number of posts about them asking a king's ransom for limited or rare beers.

I try not to shop at the big-box beer/wine stores because I like to support the stores in my community whenever possible.

 

Good bottle shops should keep most of their stock refrigerated; I'm still surprised when I hear about ones that don't. There's no need to refrigerate the entire store with the AC if you have nice big coolers lining the walls.

 

I shop at Total Wine for a lot of reasons, but I don't shop there for knowledgeable beer staff.

 

So I guess I shop at some of the places which are more expensive. To me it's a rather simple matter of the economics of time which make me not care that I spend a bit more because by the time I get back with my hooch, I will have spent a long time, and god forbid, if I were driving: parking and fuel costs.

 

Selection and distance. I tend to visit places close by with a good selection. I rarely want to drive more than 20 minutes to a bottle shop.

 

Allowing employees to purchase limited release beers before it hits the shelf.

 

Would you rather run a race against them, and the winner gets to buy them? Working at a bottle shops sucks and doesn't pay dick, there's gotta be some perks.

 

I see no problem with employees getting access to some limited release beers now and then. But when something like Cantillon hits and they are only allocated a certain number of bottles, it seems hardly reasonable to allow the employees to claim many/most of them. This is an issue where there are definitely two sides, and these sides don't agree. I'm OK with that. I just spend my beer money elsewhere.

 

Too many craft bottle shops carry too old stock.