Surly Abrasive Release Info

Here is my issue with their approach - I buy their beer thinking it is the standard, high quality product. I send it to my friend in (insert state here). I pay $16 for the beer and $12 in shipping to get it to them. The beer has carbonation issues and isn't the high quality product that was expected/promised. My friend out of state contacts Surly and says, "my beer is flat, it sucks.". Surly responds quickly and kindly, sends my friend a swag package. Cool, neat, DANDY!

But what about the beer? Unless Surly replaces the and pays the shipping, the situation sucks and I would be very unhappy. The only way to get money back is to send back the empty cans (or whatever full cans are left) for ~$10-$12. Then I would return/exchange them at the store I bought from. Then I would send them back to my friend for another $12 in shipping. So we spend an extra $20-$24 just to get what we assumed we would get on the first try. And there is now a chance that the replacement beer is 100% to spec and good quality. I would be unwilling to buy future product b/c there is a chance it isn't 100% perfect.

I assume that Surly can't do direct returns b/c of the 3 tier system, blah blah blah and also assume that they can't directly mail a customer beer to replace what was no good. I think this is what a lot of people may be mad about. A swag package doesn't replace the flat beer with carbonated beer.

 

Pay your shipping? Dear lord is this real?

 

Should send more than 1 4 pack, spread that shipping over more oz's

 

Are you licensed to ship alcohol?

 

Isn't what you are suggesting they do akin to asking a car company that issues a recall to compensate you for lost wages when you bring your car in for said recall? There is a chance for any product (no matter what the reputation of the company is prior to its release) to be defective. When one purchases a product for resale (which is essentially what trading amounts to), that person also assumes liability for replacement of the product outside of any warranty coverage. Does the situation suck when you send beer that is bad? Yes. Is the brewery liable for your having sent it outside of their distribution area (thereby limiting their ability to replace it with a like item)? No; nor should they be.

 

To keep the situation completely legal - change the example to say that I bought the beer, drove/flew to see my friend as vacation and gave it to them, then came home.

 

Copy and paste this post in an EMAIL to Surly and see what they are willing to do for your situation. Everyone is thinking out loud on this forum instead of just going to the source. If you care that much that you're willing to type it out on here, then type it out in an email to the company responsible.

 

My point is that I'm not happy with the response, like some people are. Yeah, customer service has been solid and sending swag is cool, but it isn't the same or better than just making good beer from the start or replacing the beer. Service recovery should be to provide the same or better service/product.

 

This does alleviate the issue @mkhartnett raised. However, I still stand by what I said in my post.

 

This was emailed to Surly. They sent my friend a swag package. Thats it.

EDIT: They also apologized for poor quality beer.

 

Seeing as your friend acquired Surly beer on a secondary market...don't you think Surly's response went above and beyond?

 

because that's all they can do, legally. if you're local and able to visit the brewery, they'll take care of you in.

 

That's it? That's more than I probably would have done. Do you want them to pay milage to get to and from the liquor store and fedex?

 

When did you buy the beer? When did you ship it?

 

So he emailed them. Did you? Not saying they should compensate you in any way, but if you didn't both contact them, how can they help you? Trading is a risk anyways in several ways.

 

If I gifted it to my friend, is that still a secondary market? Should I or they be any less bummed about it?

I get surly is doing all they can in terms of recovery. I wish they could do more. I REALLY wish they hadn't had this issue from the get go.

Unlike some, my confidence in their product has been shaken, at least temporarily, and it will lead to me buying less because of the risk that they won't cover

 

You make a good point about emailing them personally in addition to my friends email. You've convinced me to email them too and see what they say.

 

And get it up...

 

"Gifting" something is just a word we use to get around certain terms of conditions or legal issues...but I digress...

If someone acquires Surly beer in any way other than legal sellers and resellers (liquor stores, bars, or direct from Surly) - then yes, I would qualify that as a secondary market. Even if it was gifted. The fact that Surly was so cool about it in the first place should give you confidence in their organization as well as their ability and willingness to right a situation that went unfortunately wrong.

Remember - because your friend didn't acquire Surly directly or indirectly through Surly - Surly doesn't know if someone else (you) profited off the resale/secondary market. I wouldn't fault them for telling your friend that they're shit out of luck... Do you think Surly would respond to someone who bought a bottle of Darkness off eBay and claimed that it was soured and wanted a refund? That's not how you run a business! No proof of direct/indirect purchase...sorry...shit out of luck.

Trading always carries with it some level of risk. If a can is punctured, or a bottle breaks - in most cases it's left up to the trader to right the wrong - not the shipping company.

I get that you're frustrated, but I really don't think you should be taking out your frustration on Surly for "only" sending a swag package to your friend. In my opinion (and that's all it is), that is already well above and beyond what one could rationally expect from them.

 

My lord, some people just don't get it.



Maybe this post will get deleted too.