Employee attitudes at beer stores

I dunno. I don't view buying beer as an experience. I go in, pick up the beer I want, pay for it, and then leave.

If the person working there wants to shoot the shit, then I'm down. And in a couple of instances if I genuinely know the person then I'll have a chat if neither of us are in a rush. But otherwise it's in/out, and it's rare that I would need to ask a question.

Thinking about it, what questions would a bunch of beer nerds need to ask at a store? I doubt it's going to be something like "what is a stout" or "I've tried SNPA, can you recommend another pale ale". I imagine it's more like "did Mexican cake come in yet" or "do you have any Parabola". So not defending it - but I guess if that's the case I can see where the "poor customer service" can creep in.

 

Maybe I don't pay close enough attention to the help in beer stores. I never seem to have problems like this.

 

Can't say I've ever encountered such problems here in SE PA or when making trips to places like NJ, MD, VA or NC, but then there's lots of places I've not been to....

 

I suspect that this thread will eventually trigger another one about some of the customer attitudes encountered by employees at beer stores. (At least it has often worked that way in the past. )

 

Unfortunately, I get holier-than-though attitude when I visit the 2 main bottle shops near/in downtown Greenville SC. Aloof yet uniformed is what I get most of the time, and many times it's hard to even have a conversation with some workers because they only know what they sell and aren't real beer aficionados or advocates. I have given up on asking questions at these places because I always get the "you're obviously below me and have no clue" look followed by an answer that many times isn't even appropriate for my question.

Too many take beer WAY too seriously, but the ones that are clueless and take it too seriously only make themselves look like fools and idiots, instead of some beer god that they imagine themselves as. It's just beer, they need to get over themselves!

 

I consider myself lucky I guess. I frequent two stores near me and both are great in terms of attitude & customer service. At one of the stores I am on a first name basis with (they treat their regulars like family) & the other every person I have dealt with has been friendly. Many times I've struck up conversation with them after they asked if I needed help. One other store in my area has been the one that offers iffy service. Based on that and some of their business practices, I refuse to go there.

 

then either you are shopping in the wrong area of MA, the wrong stores or causing this yourself. I am in Burlington MA and shop in a few stores around me and where I work. There are two stores where I had a great relationship with the beer managers then they left to become beer reps and I have the same great relationship with their replacements.
There is also another store relatively near where I only visit occasionally - same story run by an awesome person.
I treat the staff as people, I chat, I go to the weekly tasting events and as well as asking for whales I make sure I occasionally buy shelf beer.
I buy too much beer, life is too short to shop at stores with attitude and with the ones I go to I dont need to. Oh and these stores are reasonably priced too.
But then I have also occasionally dropped off some stuff I got while travelling, heck they got into this as they love beer too.

 

People who drink beer, sell beer, work in a liquor store part time and hate it are not any more or less likely to give you good/bad customer service. It's the same as anything. Keep in mind potentially the vast majority of people you may ask a beer question to, don't know the answer, don't care about the answer, and wish beer geeks would stop asking them questions and let them be.

 

On a positive note, visited The Appalachian Vintners in Asheville for the first time yesterday and found the service to be over the top spectacular. I've really NEVER felt so welcomed and appreciated in a beer shop ever. Freaking awesome people.

 

I don't have time for that nonsense, but luckily everywhere I go around here the people are nice and friendly, and willing to answer any questions, no matter how silly.

Nice avatar by the way @mcdonaldlockport - you might even call it awesome....Great Job!

 

I have noticed this everywhere myself. Local brewery as well as when I travel out to bottle shops (don't have any in my area). I'm guessing they get annoyed getting the same questions over and over for the same beers. I work in customer service part-time and it can get exhausting and annoying, but I always try to help people the best I can. Working in it, I am also overly nice when I call and ask, but I generally get a rude reply on the other side. Again, I know it can be frustrating so I can't really be upset, just wishing for a little more help. Either that, or get the social media updates out daily and it would def be less calls.

 

We as consumers do not have to patronize these types of businesses, and I don't. Whether it is a beer store, restaurant, or any other business. I will drive the extra distance to support a business that appreciates their customers. Speak with your wallets folks. I live in Palmyra PA, and we are fortunate to have an outstanding beer store in our backyard. If you are ever in the area, stop by Brass Rail Beverage in Campbelltown PA. You will see a great selection of craft beers and will experience knowledgeable and friendly customer service.

 

Haven't had any unpleasant experiences but plenty of uneducated (as far as beer goes) employees at the local shops but it doesn't bother me since I don't really want/need help. It can be slightly annoying when I ask about a fairly well known beer and they have no clue what I'm talking about, which is common at Total Wine. So many places to get beer in my area that if an employee were ever rude to me I'd never go back to that store and I think most of the shops around here realize that.

 

Like any type of retail store I've come across the good, the indifferent, and the bad employees. Not surprised the beer game is any different.

Cynically, maybe beer salesmen are getting a spoiled attitude by constantly being wooed and bribed (and maybe even more ) by customers trying to get an edge on that next hot new release.

 

Fortunately, it's the opposite in my town. There are 4 shops nearby that I frequent pretty regularly, and all but one have great customer service. Granted, there are some employees who just aren't into craft beer, which is fine, so they may not be able to answer some questions. On the flip side, there are some that can talk your leg off about the latest Stone release, or rattle off every single beer they tried at Huna Day. But for the most part, we have a good bunch of people working at the shops 'round here.

 

Liquor Barrel? If so, I can say that they have outstanding customer service.

Or Firkins? I always see employees taking customers around stores and explaining beers that may might like/want to try.

 

That's good news for you - job security!

 

I work in a small bottle shop in New England and I love talking to customers. I find that if I pay attention I can learn new things about brewing, breweries and beer culture from these people. No one knows everything and to pretend that you do does a disservice to the store you are working at. Every once in a while I'll get some wanna be hipster who knows how to throw around brewing terms but with a little digging they know very little overall. Every encounter should be a learning/sharing experience.

 

Have not had the bad experiences. May be luck, but I believe it has something to do with where you shop and who runs the beer department and/or owns the store. I'm not going to the corner store that employs a general clerk, stocks only BMC and not much else. I shop at 4-5 places regularly across a 75 mile range. 4 have beer guys that run that dept. and strive to make product availability and the experiences positive. Owners of the 5th store take care of it themselves.

 

Cynical? It's accurate, plain and simple. Similar phenomena exist with waiters as they know that most people tip about 18-20% no matter how bad the service is, and there's overtippers every so often so they're not going to get excited over your or my 25% tip for good service. Yawn.