Worst customer service from renowned bottle shops

I'd have a chat with the manager and piss in the guy's mailbox.

 

Unless that guy was having an unfathomably bad day, I can't possibly imagine that what he said was unprovoked. If you aren't willing to provide your end of the confrontation, how can we adequately judge whether his behavior is inexcusable?

 

Kind of agree here.

*You're browsing the shelves*

"Hey guy, you're the worst kind of customer."

 

Yeah, I'm curious as to what would have brought those sort of comments out. I've definitely gotten some strange treatment at some really good stores, but by and large I think the smaller places tend to be better at attending to their customers (and good bottle shops are usually smaller places).

 

Would be interested in hearing the other side of the conversations also.

I have had some unprovoked horrible customer service. A couple months back I was at the local bottle shop and they had Pipeworks Ninja vs. Unicorn. Im up at the register and I check the bottom for a date and the guy just goes "Really man really, trust me its fresh, do you really think we would sell old beer". Though it was pretty rude considering just a week prior i didnt check the date and bought a 6 month old Loose Cannon.

 

The worst I've ever experienced at a bottle shop was short abrupt answers when I asked about a certain beer. That's it, not enough to get upset about.

 

Without naming the shop these types of posts are useless. The rude service absolutely sucks, but if you want to have any kind of effect on it then granting the shop anonymity isn't the way to do it.

 

Just out of curiosity, what beers were you looking for that they didn't have? I'm not excusing his comments or attitude, but leading off saying that you expected a better selection is often going to be taken poorly, by anyone on a good or bad day.

 

I agree with you, and people that do this annoy me to no end. And for the record, he's referring to Charleston Beer Exchange.

 

Did the guy overreact? Possibly. But it sounds like you went into the shop, and insulted the selection- what did you expect, really?

 

Wow went to that shop recently and thought the guy was really nice even chatted with him a bit ...wonder which guy it was?
Tbh tho they don't have the amazing selection that hype would tell you.. its good but my regular store the piggly wiggly in MB gets the same stuff so I don't see a need to go there. Unless I'm in town.

But insulting the selection may have triggered it not that it's justified by any means

 

Twice

 

Ha - before I checked out the review, I was pretty certain you were referencing the Charleston Beer Exchange. I visited over the summer and, like you, thought the customer service was pretty lacking.

The selection there is pretty limited. After looking over the local brews and intending to go back and pick up a few, I was checking out the Belgian and Italian ales. After about 10 minutes of browsing an employee asked if I needed any help. I replied that I was just checking things out and was hoping to find some local brews. His response was along the lines of, "You're not going to find anything local when you're looking in the Belgian section since we are in South Carolina." I chuckled a bit and tried not to let the passive aggressiveness get to me.

That is certainly not the most offensive thing that has been said to me, but I the overly-sarcastic comment was a little rude and gave off a very holier than thou vibe. Another employee overheard the first comment and quickly come over to engage me, almost like they knew the first employee was being off-putting.

It definitely sucks, but in a luxury industry like craft beer, there are going to be a number of elitist people who would rather be pricks than provide helpful customer service. The best way to deal with this is to let your money talk. I didn't buy anything that day and I won't return unless I have a truly compelling reason. It's not my job to change their behavior, but I don't have to give them any of my money either.

 

Luckily have never had this issue. The best two local bottle shops in the Albany area (Westmere and Oliver's) are full of terrific and knowledgeable employees.

 

Was this the first time you've seen this particular employee? No excuse for the behavior, unless he's your regular guy and was just busting your stones a bit...I'm guessing if that was the case, you wouldn't have posted anything

 

All I know is that these "bad experience rants" are the worst kind of post, and if it weren't for this thread there would be a better selection of topics on the front page.

 

If you've been going there for 4 years and this is the first time you've had a problem like this, it's just that particular employee. He either had a bad day, or is one bad apple. He won't last that long if this is his normal attitude.


Bottom line is, don't let it get to you.
I dislike how easily people get butt hurt these days.

Come live in the Northeast for a while, it will toughen you up.

 

A simpler reply by the guy could be "yeah we got crushed by the holidays and New Years sales, we should have more soon."

I was in a larger chain store recently and mentioned something to one of the guys that the store seemed a little low in inventory, and he was happy to say why.