customer service and craft beer

Why, yes. They are pro because they both have also been in business for nearly two decades and probably produce more in a single shift than Sante produces in a year. I'm not sure what your point is, btw.
I don't know piss about Sante brewery but a cursory glance at their pics on their website tells me plainly the place is tiny. And with it. Easily overwhelmed, and they do not have the kind of budget breweries like Founders or Bell's have to hire actual qualified marketing people to handle the PR, and their communiques are handled by someone who happens to be near the computer but is probably also taking a break from whatever it is they happen to be involved in on the brewery side. i.e. not the best people to handle such things anyways. Oh, and judging by the tanks and how large either space looks. They probably have about 5 people on staff.

 

That was my point...

 

What's your customer service experience?

 

They do have an events tab on their FB page. Would it be a good idea for breweries like this to have a thorough FAQ tab on all of their social media sites? Sure. State their policies clearly. Refer customers to that, first. Even with a FAQ section, I would think they'll still get some questions that aren't covered. So all they can do is try to take care of the customer the best they can after that. Getting snotty with people won't help, on either side. Just simply refer them to the FAQ section, or reply, "that's the most current info I have."

 

The fact that the brewery person (cnut) made the time to be that rude,
as opposed to just ignoring you I makes it all the worse,

 

Screw them, boycott, or whatever, they suck !!

 

I think the next move is for everyone to now ask on Facebook via private message if Sante Adairius is releasing anything soon.
That will really piss that guy off.

 

My brewery has 5 people on staff. We would NEVER address a customer that way. No brewery or ANY business should respond that way, ever. That is the bottom line, every single time. They were wrong and should correct themselves.

 

When i first read the post i never noticed the dates until OP says it been a year since he asked question so maybe the CS rep also didn't realize that. Of course the reply could have been better but there's plenty of other breweries out there.

 

I had a similar experience with Penn Brewing in PA. Absolutely did not care one bit about customer service, they nevr responded to phone calls or FB questions (which I only attempted after no call back for over a month) There are many great brewery's that care about customers. I simply choose those breweries instead.

PS, I should have never trusted a brewery that labels their Vienna Lager as a Pilsner in the first place!

 

Proper response in my opinion would have gone along the same lines as

"Hi Brian, nice to see you back, as I see that we conversed a while ago. Unfortunately we have the same policies regarding releases in place as last time you visited. We do however have "X" on tap and available for growler fills. Please have a safe trip and enjoy your visit!"

Succinct, even toned and fairly close ended.

There's a difference between customer service and "person that responds to social media". Maybe this brewery has not made the distinction.

 

A dick move on his part. Don't waste your time with them. Just try to stick to the breweries en route to your final destination.

 

Yep, pretty much this. It would have taken no more time to type the above than to respond with snark. While I don't think SARA's response was shockingly bad or anything, it just comes off unnecessarily rude, and that should be fairly obvious to any employee who cared about not sounding like a dick. I worked in hospitality for many years, and while I do not agree that the customer is always right (in the words of Randall from Clerks, "the customer's always an asshole!" ), I learned that there is nothing to gain from being a jerk to the people that pay your salary. Go ahead and curse them out behind their back all you want, but no reason to be outwardly rude, especially for a harmless question like this.

 

Yes..that was pretty much my thoughts. Curse them in the back, but a response saying our policy hasn't changed, should it change though please see our website for details. come in and have a beer when you're in town. It took no more effort to do that than the reply they gave.

 

After reading this a few times over a few days, this one is on you.

You asked a question, got an answer. Asked again(awhile later, so it's possible things change), they said we already covered it. That lets you know it hasn't changed. Should be conversation over.

But then you gave him your life story trying to get them to just tell you anyway.


And an awful lot of "I am a customer you lowly worker peon. Kiss my feet for thinking about maybe shopping at your store. My ten dollar purchase pays your salary(somehow from the business grossing $3 before paying wages, bills, etc.) You owe me".

Nonsense.

 

Unfortunately, some breweries out there forget that they are a business, and acting professional matters.

 

I hope you never open a business.

 

Yes... buuuuuuut...

As a business owner, or somebody repping their Facebook, you have to be professional. Dealing with annoying customers/ people who ask too many question/ or whatever is part of being in a business. You cannot just say to their face "wow you're being annoying," even when they are. You know.

Just because you own a brewery, does not mean that customer service does not matter. Look at how any of the big, been-around-forever businesses respond to people on social media. Keeping a good public image is huge.

But I suppose those in the beer business feel public/ social media image doesn't matter. Oh well.

 

The OP could have been the biggest cuntbag of all cuntbags ever and it doesn't justify a business being cunty in return. We aren't talking about two people just having a personal chat here. Being a professional comes with more than a modicum of respect and responsibility towards any customer, unless of course you want the reputation of being a professional asshole, in that case this SARA rep is doing great.

 

For his own sake, really.