Refunds for 2015 Regular BCBS and 2015 Prop

They made a choice to place a limit on refunds. And there is a difference between a rebate and a refund for a bad product - if you don't get that then okay. Do you really think they placed a time limit in the best interest of the customer? The buyout was supposed to maintain quality while expanding distribution. Instead we got a format change that translates to a near doubling in price and quality control issues that they only take partial responsibility for - you can support that with your dollars, I won't.

 

"Instead"....

Yeah obviously Vanilla Rye was a TERRIBLE offering, as was Rare, Cherry Rye, etc.

 

So true. People act like GI was just bought by AB/InBev a year or two ago.

 

I'm not saying they make bad beer (08 BCBS was probably the best I've ever had). I'm saying they made a terrible decision in terms of customer service. But it is a fact that they have had quality issues. I was their biggest fan. When people on this site had their hair on fire screaming that they would boycott GI because they were charging $40 for the first issue of Rare - I bought 11 bottles. But their decision to limit refunds when they are at fault is bad customer service and actually surprising considering how AB protects their quality/consistency reputation. I don't think you would see the same decision made if it was an issue with Bud. You can call me ignorant for not knowing there was a refund, you can call me gullible for thinking they would take complete responsibility for their issues, but calling me stupid for expecting them to take care of their problem is out of line.

 

I wouldn't call you any of the things you mention, I would however call you late to the refund offer which had a limited time of availability, and unreasonable to think they could have made it any more visible to folks than flooding social media with it. There was a time it seemed that there was nothing else being talked about.

 

I still haven't received my refund for the barleywine and coffee. I did receive a check, but at the exact same moment I was opening up the envelope with the check I was listening to a voicemail from Goose Island saying not to cash the check because it was for the wrong amount. Sure enough, it was for $30-40 more than it should have been. They said they would send out a new check. So, I destroyed that check and waited for the new one. It never came. I've called them several times now and every time they say if it's not there in a week call back.

 

When I worked in advertising, the marketing people there could calculate the cost of a coupon or a rebate and they had a good idea of what percentage of people would go to the effort of following through/find out about it and redeem it within the window. In my opinion, they've done the same thing here with an eye completely on the cost to them. It pisses me off to have them tell me they needed to have a cutoff so they could concentrate on the 2016 release which is complete hogwash. I don't want special treatment, I want everybody who got bad beer to get their money back. Somewhere along the line they made the decision to limit the refund window and (again, my opinion) they had to have gone to the effort to make sure they could do it without liability. I can't think of a legal department that would sign off on a limited recall unless they were completely sure that the quality control issue wouldn't poison someone or lead to exploding bottles. That's why I'm done with them.

 

You should have cashed it, and then let GI, contact you for their refund.

 

I still have a barleywine. I am going to drink it on thanksgiving. HOPEFULLY MINE WASN'T INFECTED!

 

If you're a gambling man, and willing to bet that it is uninfected, contact me by bm.

 

Soon as you open it B4 pouring you will Know.

 

I found out about this issue after the refund window had closed. I purchased 4 bottles all of which remain in the cellar (really no big deal). I'm only writing in to defend those who have complained, since there seems that there may be a consensus that people who enjoy well crafted beer are supposed to also be beer enthusiasts. Many people bought this beer to put away for awhile- I know I did. So, for a person to express concerns about the refund process being a bit arbitrary (to say the least) due to the limited time period, I feel like they have a legitimate gripe. Just my two cents. For what it's worth, I contacted GI on 11/20 (mainly because I'm a business owner and I'm always curious to see how a company deals with a loyal customer when they've come up short as a company) and the reply that I received stated that there was "lying" that was causing them to have to send refunds to people who didn't, in fact, have legitimate claims. This seemed odd to me since the label from the bottle necks needed to be included in the return, and I cannot imagine anyone going through the trouble of counterfeiting them. Anyway, I feel like there's so much top tier stuff around these days that I can rest easy walking my away from GI. There was a time where that would have been much harder to do than it is today.

 

Good luck with that. I opened one last night with the same hope, and it was horribly infected.


And as someone who follows this page closely and got my refund, I have to stick up for those complaining that they missed the window. This had nothing to do with what was logistically possible, or reasonable, or fair, or anything like that. It was 100% about Goose trying to pay back as little money to its customers as possible. That is obvious from the initial denials that anything was wrong, the subsequent half-admissions that there was indeed a problem, the haphazard way in which this was announced (does no one remember that the BW/Coffee refund had no published deadline outside of a random Twitter post they made a week after the online announcement?), and ultimately the hoops that you had to jump through to get the BCBS refund, so that anyone that didn't think to save their empty beer bottles for months on end was left holding the bag. Is it possible that a few bad apples would have made false claims without these measures? Sure, but I refuse to believe these represented a substantial percentage of the total value of refunds.

More importantly, Goose basically made a decision that it was preferable to risk screwing over some of their customers than it was to risk that they themselves might get screwed. You can say you agree with that decision, and that's fine, but I don't, and I don't think anyone deserves to be ridiculed who calls out the refund process as what it obviously was--intentionally designed for Goose Island to lose as little money as possible, even at the expense of its customers who paid good money for an undrinkable product.

 

I believe that the lying was referring to Coffee and Barleywine refunds because some people submitted requests multiple times. This is why we can't have nice things :/

 

Got my refund today, WHEW !

I had mailed it 1 day before the deadline , so it was "post marked" in time.

That was close.

Will I buy Bourbon County this year? Yes, certainly. Regular BCBS is 1/2 - 1/3 the cost of big beers in CA. The Bruery, Modern Times, etc...


I get people are angry with GI, but it's not like no one else had infection problems last year.

Modern Times, The Bruery, Odd Side, and I'm sure many more can add to the list.

Modern Times offers only gift cards if you return the bottle, but can't use the gift card for new purchases on new releases online So it's not very useful, and you're screwed if you are not local.

The Bruery gives credit to your account, great customer service!

Odd Side Ale - don't quote me but they didn't give a crap. Something about drink fresh, not my problem if you waited a few months.

At least GI gave a refund, CASH MONIES.

Things aren't perfect, and bad things happen.


The upside of people hating on GI, is if people stick to that then demand for their products will not be high. So maybe it'll be easier to trade for variants this year !!!!

 

Yea, Oddsides blamed the "off flavors" on the consumer. At least Goose Island tried to make it right and acknowledged the problem. I commend them for that.

 

People could have lied on the BCBS/Prop refunds as well. But yeah it does not surprise me in the least that there are people out there who would lie about their claims. These are the same sort of people who cut in lines at limited beer releases, steal bottles at beer events like DLD and basically engage in other forms of crap behavior. Craft beer certainly has its share of idiots.

 

**posted yesterday elsewhere

Really displeased with Goose Island right now. Still haven't received my refund from 2015, which I put my request in for in early January well before the deadline. I received a check with the wrong amount in February, and received a phone call immediately after not to cash the check because it was void. I was told I would get a new check shortly.

Called at the end of April and was told it was coming soon. They were really busy but assured me I would receive one.

Called in June and was told it was coming soon.

Called in September..well you get the idea. They have all my phone calls on record and repeated them back to me.

I just called them again 20 minutes ago to voice my displeasure and they said they were not sure they could help me because they had closed the whole refund process out. I could expect to hear back next week, maybe.

Are you fucking kidding me?

To make matters worse I just drain poured my last 2 BCBS bottles which were absolutely disgusting (infected..I said it, even if they wont).

 

Unless the check is from a close friend or family, I cash it. I'm not letting their problem become my problem.

 

lol, my mom, who does not drink beer, like beer, or know anything about beer, asked me this summer 'did you get any of that infected goose beer? because they are giving refunds i think'. She heard about it 'on the news somewhere'.

for those that have accounts here and are into craft beer enough to enjoy bcbs and missed all this talk about infections and refunds...how fucking big is that rock you are living under because apparently my mom has more craft beer game than you, lmao.