Help at the beer store: That awkward moment when...

Oh I agree 100%. But I figure a lot of people on this site in particular can relate to me. I will never forget my beer ignorance that I broke free of only a few years ago. I also keep in mind that I am of a small percentage of people who usually knows more than the "beer guy" at the store.

 

come to The Party Source in Bellevue, KY! None of this would ever happen.

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I was a regular at a fairly small store. The owner was doing a good job of stocking whatever new beers arrived in NJ during the first great microbrew expansion, but he was a wine guy at heart. So one day he trying to answer a customer's questions when he points to me and says "He can probably help you more than I can."

In the years since, in other stores, I've helped people where I can, usually with those just starting with craft beer or looking for something as a gift.:

 

I don't expect every employee in a beer store to be an expert. Many are going to be just there as cashiers or shelf stockers.

BUT, if a customer has a question, they should get the customer the answer from the people who are suppose to know. I work in a large retail store, and we are not expected to have all the answers, but we are expected to connect customers with the employees who have the answers.

 

So you're obviously stating we need more drive thru craft beer stores?

 

The staff at State Line are all quite competent, so I don't run into this often, but the most cringeworthy was at a Total Wine. An older woman wanted some beer for her son, whom she knew loved "hoppy beers." The first sales guy frowned for a bit and ultimately directed her to one of those "beers of the world" scam sampler packs charging $9.99 for an assortment of Heineken, Dos Equis, etc. I struggled over whether or not I ought to interject, but fortunately TW's beer gal came to the rescue with a six pack of Torpedo.