Troubling sights at my local B&M - Page 4

I was in a B+M in Seattle where the owner had decided that he was going to leave a couple boxes with some particularily bad beetle damage in his walk-in. When I pointed them out to him, he said "don't worry, I'll just send them back to the manufacturer and get the money back". He didn't seem at all concerned over leaving a box with obvious beetle damage (and the associated eggs) inside his walk-in with the rest of his stock.

Needless to say, I didn't purchase anything from him.
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Originally Posted by RCS44:
Patching up beetle holes??? I have never heard of anyone doing that, nor would i consider doing such a thing.

Be more specific...maybe not a retailer, but I just did it the other day. I smoked a cigar with
beetle holes, and it would not draw unless I covered up the holes. People do that all the time.
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Originally Posted by Ratters:
Not at all. I know a shop that carries Tats and couldn't care less about limited releases. It's just another brand to him. In fact he was blowing them out because they don't sell very well. Again, most smokers don't want things strong and spicy, they just want a nice mild smoke while enjoying some other activity.

That just says to me that that particular shop owner hasn't really connected with the Tatuaje market. If you ask Tatuaje fans- the people who go to a shop because it has Tatuaje- if they're interested in the Wolfman, I'd bet most will say 'yes'.
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Originally Posted by loki:
won't there be another one of those next week?

I'm not here to defend Tatuaje's business model- it is what it is. I'm just saying that it's kind of weird for someone to think his customers want Tats but don't want the hot new Tats.
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Originally Posted by Doctorossi:
I'm not here to defend Tatuaje's business model- it is what it is. I'm just saying that it's kind of weird for someone to think his customers want Tats but don't want the hot new Tats.

I go to a shop just because it has Tats.
In fact I don't go to a certain shop because the shop owner refuses to carry Tats. He told me he won't go after distributers, they must come to him. I am a customer and he is losing me because he doesn't care enough to stock what I want.

:-)
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As to the mold, did you let him know about it? The answer to that can be a pretty good indication of how much they care about their products. If he shrugs his shoulders or quickly breaks out the, "It's plume" line I would give them a wide berth in the future. If he has you show him the affected sticks and takes care to remove them from inventory, I would have a lot more trust for the shop.
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Originally Posted by Blak Smyth:
I go to a shop just because it has Tats.
In fact I don't go to a certain shop because the shop owner refuses to carry Tats. He told me he won't go after distributers, they must come to him. I am a customer and he is losing me because he doesn't care enough to stock what I want.:-)

This experience is sadly familiar to me.
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I have seen a couple cigar shops which are simply there for the owner's sake. He gets his own cigars at a discounted price (the reason he opened the place) and the prices on his sticks are such that he covers his own cigars and the cost of overhead. It is also often just a place the owner can go to have a smoke, as he isn't allowed to smoke at home. Oftentimes, they add other things to sell in the store (other than cigars) in an effort to make money so that it doesn't solely rely upon the selling of premium cigars.

Peace of the Lord be with you.
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Originally Posted by Lonely Raven:
So I stopped into a B&M that's just blocks away from where I work a couple a days a week. They carry Tatuaje and the Hemmingway Work of Art, so I figured I'd poke in, ask about Wolfman, see if they have Tatuaje Black, and maybe pick up a short story and Work of Art.

While I was poking around there, I saw they had some Opus X Lost City. Expensive, but it's nice to know they were there...so I open up the tubo, only to find it spotted with mold. I tried to brush it off to see if it was just "bloom" from the oils, and no, it was a white mold. I found several other sticks around there looking the same way. That's disappointing, especially on such nice sticks..

So on my way out, I'm asking about Tatuaje stuff, and was flat out told that nobody really wants the Wolfman stuff, so he didn't even bother asking for it. As he's telling me this, he's "repairing" several sticks that clearly have beetle holes in them, by gluing bits of wrapper over the holes using a typical vegi glue used on cigar bands.

So I inquire, "these aren't for sale, are they?". He says "No, I'm repairing these for a customer". Then I'm like, "but they have beetles", and he says, "all cigars have beetles, you've probably been smoking them for years". I say "any cigar can have beetle's eggs, but if they hatch, you're smoking beetle crap!" and he pauses...shrugs and says "more protein".

So, this reputable local shop, I think just lost my business. :-)

That is Crazy! Some people just do not understand certain aspects of The cigar hobby.
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Originally Posted by Sherlockholms:
That is Crazy! Some people just do not understand certain aspects of The cigar hobby.

The majority of cigar shops do not exist to service the hobby. Hobbyists are but a small percentage of any market including cigars. An enthusiast or hobbyist will seek out the limited or hard to find item, but usually shows no loyalty to a particular retailer. The shop owner on the other hand is interested in regular, long term customers, those who come in every week and buy a few smokes or even a box for a special occasion.

In California, our tobacco taxes are extremely high, yet at event after event I see people buying boxes that are 20-30% over internet cost. They buy because they are loyal to the shop and dont have the time or inclination to check pricing. Most dont care how much CI or Famous might discount the same box. They also have the disposable income to support this kind of buying.
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Everything said here are the EXACT reasons why I go to a B&M to get a "sampling" of different cigars to smoke. You can examine everyone one of them! I do not go to purchase a box of cigars (mainly because they are over priced) when I can get them online from a reputable dealer that will refund me if there are issues.

Unfortunately, just like any other business...80% of them are in it for a profit, not for loyalty.
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I agree with Bobarian and I will butcher his statement to bend it towards mine. There are reams of threads about
people who hate their B&Ms because of A or B, but relatively few if any by people who are going to start a B&M to
fill the niche they feel is not being properly served. It's a brutal business, with some of the most intense internet
competition that exists. They are not in business to cater to your every need, and the ones that DO often can't
make a go at it for long. You can't be all things to all people and this is a free country where you are invited to
open your own $*&(&%& shop, lol. The bottom line continues to be, shop where you feel best served. Horror
stories about B&Ms are nothing new. Most of these guys could care less where you shop. Have you noticed that?
:-)
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Originally Posted by OLS:
It's a brutal business, with some of the most intense internet competition that exists.

Just one more reason to make the customers that you are privileged enough to see enter your shop feel heard and serviced, even if you don't have what they're looking for at the moment... right?

The intensity of competition is cause for more customer service, not less. :-)
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I recently visited a cigar shop here in Ohio that had a giant walk in humidor that was slap full of empty boxes. I mean literally hundreds of boxes with nothing in them, all displayed proudly.
I managed to find five or six boxes that actually had cigars in them, they were right by the door on the way out of the walk-in. I didn't buy anything there because there was nothing to buy, and I felt bad about it. It's puzzled me for a couple months now, I can't figure out for the life of me what's going on there.

I try to buy a box every time I visit a B&M, which isn't often because I can't find any. When I find a nice one, I try to grab everything I can afford, and usually find the prices to be right in line with online outfits (PA and OH).
I often grab stuff that I know guys here will want, too.
I do it because without the B&M's, a huge part of this hobby is lost. I don't even go there to buy a cigar. I go there to smoke a cigar and meet people and enjoy myself. That has huge value to me, and if a box costs a few more bucks, or singles cost a few more bucks, so be it. It's a value-added premium that is well worth the money.
I've not found cigars to cost more, anyways. The B&M's I've visited have always offered a discount on multiple stick/box purchases and I usually find awesome closeout deals.
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Originally Posted by Doctorossi:
That just says to me that that particular shop owner hasn't really connected with the Tatuaje market. If you ask Tatuaje fans- the people who go to a shop because it has Tatuaje- if they're interested in the Wolfman, I'd bet most will say 'yes'.

My point is that for every Tat "fan" walking through the door, there are hundreds of customers who aren't. He is in business to make money, and searching out a 1% market just isn't in his interest. The shop I go to is interested in boutique cigars and that's why I go there. But I don't bash the other shops for not doing it, they aren't in business to serve just my needs. If they find they can run a servicable business with more common cigars, I have no problem with it, I just don't shop there.
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Originally Posted by Ratters:
My point is that for every Tat "fan" walking through the door, there are hundreds of customers who aren't. He is in business to make money, and searching out a 1% market just isn't in his interest. The shop I go to is interested in boutique cigars and that's why I go there. But I don't bash the other shops for not doing it, they aren't in business to serve just my needs. If they find they can run a servicable business with more common cigars, I have no problem with it, I just don't shop there.

Well said.
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