Lhbs: "dont Go On The Internet"

[losp]

Hi All,

I went into a LHBS the other day. I wont mention the name of the store, but its on the western side of Melbourne, near the docs, under the big bridge... <_<

I was just picking up some supplies (yeast and star-san) and some other bloke picked up a newby brew kit that one of his family members had bought him for Christmas. As i was waiting the guy who was picking up the kit was told by one of the staff members (who seemed to me, quite rude before i saw this) to "stay off the internet". He said "why?" and the staff member said "because they are all nincompoosp and everything they say is wrong/bs".... One of the other guys in there jokingly said 'i am picking up stuff for a recipe that i got off the net' but he also was treated with disdain.

No big deal i guess, i just thought it was a good thing for the Vic AHBers to know. As 'The people of the Internet', particularly this forum have helped me out enormously for my home-brew queries/needs.
I would have expected this from BrewCraft several years ago, but my recent experienced with them have been fantastic and the staff there are extremely helpful to all-grainers and they now have an almost-semi-respectable range of grain, and dont push the kits as much anymore.

I will now be buying my specialty stuff from Ross at Craftbrewer, bulk grains from Dave in greensborough and the smaller/urgent stuff at Brewcraft.

 

[razz]

Did he have red hair?

 

[losp]

Did he have red hair?

I can't remember the hair, but he was the more ...portly gentleman.

 

[WarmBeer]

Ignore him.

He's just bitter because his multi-thousand dollar 3-tier system lost to a Brew-In-A-Bag beer at the 2010 ANHC.

 

[razz]

:lol:

 

[Jace89]

That 'guy' is the reason I stopped going there. Always made me feel like a pain in the arse....I only ever ordered grain and asked for advice on the equipment they were selling.
Other then that the people who work there were generally nice.

 

[wakkatoo]

Would that be the same west-of-melbs-under-a-big-bridge-HBS that has a fairly large and obvious sponsorship logo/link to an internet store on this website?

Obviously I'm a nincompoop(sp?) and the above statement is wrong....

 

[manticle]

Everyone else in the store is a champ, including the owner.

I think we should all email said owner because I know a lot of people who've been put off going into the store due to one experience with said assistant.

I've had nothing but good experiences with all the other staff and think they are worthy of support because they carry a great range, are very helpful generally, offer decent advice and in my experience have fixed any and all errors promptly and without argument (mailorders etc).

 

[doon]

There is one other guy, newer middle aged guy that falls into same category as previously mentioned staff member. These two without fail make me feel like a f Tard after leaving the store cause I asked for advice. It's just good that the other three including the owner have been freaking awesome giving so much advice and help

 

[manticle]

Really? Damn.

Bloke who's name rhymes with 'this' is my favourite. Always interested in what you are brewing, always helpful, and nerdy in that cool way that some brewers can be.

 

[doon]

Nah not bloke who rhymes with this he is a freaking champ! Even took emailed excel spread sheets for heaps of things. Its the bloke who doesn't have a photo on the website kind of reminds me of elvis

 

[jayahhdee]

I have had a similar experience with the same staff member as described above, doesn't seem at all interested in anything and always looks grumpy, Fortunately everyone else I have dealt with have been champs at the store.

 

[big78sam]

I too have had a similar experience with said gentleman, more than once. Overall great service there though.

Now waiting to see what mods do...

 

[Siborg]

It's a pity really. They are clearly the biggest store Vic has to offer yet one staff member continues to put people off. I've personally never had a run in with said guy, but I have heard many tales.

 

[fraser_john]

I don't like going there after I walked in and asked for 1kg of Chocolate malt and then getting chewed out for not ordering online with a clearly indicated pickup date/time.

"They" obviously don't want my business.

The owner needs to be more aware of how his customers are being treated.

I have not bought ANY malt from them since and only use them when desperate and unable to get something from one of the other online stores in time for a brew.

I'd hazard a guess that they have lost a couple of hundred dollars a year of my business. Not huge in the scheme of things, but, obviously by this thread, it is an ongoing problem.

 

[Jace89]

Yah that guy would throw a hissy fit at people if they didnt order the day before, I made the mistake of doing that once! I've seen him do it to other people as well, I understand the rule but not the enforcement..
They lost my business as well never thought about complaining though, maybe someone should let owner/manager know about this thread.

 

[Pennywise]

Another one here who (when I get served by him) gets the grumpy, ****** treatment. I go back because all the other staff are awesome. Paul, John, Dan are others I've been served by and are great, there's two other dudes who's awesome but I don't know their names, skinny bloke, usually at the counter, anyway he's the bloke holding a beer in the pic on their website. Got a good sense of humor that one. The other is a tall skinny bloke, bit of a ranga and piercings n ****, he seems pretty cool, only spoken with him once though but was keen to answer my questions.

 

[Pennywise]

Yah that guy would throw a hissy fit at people if they didnt order the day before, I made the mistake of doing that once! I've seen him do it to other people as well, I understand the rule but not the enforcement..
They lost my business as well never thought about complaining though, maybe someone should let owner/manager know about this thread.

Wow, really. I'm surprised no one has slapped him one yet. I mean I've gotten the "rude to much trouble for him" thing before but throwing a hissy fit is just, well, childish. is job is to serve customers, don't like it, get another ******' job. Simple really...

 

[DU99]

pennywise one is chris

 

[doon]

Yeah young dude with peircings is a champ to sat there chatting to me and helping me out for ages the other day