Lhbs: "dont Go On The Internet"

[Charst]

I can't say at any point in time have I had any real customer service issues in said shop but I have noticed the grumpy tone of certain staff.
The bloke that rhymes which 'this' gets a definite +1 from me though. champagne Bloke


While we are picking I have one thing I really can't understand.

I have no research to back his up but I work 8-5 weekdays and assume Min. 50% of people work a 9-5 Monday to Friday type arrangement also.
That being said the one opportunity I have to get Home brew supplies without ordering online and post is saturday morning till 1pm.

its a fking madhouse with the amount of people in the joint. can't get the service/advice you'd hope for because the staff are flat out with the amount of people, but its saturday morning i don't blame them.

but the amount of times I've had to not brew as a couldn't pop down and get something i needed in time would be a couple hundred dollars from me alone. others must be the same.

I would have assumed being such a large portion of your customers are only free to shop/brew on weekends you'd wanna be open to trade.


To make a comparison and hypothetical:

If the Government told Bunnings they have to close for a 1 day and a Half per week Id be fked if they'd choose half of saturday and all of Sunday.

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

In Riggers defence, he has a very dry sense of humour, many a time at a meeting he has taken the mickey out of me about my 'said knowledge'.... "where did you hear that?", I'd say the internet, and he would say: "there's your problem!".

Riggers is a very skilled BJCP judge as well as being a great source of knowledge. Yes he has been wrong about a few thing in the 'Riggers vs the internet' battle, but on the large part he is always on the money.

You may not get treated like you're at the Hilton, but at least you get treated like one of his friends.

At the risk of getting flamed, people need to lighten up. If you do have an issue, talk to the person involved or their boss, don't take it to the net...

Cheers Robbie

 

[bum]

don't take it to the net...

Serious business.

 

[manticle]

@beerdrinkingbob: He's not there as a stand up comic. Customers don't need to understand or accept his sense of humour - he needs to try and make it funnier (Bernard Black is a funny grumpy prick if he needs lessons) or just stick to dealing with customers and what they want. We're not all in his brewclub but we are in the shop.

I agree about net vs talk to him or his boss which is exactly what I've currently done.

@Charst - I guess, just like you work 8-5, 5 days a week and are glad to get home and have a weekend away from work is the reason they aren't open 7 days a week. Ordering online is what I do mostly and they are usually prompt and always communicative.

Said HBS is a one off, independently owned business and doesn't compare with a massive multinationally owned chain store like Bunnings.

 

[bulp]

I have had the same experience with the same person and i've edited my post because i appreciate G+G sponsoring this site and i don't have a problem with any of the other lads . Craftbrewer get my coins.

Oh Absolute Homebrew in Sydney has really good service too.

 

[Charst]

@Charst - I guess, just like you work 8-5, 5 days a week and are glad to get home and have a weekend away from work is the reason they aren't open 7 days a week. Ordering online is what I do mostly and they are usually prompt and always communicative.

Said HBS is a one off, independently owned business and doesn't compare with a massive multinationally owned chain store like Bunnings.

Agreed but my comparison is based on when the average person has the time to be shopping and brewing/gardening/handymanning etc.

I'm Doing some handy man task on weekend and oh sh*t i need nails or whatever, i pop down to bunnings/mitre 10 etc.
If I need a bit of tubing or ran out of HB caps, i can't pop down to G&G

I get they want to be home on a sunday but its a retail business. biggest retail trade is weekends.

I didn't mean to say they should be open 7 days a week, just that they could be like a lot of restaurants and make monday or tuesday their closed day/days.

EDIT: and yes i should be more organised I know

 

[manticle]

Try emailing the suggestion to the owner. They may all have partners/family who work during the week etc so weekends are precious for another reason.

Restaurants run a **** of a trade for staff - not sure I'd ever want to emulate their business model if I ran a non-restaurant retail business or work for one that did. I know what you mean but the mailorder facility should combat this (and it's not particularly expensive). Can you online order from Bunnings and get delivered? (genuine question - I haven't checked).

The saturday window might be small but it's there. I get almost all of my supplies from said HBS (some from CB if HBS doesn't have it, little bits from Gryphon when they have specials and most hops from ellerslie) and i buy there between once a week and once a fortnight. I don't drive and like you I work 5 days (and ocassional weekends) yet I still manage to get my brewing supplies. If you want something from craftbrewer, you'd be hard pressed to get there when you need something quick on a Sunday.

 

[loikar]

This is the second thread iv'e read today where someone has got online to bag a beer related company.
the first thread, the right thing was done in the first place.

this thread was just a whine session about a Grain and Grape staff member.
This also reflects on the business and the judgement of the owner and is bad for business and as a sponsor of this forum, I think more respect for that should be given.

Manticle did the right thing, but it should have been done by the OP previous to this thread and not aired for all to get on the whinge train.
Sure, if the response is along the lines of "don't care" or "piss off", get online and spread the word, but G&G doesn't deserve the impression this thread if giving to the business as a whole and may possibly influence someone considering purchasing their goods to go somewhere else.

I don't think it benefits any company (apart from brewcraft due to their consistent ignorant attitude and over-priced products) or the brewing community to jump on the internet and bag their service without engaging the business itself first.
Bad customer service is something that should be taken up with the company before jumping on the internet and complaining about it.
Especially when said company supports the medium you're using to complain on.

I understand this is about one individual, but it still reflects on the business. A business that sponsors this forum.

pull ya bloody heads in.

BF

 

[bum]

This will undoubtedly upset some (for which I apologise but I think my point does bear thinking about) but let me ask everyone a question:

Who does not see a whole heap of **** advice being offered here daily?

Sure, enough good stuff to make it worth the effort but, honestly, who can say that this board is 100% perfect for everyone who does not yet have the experience to be able to filter out what they need?

Sure, this has always been the case but there is a clear trend towards half-arsed advice (don't say "brewing", don't say "brewing") that has never existed here. Yes, the early resistance to BIAB was ugly in many ways at least the alternative they presented was well founded.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Tomorrow it will all be forgotten, business as usual.
Nev

 

[manticle]

@bum: I guess the advice is offered here for free so the expectation is different.

People still complain about being told to do a search ffs (a possibly analogical equivalent) anyway so it's not really that different. Said store person does not offer **** advice as far as I'm aware - just puts a lot of people off by being rude.

@beerfingers: I agree to a large extent about the internet whinge fest thing - it can become stupidly mammoth. One good thing that may come of it is that people get to read about alternative experinces (a large number of posts in this thread are actually praising said HBS* and their experiences there - same as has happened with the recently resurrected beerbelly thread.

I think though that contacting any business you are unhappy with before starting this kind of thread is essential. What businesses do to put wrong things right is what counts in my eyes - not whether or not they get things wrong in the first place. Obviously if I drink a **** beer from millers, I probably won't bother but independent brewpub, local business, HBS etc - give it a whirl. How can customer service improve if you don't politely, but firmly let them know of your issues?

*While HBS and staff member have been named, the OP attempted not to do so and while it's probably pointless, I intend to respect that attempted anonymity.

 

[bum]

I guess the advice is offered here for free so the expectation is different.

A reasonable assertion until we look at the context of the OP. LHBS-attendant advises new brewer that the internet is full of crap. Not the most useful advice but neither is it the worst.

just puts a lot of people off by being rude.

Well, I never!

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Tomorrow it will all be forgotten, business as usual.
Nev

I don't forget Nev <_<
Cheers
BBB

 

[yardy]

I think it's weak as piss, if the man genuinely has a bad attitude, ask him politely to **** up and get the order you're paying for, don't slink out with your tail between your legs and whinge and whine on here.

 

[manticle]

Brewers are mainly nerds mate. Some old crusty tradies and a few ex-chefs followed by an over representation from the nerd community.

They can hardly ask a girl out, let alone take a shop assistant to task for discourtesy.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Brewers are mainly nerds mate. Some old crusty tradies and a few ex-chefs followed by an over representation from the nerd community.

They can hardly ask a girl out, let alone take a shop assistant to task for discourtesy.

Thanks Sheldon <_<

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Brewers are mainly nerds mate. Some old crusty tradies and a few ex-chefs followed by an over representation from the nerd community.

They can hardly ask a girl out, let alone take a shop assistant to task for discourtesy.

I hate to generalize but .........
I asked a girl out once but never again !
Nev

 

[losp]

Wow. i think this thread is being taken the wrong way. I didn't just decide to jump on the internet and plot to, through a series of nasty posts go about taking down a Local HBS.

I just thought the users of this fine forum, deserve to know about what the store (i say store not staff member, because it was my and could have been anyone's perception) thinks of the Home Brewing internet scene.

Firstly, I don't know who the owner of the store is, i don't know who the hell the staff member is either. For all i know he could be the owner/manager/register man or janitor. I just heard what i heard and thought 'well that's a funny way to run your business'. Telling someone to stay off the internet seems to me that they were wishing the customer get their advice from old books/magazine subscriptions or intelligent staff-members who's best interest is in the development of the clients brewing skills (yeah right).

I felt in no position to tell said person how to run his business, i also couldn't be arsed stirring the pot. I went out to tell the (customer) guy about this forum and that he could learn plenty of accurate and useful stuff on the net as long as he was a little diligent in checking everything before putting it into use. It was a minor thing, i just thought i should let people of this forum (internet site) what i heard.

 

[manticle]

You didn't think that posting a thread about a well known HBS and hinting fairly clearly at which one it might be, would create a shitstorm?

I think it's good that you kept it anonymous and think that should have been respected throughout but you can't really think the reaction is unbelievable unless you've only just recently been introduced to the internet.

If so - welcome to the internet.

 

[Cocko]

Wow, thread confusion or lost in translation..