Minor Damage During Shipping: What Would You Do?

[MahDooRow]

I just received a box from a vendor (not our host) with whom I have made several successful purchases.  I always request additional padding so that cigars are not damaged during shipping, and until receipt of my most recent order the boxes have always been packed with care.  Unfortunately the vendor did not insert padding this time and 12 out of the 25 cigars arrived with cracked feet.  Five of the 12 damaged stick have cracks as long as 2 cm.  I contacted the vendor and he apologized for the error, but he did not offer any compensation in exchange for the damaged sticks.  I let him know that the damage likely did not warrant a return/exchange.  However, I expected he would offer some compensation for the inadequate packaging.  None was offered.  

While I am disappointed with the damage and the initial response from the vendor, the cigars are far from ruined.  Cracked feet will not detract from the "smokeability" of the cigars and I am tempted to just let this issue go.  Thoughts?  Thanks in advance.        

[srbbones]

Happened to me once with a European vendor.  I e-mailed a picture of the damage and suggested what I thought would be appropriate compensation (in this case 2 party lusi and one HDM DC).  They obliged.

[irratebass]

I wouldn't worry about this time....definitely take pics, and include them in an email with your next order when you request extra padding to remind them of what happened last time.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[LordAnubis]

Cracked feet? Unless they are rendered completely unsmokable i would not consider anything "postage damaged". Ive received some cigars that are pretty damaged and they smoked great. What it looks like matters not after you've converted it to ash. It is just the nature of the beast.

[MahDooRow]

Thanks for the feedback.  If it were just a few small cracked feet it would be a total non-issue.  I've received plenty of boxes in which a few sticks have small cracks.  That's par for the course.  The fact that 1/2 the box has cracked feet, five of which have significant cracks, is annoying.  What bothers me the most is that this could have easily been avoided altogether if the vendor would have used proper padding as I requested.  

[NSXCIGAR]

Sounds like a pretty typical vendor compensation issue, but I agree with above ^^ in that cracked feet are generally a pretty minor issue for me, although a 2cm long crack is certainly pushing it.

Take pics, email to vendor and discuss compensation and their failure to act on your request for padding in the future. I'm sure they'll handle it professionally if they're a trusted vendor.

[Gusmab980]

A couple months back got a box of 10 lusitanias and the vendor didn't packed properly, 7 of the sticks were damaged, email them about it, they apologize and completely refunded me the money. Other vendor sent cracked cigar and when I mention it they just told the damage wasn't gonna a problem when I smoke them, don't buy from them anymore unless they have something at a really good price. I don't mind cracked foots but damage wrapper is something different, especially if you are paying premium prices.

[LordAnubis]

Question folks. When you receive these damaged sticks, and get a refund or what not. What do you do with the damaged sticks? Throw them away? Or smoke them? If you smoke them have they been less enjoyable?

[LGC]

You are pissed off, but you did not relay your feelings to the vendor. I'm assuming you didn't send him detailed pics. Take it up again with the vendor, or let it go. The last time I received a $hitty box from a vendor that everyone loves... I never ordered from them again. Everyone's expectations are different. Your options are relatively limited if you can't choose your cigars in person. As I tell my wife... don't complain to me about your problems if you won't take action on my suggestions... or do what you WANT to do.

[oliverdst]

The least he should have done is to send you some singles in your next purchase.

It wasnt your first order, he should know you are not cheating.

[MahDooRow]

25 minutes ago, Brandon said:

You are pissed off, but you did not relay your feelings to the vendor. I'm assuming you didn't send him detailed pics. Take it up again with the vendor, or let it go. The last time I received a $hitty box from a vendor that everyone loves... I never ordered from them again. Everyone's expectations are different. Your options are relatively limited if you can't choose your cigars in person. As I tell my wife... don't complain to me about your problems if you won't take action on my suggestions... or do what you WANT to do.

The words "pissed off" were never used in my original post... and I did relay my concerns to the vendor.    

 

52 minutes ago, LordAnubis said:

Question folks. When you receive these damaged sticks, and get a refund or what not. What do you do with the damaged sticks? Throw them away? Or smoke them? If you smoke them have they been less enjoyable?

Would you pay full price for a brand new car full of dents?  The dents are purely cosmetic and the car drives just as good as one without the dents.  

[topdiesel]

If your intent was to age these sticks and you were hoping to have perfect examples, then I would return for better quality...especially since you had requested a specific type of packaging.  If they could not oblige, they should have told you before had.  Accidents happen, but when I make a mistake with my clients I am responsible.

 

If your intent was to smoke them sooner rather than aging, then I would start with the cracked feet and not worry about it.  If you are worried about the smoking experience, then return them or at least discuss your actual concern and possible solutions with the vendor.  I am really glad you have not named the vendor since the vendor has not done anything bad up to this point.  

 

[TCContender]

1 hour ago, LordAnubis said:

Question folks. When you receive these damaged sticks, and get a refund or what not. What do you do with the damaged sticks? Throw them away? Or smoke them? If you smoke them have they been less enjoyable?

Personally, I burn them.  Individually.  With a nice glass of scotch.

[topdiesel]

1 hour ago, LordAnubis said:

Question folks. When you receive these damaged sticks, and get a refund or what not. What do you do with the damaged sticks? Throw them away? Or smoke them? If you smoke them have they been less enjoyable?

If it splits on you and you cannot stop it, then the experience can suffer.  I try to repair with the cap

[NSXCIGAR]

As has been posted, I would send pics and make my sentiments clear as day once more. 2cm+ long foot cracks are certainly within the range of some compensation. I don't think full replacement of the sticks is necessarily warranted, but I personally would be happy with 25-50% off the sticks in question--in your case, 5 sticks. If the vendor refuses any compensation I would not use them again, period. And let them know you'll be passing your experience along to your forum mates (not that you would, but I'd toss it in as a final dig). Most trusted vendors are very generous when it comes to issues such as these and the fact that you don't seem to be getting any action on their end is a big red flag to me.

Plenty of other good, trusted vendors to use (Rob) where this would have been dealt with much more properly, or never been an issue at all to begin with.

[MahDooRow]

10 minutes ago, topdiesel said:

If your intent was to age these sticks and you were hoping to have perfect examples, then I would return for better quality...especially since you had requested a specific type of packaging.  If they could not oblige, they should have told you before had.  Accidents happen, but when I make a mistake with my clients I am responsible.

 

If your intent was to smoke them sooner rather than aging, then I would start with the cracked feet and not worry about it.  If you are worried about the smoking experience, then return them or at least discuss your actual concern and possible solutions with the vendor.  I am really glad you have not named the vendor since the vendor has not done anything bad up to this point.  

 

I see no need to name the vendor.  I've placed several orders and have had no issues until this most recent box.  This was the first time that I received a box with inadequate padding/packaging.  It was a mistake by a member of the vendor's shipping staff, plain and simple.  In the big scheme of things it's not a big deal, just disappointing.  

[NSXCIGAR]

21 minutes ago, MahDooRow said:

I see no need to name the vendor.  I've placed several orders and have had no issues until this most recent box.  This was the first time that I received a box with inadequate padding/packaging.  It was a mistake by a member of the vendor's shipping staff, plain and simple.  In the big scheme of things it's not a big deal, just disappointing.  

IMO, as with most things in business, everything is great until it's not. And how the vendor deals with these problems, isolated as they may be, is the true mark of a solid business. If what you say is precisely as described, there's NO way that I, as the vendor, would want my apparently loyal, long-term customer feeling as you do right now, posting this on a forum. No problem with my clients should ever make it to a forum. No need to name the vendor, but I certainly would push them on some compensation, at the very least on the next order, and if they refuse, I would never, ever use them again just based on your description of events. There are too many good, decent, stand-up vendors out there to continue to give any vendor that leaves a bad taste in your mouth your business.

[LordAnubis]

Mate a car is a bad example to use. A car has a value as a show piece. If you intend to store these cigars for show, or for high quality resale to secondary market then sure i can see why you would be upset about it.

I have never had a split propogate down a cigar. When you have a crack in the wrapper, put a dob of spit at the bottom of it, and the split stops. Has worked everytime for me.

If i get cigars that have some slight damage, i smoke them first. If i am really unhappy with the box, i send them back and have the box replaced. I would not keep the box that i was unhappy with ask the vendor to pay me money for my unhappyness.

[Frinkiac7]

I bought a cab of SLR DC from a vendor once that had several with cracked feet. I was a bit distraught, but how often do you find these cabs readily available? Ultimately I smoked the cracked ones first and have let the others in good condition sit and age.

[Franko]

I would definitely ask him for some credit, it happened to me ones and he add some credit to my account... That's the way it goest imo. If he's a site vendor tho!!!

[RijkdeGooier]

If you are unhappy tell the vendor and suggest a solution to remedy your unhappiness. 

A good vendor should respond. 

[demer]

I had a vendor one time send me a box that had greenish mold all over it. I emailed them and it was like pulling teeth to get a refund. Ultimately I got the refund and also got black listed by them from ever ordering again. Which was hilarious because I was nothing but polite the entire time. 

[srbbones]

4 hours ago, LordAnubis said:

Question folks. When you receive these damaged sticks, and get a refund or what not. What do you do with the damaged sticks? Throw them away? Or smoke them? If you smoke them have they been less enjoyable?

I smoked them, but it was a pain:  the cracks were at the head, so it kept unraveling.  So yes, dealing with that made the experience less enjoyable.  Cracks in the feet I tend to ignor.  

[MahDooRow]

5 hours ago, NSXCIGAR said:

IMO, as with most things in business, everything is great until it's not. And how the vendor deals with these problems, isolated as they may be, is the true mark of a solid business. If what you say is precisely as described, there's NO way that I, as the vendor, would want my apparently loyal, long-term customer feeling as you do right now, posting this on a forum. No problem with my clients should ever make it to a forum. No need to name the vendor, but I certainly would push them on some compensation, at the very least on the next order, and if they refuse, I would never, ever use them again just based on your description of events. There are too many good, decent, stand-up vendors out there to continue to give any vendor that leaves a bad taste in your mouth your business.

I agree with everything said ^.  I'll probably ask for a small credit on my next purchase.

 

4 hours ago, LordAnubis said:

Mate a car is a bad example to use. A car has a value as a show piece. If you intend to store these cigars for show, or for high quality resale to secondary market then sure i can see why you would be upset about it.

  Yeah, I agree... not the best example.  I was just trying to make a point.

__________________________________________________

Thanks again to all for the helpful feedback.  

[jwr0201]

You are correct to have a concern.  Actually, you are being more than fair.  A box with half the sticks damaged is worse than seconds and should be deeply discounted as such.  Paying for well constructed cigars and getting far less is not right.  Small cracks at the foot is not a big deal, unless you expect something akin to PSP or HQ quality.  Then it becomes a larger irritation.  You need to be sure to clearly convey that you want some type of compensation.  Simply informing the vendor of the damage is NOT the same as stating what you expect.  They sound like an upstanding seller and will likely man-up and do the right thing.  Best of luck!