What peeves you off in a B&M

[El Presidente]

I am going to shoot a little vid tomorrow with Steve on how to maximise your chances of choosing a good cigar in a B&M. I also want to cover the basics of bricks and mortar store decorum. 

What are the things that you have experienced be it from staff or other patrons that has really peeved you off 

[HumidorJuan]

Aside from myself and the salesperson usually “agreeing to disagree” over the mold/plume debate the other things that bug me is when I’m not allowed to pick my own stick and when they won’t let me see the box code.  I mean come on.  

[Colt45]

Personally, I think that how the staff / customer interaction unfolds is a two way street. Not all shops are created equal (at least not all the time) - I've a few shops near me where the staff is more often than not someone simply working the register, and that's OK. Some others are more interactive and typically enjoyable at least at a basic level. Discussing cigars can be like discussing politics, so I tend to not wade too deep.

I'm just glad I can still walk into a shop and buy a cigar - I guess I just like to look on the bright side of life 

Peeve on!

[SCgarman]

Cigar retailers who label Cuban cigars as garbage and inferior to their Nic, Dom, and Hon counterparts. And they tell you if you are buying Cubans online, they most certainly are fakes. Also watching some guys who smoke those big 7X70 donkey "dongs" and the swagger they try to impart while smoking them. Pretty hilarious. I just laugh while I enjoy my Cuban petit corona.

[busdriver]

Not a fan of complaining or telling people how to run their business but I have tried to support brick and mortars while traveling and have had a couple of things that stick in my mind (one of which is out of the operators control);

1. Not being able to smoke in a Casa Del Habano is a major bummer.
2. Some B&M have operating hours of a store and not a lounge.  When travelling for work, I wanna roll in during the evening for a smoke and drink.

Other than that, customers and sales people have been great to me in B&Ms, which has helped me on the journey.

[Stump89]

-Staff being clueless and careless

-Staff who follow you around to make sure you don't steal

-The guy who jams the foot of the cigar up his nose to test aroma

-The 'expert' smoker who can't figure out which end of the perfecto to light

- Know it all guy who bashes CCs while chomping away on his 7x70 whatever 

[Lucass111]

There's nothing more that irritates me than arrogance and the automatic assumption that I know nothing about tobacco.

[dshot]

-Cigars that are in the humidor that are not for sale. Take them home!

-No place to sit and enjoy a cigar.

-No Spirits and a not allowed rule.

-Moldly ass cigars

-Bad Ventilation is horrible. Eye burn big time. 

[brainninja]

The only LCDH I've been in didn't allow me to pick my own sticks or handle boxes. They also gave me a dozen sticks that were severely damaged and acted offended when I said I didn't want them.

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[Jimmy_jack]

Two things. 1 - pressy salesmen. Don't take me to your best cigar which is also the $30 Davidoff. 2- closed air systems.

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[Hunterd16]

1. Just about all political "discussions"..

2. Poor ventilation. 

3. Poor parking. 

[BeerPimp]

In this day and age I am just glad to have a B&M cigar shop to goto (although lately I have been mostly enjoying CC's).  We actually have 2 cigar shops and 2 lounge/cigar shops.   It sucks when you get the staff member that is clueless but I understand that and you can always search the googles.  I will say my biggest pet peeve is bad ventilation. 

[Dozerhead]

Rude or condescending clerks who act like you are an idiot. The mold/plume issue. It was mentioned already but it peeves me. If you lie to me and are a salesman, don't expect a sale. Just be honest with your customers. 

[Rega25]

I don’t go to many in the states anymore except for xikar warranty service since I’ve switched to CC, but every other store seemed to have someone who didn’t really want to be there and would just try and sell $30 Ashton singles to make their numbers jump for the day. I don’t mind the upsell but at least throw in a good recommendation for an everyday $8-15 stick too buddy?

[inter4alia]

I echo the comments on bad ventilation. My biggest complaint. 

Not being given time to peruse the selection without getting a sales pitch is also annoying. The hard sell will cause me to immediately leave any establishment, be it cigar shop or otherwise. 

[ChanceSchmerr]

Staff working on commission who press me to buy the most expensive Cohibas they have.  That's more of an irritant.  When I express my desire for a cigar I like (say, Juan Lopez No.1), and they pooh-pooh that by telling me that the $110 Cohiba is better than that, now they piss me off.......

 

I have 3 B&M's in Victoria. One I avoid expressly for the reason above.  The 2nd one has great selection but uninformed staff, so if the owner's not in I usually pick my cigar without issue and pay/leave.  The last one has a great selection and knowledgeable/keen owner who is always in, and it's an absolute pleasure to go in and talk cigars with him for 20 mins while I pick a cigar.

The experience makes all the difference -  I don't need engagement as long as selection and care of the cigars is evident, but I prefer it as long as the sales push isn't there, particularly once I establish that I know my around a humidor.

[Bucky McSwensen]

For the most part my local shops and the ones I've been to are great.  I know the mark up I'm paying in taxes is worth the ability to relax for hours in silence or random discussions.  It's been very enjoyable.  Same reason I'm ok paying for a sandwich at a deli.

Rarely I've had people tell me when I'm taking a while to debate value "this is the going price, you cant get a better deal elsewhere".  I'm ok paying mark ups and taxes but dont act like I cant find this cheaper elsewhere.  I'm here to be here but I'm not stocking up my humidor in CA ever.

Second the annoying CC bashing.  I have to keep my mouth shut on any Cuban conversations.  The things I hear makes me really want to engage but I cant imagine there is any positive outcome to that.

[Lucass111]

The more I think about this video, the more I'm getting excited. Love little clips like this!

[Shelby07]

Bad ventilation 

dark room (not just dim, but dark)

temperature variations from cold to uncomfortably warm in short periods

people who have to pick up and handle every cigar in the humidor before deciding what they want to buy  

 

[MD Puffer]

58 minutes ago, busdriver said:

Not being able to smoke in a Casa Del Habano is a major bummer.

I’ve found the ones I’ve gone to don’t have a problem if I pay a cutting fee or buy one of theirs an smoke mine. 

 

36 minutes ago, Hunterd16 said:

Poor ventilation. 

That’s my biggest peeve. 

[SmokyFontaine]

I haven't been to enough to have what I would consider to be a qualified opinion, but my biggest gripe is pricing. I totally understand though, that to cover overhead, you have to mark those things up like mad. Secondly it would be a lack of knowledge about a fairly wide variety of brands and blends. In my mind, you should be able to walk into a spot and say "I know I've liked _____ before, what do you recommend that is similar." If they strike out bad on a rec, that tells me they're just trying to move supply and don't care about really giving you an honest rec. It costs A LOT to acquire a new customer, so once you've done it, you want to do all you can to keep them. 

[tksamtec]

There is a local here that runs humidifiers to keep their RH at around 70%...but they don't use distilled water.  There are mineral deposits on most and many cigars that aren't a big seller for them.  The shop tries to tell people those mineral deposits are plume too.

[SenorPerfecto]

1. "That's PLUME, sir."
2. "Cuban cigars? They're nothing special."
3. "Have you tried Gurkha?"
4. "I'm going to ring you up and then play with my phone for 3 hours while every ashtray in the room overfills."
5. "Smoke removal system? What do you think this is, the Taj Mahal? FEEL YOUR WAY THROUGH THE SMOKE."
6. "That TV is tuned to FOX NEWS and ALWAYS FOX NEWS."

[sactochris]

I dont like it when the talk is always about politics and its hard to tell if you're at a cigar retailer or a John Birch Society meeting

 

[Jal154]

1) Poor ventilation 

2) The guy smelling or trying to smell the cigar thru the cellophane and goes aahhhhhhh! 

3) The worker standing 2 feet to your side while you are deciding what to smoke as he explains everything about each cigar in front of you. I guess you would call him the enthusiastic employee.