My most recent trip to the B&M

uncballzer said:
I love these stories. I'm 23 and still stereotyped when I go into any B&M except for the one back home. It won't go away for quiet a few more years, but that gives you all the more opportunity to show off what you know :ss
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I'm 33 and stereotyped. It sounds like this never ends, judging by our 63-year-old BOTL with the same stories. Half these guys are just paranoid. I always try to kind of walk around with my sticks I'm buying out in front of me, so there's no worry. Still, In one store, the guy (seriously, after probably my 50th visit) comes up and rips the cigars out of my hand and says, "Can I help you??" Uhhh, dude, I've been dropping a $100 in here every week for a year, and I pick today to steal 2 Fuente's?

Part of the problem in this area is that the store's sell anything and everything to make a profit. Bongs cigarettes, knives, swords, wine - you name it! Selling all the junk brings in the riff-raff, and the owners can't tell who's legit!

That was my last time in that B&M. Now, I prefer to drive a bit to a friendlier, knowledgeable shop like Rain City.:tu
 
i get it all the time man!

2 of the 3 local B&M's always give me the funny look. they stand behind, always on my shoulder, asking me questions and shit ! Im young, im tattooed up so they probably think im going to rob the place lol and i ****in should for the way they are !! but im a daddy now, so no more getting in trouble for me. :) (love u princess!) ........ AND on top of that im a Latino! so that doesnt help neither, but the funny thing is .... my people make the shit your selling and smoking ! ****in jerks ! .... stereotype is nothing new to me.

on that note, shout out to Leesburg Cigars & Pipes ! great B&M ! i always feel "at home", see u this weekend :tu *if your reading this, im the good looking guy with the Tattoo on his neck ;)*
 
I've noticed that age, looks and demeanor can change a lot about how people treat you. Age you can't do anything about except changing demeanor and clothes. I bet if koolboy walked in there dressed in a nice pair of khakis, with polished shoes and a well-ironed long-sleeve shirt, possibly with a baby on his arm, he'd get treated like he deserves to be treated.

Here in Austin I have noticed that one is generally treated very well even as a young man in bermudas and t-shirt and flip-flops. But that's because we got a lot of young IT people here who are quite well off and they choose to dress like that in their leisure time.

People can't know who you are just by looking at you so they go by the only indicators they have which are superficial. It sucks but it also means you can play that to your advantage. Of course, if, as in Todd's case, you have been there many times and they should know you, that kind of behavior is unforgivable. I'd tell them about it.

Till
 
Yeah I'm 22. I have yet to have any problems with B&M people treating me badly except for the occasional ribbing from the guys at the Tinderbox.
 
Todd W said:
I'm 33 and stereotyped. It sounds like this never ends, judging by our 63-year-old BOTL with the same stories. Half these guys are just paranoid. I always try to kind of walk around with my sticks I'm buying out in front of me, so there's no worry. Still, In one store, the guy (seriously, after probably my 50th visit) comes up and rips the cigars out of my hand and says, "Can I help you??" Uhhh, dude, I've been dropping a $100 in here every week for a year, and I pick today to steal 2 Fuente's?

Part of the problem in this area is that the store's sell anything and everything to make a profit. Bongs cigarettes, knives, swords, wine - you name it! Selling all the junk brings in the riff-raff, and the owners can't tell who's legit!

That was my last time in that B&M. Now, I prefer to drive a bit to a friendlier, knowledgeable shop like Rain City.:tu
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It's not an age thing, it's an attitude thing. I'm middle aged, but some of those shops down in Seattle are staffed more like 7-11s than fine cigar shops. But if you talk with them, the shop owners will get to know you, and will leave you alone, if that is what you want. But I am still with you Todd, I will drive down to Rain City any time! It is just a better place. I would drive down to Fife if it wasn't another half hour!
 
If an employee treated me badly at a B&M I just wouldn't go back. Some people don't have multiple cigar shops in their town though. Luckily here in Tulsa, the 2 places that I buy from and have a smoke in both have awesome employees. I'm just a 25 year old that wears jeans and a t-shirt and I'm usually carrying around school books but they're always welcoming, happy to see me back, and ready to answer any questions I have.
 
i had a guy who basically told me that i couldnt afford opus x's!! i'm 41, dress like a slob-khaki shorts, ramones shirt, no sox. and by the way..... i have 5 opus x's belicosos in the "dor!!!!:cb
 
i had this type of thing happen to me alot when I was in college. I was never poorly dressed or shabby, but i entered a handful of shops that rendered some pretty poor customer service. One shop employee actually came out from behind the counter and stood in front of the humidor door. He didn't give me ol' "how can I help you" but instead said "what do you want?" When I was finally "allowed" into the humidor, he stood there and glared at me. That kind of treatment makes me so irritated. I patronize those types of joints only once.
 
Todd W said:
Hey, you said it! :tpd: Are the Fife shops better than RC?
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Smokey Joe's is a fine place to smoke and hang out, in Fife. Rain City may have a better selection, and it sure is a lot closer, but is under state regs, so no smoking inside, and no events outside until the weather turns better. I really like it there, and they have some vitolas available no place else, but it falls short of being a destination.

In fact, I have just one Por Larranaga Cabinet left from there, so it will not be long before I go back to Rain City.
 
Pendaboot said:
Smokey Joe's is a fine place to smoke and hang out, in Fife. Rain City may have a better selection, and it sure is a lot closer, but is under state regs, so no smoking inside, and no events outside until the weather turns better. I really like it there, and they have some vitolas available no place else, but it falls short of being a destination.

In fact, I have just one Por Larranaga Cabinet left from there, so it will not be long before I go back to Rain City.
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I was talking to Kirsten about the events, and laughing at the irony of putting a tent next to busy, industrial Corson, so we can all suck in the diesel truck fumes! Hopefully we can enjoy a smoke together at the first event, probably in April sometime (she thought).
 
Todd W said:
I was talking to Kirsten about the events, and laughing at the irony of putting a tent next to busy, industrial Corson, so we can all suck in the diesel truck fumes! Hopefully we can enjoy a smoke together at the first event, probably in April sometime (she thought).
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Sonud's good. When they settle on a date, we'll see who's available.
 
I'm in my mid fifties, (to be fair, look like mid thirties;-) and sometimes get the same crap. I don't think it is so much about age as it is about respect. Some of these stores get rolled pretty good, so they develop a lack of respect for their customers, many of whom have precious little respect for them, or their property.

Anyway, they have the absolute right to watch you in the humidor, or anywhere else in their store. If that bothers you, maybe you have a thin skin. Try to understand where these poor harassed business owners are coming from.

If you can't, then it is entirely appropriate to withhold your custom from the establishment. I have done that, although sometimes I have overspent, just to show them how wrong they were about me. After doing that, I felt stupid. Best thing to do, if you feel unappreciated by the storekeeper, is leave, and never go back.
:gn
 
So when my 19 year old ass walks in the store, I still have yet to be greeted with a friendly "hello". [/quote]

Dont worry, im 19 also. i get stereotyped here in heaps of shops.
dudes at the liquor store look at me funny when i ask for that delamain pale and dry out of the cabinet.:D
Same way the dude at my B&M looks at me funny when i buy cigars from him (i think he thinks i use them as 'wrapping paper') lol!

Harpo said:
:r What an awesome idea for a store.

"Hey, you know what? I'd really like to buy a frying pan and a cigar... at the same time."

:chk
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:r:r:r
 
I was treated better at Iwan Ries in Chicago in 1980 as a college student, than I was one day the nearest B&M in Appleton, WI as a pastor.

I was in there one day, dressed in black clerical and sport coat and I am mid-40s.

Nobody said hello, three 20-somethings lounging on the leather chairs near the back of the shop. I walk into the humidor. No sooner had the door closed than it opened and one of them walked in. I turned a glance and said, "hello," nodding and went back to looking. Nothing from him!

Now this is a decent sized humidor, for this part of the country. And obviously, there had been some serious re-arranging since my last visit. Some new cigars. And, since Wisconsin enacted a new tobacco tax, some price changes.

As I am browsing, the guy stays by the door, saying nothing, but I can feel his eyes upon my back. When I asked him about a particular stick, just to see if he'd talk, he responded, "That's not a bad cigar... this one's much better," (pointing to a new line of Gurkha's they are carrying - $30 price tag).

Without thinking, I asked, "So, you've had one? What did you think of it?"

"Oh, I've never had one, I don't like cigars."

I had to ask, "So, how will you be able to help me if I have a question about a particular cigar?"

Here's where I figured out what he was into smoking... "I'm not here to help you, just watching to make sure you don't walk off with any cigars in your pocket without paying for them."

The owner is a neat guy, we can sit and talk cigars. He is a contractor though full-time. He just hires people to run the shop. I don't get down to Appleton (where the store is, an hour away) very often, but when I do I like to stop in. He and I had a talk about this particular employee.

It is amazing how many B&Ms I've been in where they are trying to hire cheap help than they are interested in getting knowledgeable staff. Here's a great idea. When I was in Connecticut, the local shop and I worked out a deal. A pastor's salary isn't... you get the picture. I hate to smoke in the house because it is owned by the church and will be the home of future pastors. So, I'd go down to the shop to smoke. Would often bring paperwork with me. One day he asked if I'd mind the store while he ran a quick errand. An hour later he came back. Gave me a couple stick for doing that. He ran the show. He had no other employees. We talked after he got back and came to an agreement whereby I'd run the shop for a few hours a couple days a week in exchange for credits in the store. He didn't mind if I sat there and did work, just as long as I took care of the customers.

It was mutually beneficial for both of us.
 
That sounds like an awesome way to wiggle yourself into some free B&M time :)

I shared this story, more because it was slightly more interesting that my usual day and figured I'd give it a write, as opposed to the prejudice I received. It's easily enough ignored :)
 
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