Your 1st visit to a new B&M, what do you do??

T

Troop_lee

SilverBack
What do you do on your 1st visit to a new (as in you have never been there before) B&M. Lets say its the most local store to the house you just bought, but you haven't been there yet because you like the store you had been going too (and its not that far of a trip out of the way). I have a store like this closer to me than the T-box in Daytona. do you go in and introduce yourself to the owner first thing, do you browse and if the proprietor comes over to you do you then start talking to them. Whats your procedure? I am going to stop by this shop today and I though that it would be a cool topic question to ask on the board.

Thanks:ss
 
Well, in out store, as a rule, we greet everyone that walks in the door. "Hi, How are you" something like that. We try to make people feel comfortable and at easy when they walk in. After that it ALWAYS leads to a conversation. That is how WE build a relationship with our customers. We know that they can choose any shop, but they walked into ours. Remember that.

As to your question, Go in and just be yourself.

Ron
 
My first visit was on a Saturday when the CAO rep was there, so it was busy. I was greeted and welcomed. I told them I was a newbie and wanted to look around and get a feel. I left with a nice group of stogies and alot of information. The Cao rep not only knew his product, but other smokes as well. Nice experience .
 
I usually go to my B&M naked, it's a good conversation piece.

I'm kidding, hehe.

I walk in and I find a stick and go sit down in the middle of the most crowded group, it's the best way to meet people. :tu
 
I usually find the owner and chat it up with him a bit, and get his opinions. Usually that means I'll buy 3-4 sticks on his recommendation, not always ones I'll smoke, but so that I can establish a good working relationship with the shop.

I'll go back, assuming I like the place, about two weeks later, and buy a decent sized purchase, say a box or two, maybe more if there's some good deals.


After you drop a couple $100+ and a $300 purchase, they all of a sudden know you by sight and are always chatty with you :)


I just like to initiate a good relationship with the shops I visit. These days, there are shops that literally give me new sticks to try or hold rare sticks for me because I spend a decent penny there. It's nice to be appreciated as a customer.
 
Darrell said:
I usually go to my B&M naked, it's a good conversation piece.

I'm kidding, hehe.

I walk in and I find a stick and go sit down in the middle of the most crowded group, it's the best way to meet people. :tu
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walking in naked should make it easy to find a stick
 
Play it by ear. If there are lots of customers, I'd probably browse around for awhile. If I'm the only person entering the store, I'd be more apt to chat.

-Ken
 
at my friends store in st. augustine we always greet the customers and try and help them. the more we know each other the more we can get you toward a cigar you might like to try. its hard to blindly give a great cigar to a person if you dont talk about your tastes.
 
Out side of the basic "Hi how are you?" I usually just browse. Check the prices and selection. Get a feel for the people in the store. If I like, I'll buy. If not I don't and won't usually come back.

I try to talk it up more with the owner and patrons the 2nd time I come in. This is usually how I do things at other stores as well.
 
I usually try to strike up a conversation with the Tobacconist. Ask him/her what their recommendations are and buy one to try. Smoke it at the store and give your feedback. I find this is an easy way to start a relationship and establish yourself.
 
I check the brands, to see what kind of clientele they are trying to get, and if they have any of the harder to find sticks I like. Then I ask the owner for some recommendations, find out what kind of sticks he's trying to sell, and what kind of knowledge he has about cigars. I'll pick up a few sticks he recommends. Sadly, 2/3 of my local shops always push Acids, etc, trying to get a young crowd, know little about actual cigars, rarely know complimentary sticks, jack up their prices, etc. I never go back, I can't stand the way they mislead and take advantage of the new smoking generation, they don't deserve the business IMO.

Luckily there are 3 great shops around though, I usually end up going there.
 
i usually chat with the owner first tell him what my likes dislikes are then ask him about the new products out...what if anything he recommends for my taste and how much i can spend today.....build up little Brotherhood so to speak between us and go from there.
 
Great ideas, as always, guys.

I always answer the "Hi, how are you?" question and start browsing. I know pretty much what the price of the cigars I'm looking for SHOULD be. Usually I look at Padrons, Fuentes and CAOs (as most B&Ms carry these) and if they are way too high I usually cut out. If not, I'll chat up the staff and see what they recommend.

Unfortunately (or fortunately), my local B&M is Corona Cigar, which, while an awesome store, the staff tends to reccomend Graycliffs like they are trying to win something. Sure, Graycliff is a great cigar, but still, it's like clockwork. If I could afford to spend 25 bucks a stick, I'd be buying Davidoffs (oh wait, my last purchase was Davidoff...dangit.. stupid smoking above my means) :)

E
 
I went down there, the owner was very nice talked to us (my wife was with me) for 10 min about things (mostly non-cigar related). I checked out the humidor, not a very large slection, A LOT of Arturo Fuente. Anyway I unfortunatly wasn't there to buy cigars, my humidor is full and I needed a humidifier other than the foam puck that came with it. (I used a gel pot in my other humidor but it won't hold good humidity) His selection was none, but he gave me a humi pak out of a fresh box of Fuente's. We spoke about how my humidors were less than 70%RH he said that here in florida he recomends 65% RH anyway because its usually 90% to 100% RH outside. All in all a nice little shop and a very nice owner.
 
Troop_lee said:
I went down there, the owner was very nice talked to us (my wife was with me) for 10 min about things (mostly non-cigar related). I checked out the humidor, not a very large slection, A LOT of Arturo Fuente. Anyway I unfortunatly wasn't there to buy cigars, my humidor is full and I needed a humidifier other than the foam puck that came with it. (I used a gel pot in my other humidor but it won't hold good humidity) His selection was none, but he gave me a humi pak out of a fresh box of Fuente's. We spoke about how my humidors were less than 70%RH he said that here in florida he recomends 65% RH anyway because its usually 90% to 100% RH outside. All in all a nice little shop and a very nice owner.
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Always great to make a new aquantance.
 
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