Stonehaven/jJ f Germain & Co. Customer support - draw your own conclusion

plains · Sep 13, 2015

Dear Mr. Bakkus,
We manufacture our tobacco to be enjoyed at acquisition.
If you wish to "cellar" our blends, be it on your own head.
From our point of view, why would you want to faff around with our product?
We produce hand-made products only. Your contents may vary. That is all.
Please do not be a "cellarer" unless you are willing to admit that you think

that you can do better.
John Germain
Director

J.F. Germain & Son Ltd.

25 Commercial Buildings

St Helier

Jersey

JE2 3NB
PHONE NUMBER REMOVED BY KEVIN AS IT WAS A PERSONAL / PRIVATE NUMBER
www.jfgermain.co.je

-----Original Message-----

From: Matt Beckius [mailto:mattbeckius@me.com]

Sent: 14 September 2015 02:12

To: admin@jfgermain.co.je

Subject: Stonehaven tobacco problem
I've been enjoying Stonehaven tobacco for a few years and have been

able to cellar several 8 ounce bags over the years. Yesterday I opened a

bag recently acquired this past August and was completely surprised at what

I found. Instead of the familiar firm black flakes I've been used to

finding what presented itself was a mass of loose light to medium brown

tobacco which fell apart in my fingers . Missing was the wonderful deep

fruity aroma I'd come to expect. I jarred this bag and opened another bag I

purchased in December of 2014. What I found was much the same.

My question is this. Is this what I can now expect? Have you changed

the formulation of this wonderful flake? Is this a "goof" on someone's part

in the manufacture of this wonderful tobacco?

I have several more 8 ounce bags and am afraid what I'll find when/if I

open THEM!

Please advise!
Sincerely,
Matt Beckius

plains · Sep 13, 2015

And then this:
Call me, if you really are so wound up.
PHONE NUMBER REMOVED BY KEVIN AS IT WAS A PERSONAL / PRIVATE NUMBER
John Germain
Director

J.F. Germain & Son Ltd.

25 Commercial Buildings

St Helier

Jersey

JE2 3NB

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

Missing was the wonderful deep

fruity aroma I'd come to expect.

The importance of branding is under-appreciated in many worlds, including (possibly... allegedly) tobacco blends.

davet · Sep 13, 2015

I'm sure Mr Germain has no need to cellar for himself. A very poor response on his part.

weezell · Sep 13, 2015

We manufacture our tobacco to be enjoyed at acquisition.
If you wish to "cellar" our blends, be it on your own head.

I think he pretty much tells it like it is.. :wink:

uncleblackie · Sep 13, 2015

Zing! Haha! You got served!

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

Zing! Haha! You got served!

Eh...
Some things are bigger than dollars and cents (sense?).
People rely on blends to be what they are, old favorites, and invest a lot of faith in them.
This won't show up on economics-style charts, but it's important.
Not sure what I think of cellaring... I keep smoking all the good stuff, and saving none for tomorrow.
Eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow... yeah, you know where that's going.

jmatt · Sep 13, 2015

Wow. Just......wow.

uncleblackie · Sep 13, 2015

It does appear that you come a bit unhinged at the end of your correspondence with the exclamation marks and capitalized "THEM".

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4URRp39XOo

jmatt · Sep 13, 2015

The problem I see is Mr. Germain did nothing to answer the question, which had nothing to do with cellaring whatsoever. The OP opened a new bag and the contents weren't what he was expecting to see with the blend. Germain seemed to go off on the fact the OP had the audacity to have purchased a couple pounds of his product.
P.S. - what does Penzance normally look like? The only bag I've ever opened looks just like the OP described. My Stonehaven on the other hand is thin, but wide, very dense dark flakes about 8" long each.

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

I guess we trip into the transcendental here, people... tobacco blends are more than products, but are part of how we constitute our lives.
Fascinating.
I would have had the same reaction, by the way. Changing an old favorite can be like murdering a good friend.
Renaming can cure this...

settersbrace · Sep 13, 2015

Kind of what I've been thinking for some time. The blender is very small compared to other "factories" that have global distribution and they are content with doing what they do and and how they go about doing it. They couldn't give a rats behind when it comes to satisfying a bunch of snooty tobacco hoarders that seem to be building a doomsday cellar. The concept is lost on them and eventually it may very well end up being the cause of their un-doing in what really is a competitive and cut throat business especially in the light being cast by anti tobacco. You either hitch your wagon to the strongest horses or you get left in the mud. Anyone who's even casually lurked on these forums should know that there exists a photographic and printed history of hundreds of now defunct blending houses and many of them still greatly missed. To the segment of our ranks that chase these sparcely sprinkled bags and tins I say... Smoke and share what you can while you can and enjoy it. The Gawith houses and places like Germaine's are just 2 old world blending houses that produce solely for themselves and aren't tied into a giant conglomerate with bean counters and an over staffed HR dept. There is enough to go around if some would just back off the throttle and not try to "invest" in pipe tobacco. Just my rambling opinion, I know there are many.

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

They couldn't give a rats behind when it comes to satisfying a bunch of snooty tobacco hoarders that seem to be building a doomsday cellar.

It's "snooty" to hoard much-enjoyed things?
Shoot, I've got to upgrade my image.

warren · Sep 13, 2015

While the response is perhaps not oriented to soothe the ruffled customer, I admire Mr. Germaine's attitude regarding his product. Germain's is certainly not after the hoarding and cellar market.

mrenglish · Sep 13, 2015

You should call and see what he has to say. Definitely not good form on his part but it seems like he thought you were attacking his product.
I've had that happen to me in the past as well and its total let down.

uncleblackie · Sep 13, 2015

never mind

settersbrace · Sep 13, 2015

They couldn't give a rats behind when it comes to satisfying a bunch of snooty tobacco hoarders that seem to be building a doomsday cellar.

It's "snooty" to hoard much-enjoyed things?
Shoot, I've got to upgrade my image.
POSTED 3 MINUTES AGO #

My reference to "snooty" was my perceived opinion of the folks at Germain, particularly aimed at North American pipe smokers. We Americans are collectively all about instant gratification and that tends to rub the Brits the wrong way. Gets their tweed under britches all knotted up.

Once the product leaves the building and the check hits the bank they don't care where it went or who got how much of what.

deathmetal · Sep 13, 2015

We Americans are collectively all about instant gratification and that tends to rub the Brits the wrong way.

Interesting. Once our empire falls too we'll have something in common!

woodsroad · Sep 13, 2015

I'm with Warren, mostly.
Germain's limited production is sold before they manufacture. It's a unique product, and as long as it remains so, they do not need to be accomodating. On the other hand, times and tastes change, and an attidude such as his can quickly become a fatal flaw.
Now....Discouraging hoarding? Really?

Stonehaven/jJ f Germain & Co. Customer support - draw your own conclusion

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