What's Going on With Pipes and Cigars?

Its the FDA regulations screwing up the market, just like ammo sales after the gun grab scare from the incident at Sandyhook, keep watching and hopefully we can get thrugh it all without rioting :rofl:

Quincy where in the world have you been for the last 2 months? :rofl: No disrespect. :nana: Honestly. :clap:

Very quickly, the week before ISPD P&C (CI) got new software that was buggy, and it threw a huge monkey wrench into things and they still haven't fully recovered.

What's Going on With Pipes and Cigars?

Click to expand...

They're not SPC. ::

Sounds like business as usual at P&C.

the week before ISPD P&C (CI) got new software that was buggy

Click to expand...

I thought that was common knowledge! I know there have been a lot of screw ups and I realize many people have good reason to be super pissed. But I thought the president of CI gave a pretty thorough and sincere explanation and apology for the whole thing that in these trying times with the FDA slapping everybody around like a big gorilla, that we would hold off a little bit before totally dumping on this major supplier!
I hate to keep coming to their defense, I'm waiting now for someone to claim I work for them or something, but I at least acknowledge that they are trying very hard to fix a long standing problem and that it might take months to get all the kinks out. I don't wish ill of any company trying to survive in these unsettled times.
ITMT, whatever gets hosed on any given order I am betting they will eventually more than fix as soon as they can. So I try to be patient. The other day I saw they had a site-wide sale on ALL PIPES. 15% off. Seems like these guys are trying. If by summer things don't smooth out, then I think I'll start getting frustrated. ::

I... uh... Aliens... and then the work got busy and the tobacco smoked... And now I need more

Click to expand...

:rofl:

What's Going on With Pipes and Cigars?

Click to expand...

:rofl:

I just couldn't help myself :mrgreen:

Toob - the issues with P&C just happened to blow up with IPSD weekend but the issues aren't exactly new at all. They are just more pronounced with the amount of orders over IPSD weekend and their software going down. The out of stock and poor packaging have been consistent problems for as long as I can recall ordering from them. I placed an order in July of last year and the final tin took 6 months to arrive. I've also complained about a heavily dented tin once / broken seal and received a response back from customer service that they would ship me another (thanks, I appreciate that) however, the wording of their response was very accusatory and left a bad taste.

I hear ya bro, and I don't mean to sound like I'm defending them. Just hoping that NOW, some of this shit finally gets fixed better. I've been through all of that too, here is how one box arrived not long ago:

The whole corner was missing; I think it was from that damned economy shipping that delays delivery by handing it over to the USPS. I hate the postal service! They jammed a box through my $85 brass mail slot that says "NO PACKAGES" breaking the springed hinge, then expected me to jump through hoops, bringing them receipts AND the damaged mail slot before they paid for the replacement requiring multiple trips.
That box was delivered just as you see it, shit spilled out and missing because it was all just laying in there loose tumbling around and I guess when it tumbled out, maybe the mail carrier just said: Hey! Free tobacco! and stuffed it in his pocket or kicked it under his truck.
So I took this picture in case I had to go through a mail claim but P&C replaced the missing items on my word and were nice about it. They also replaced some dinged tins recently on my word and left me keep the old.
Most of this could be solved with better packaging.
And I had some back-ordered stuff that I forgot about that I thought I'd get an email about when it came in to see if I still wanted that they just shipped out. I didn't really want it anymore and that kinda pissed me off.
As to your wording in the letter, that might have been the work of a single disgruntled worker having a bad day. But really, P&C's ears have to be burning and they are losing business. I give them till summer to make most of it better. I've had issues with other suppliers too, and I try to be fair and reasonable, but now they have the chance to fix these issues, some of them longstanding, and in these tough tobacco times, they either fix some of these things or they may loose lots of business long term.
Truth is that if other suppliers consistently get it right, that only leaves two things with P&C, either incompetence or they simply don't give a damn. ITMT, I'm holding off ordering until summer. Good prices and sales can only go so far to cover sloppy business practices, and bugs or no bugs, it is up to them to get their ordering software fixed.

Well said Toob. Damn, that package went through hell and back!

In addition to recent good service from SPC, Iwan Ries has filled some recent orders with no drama, the one very minor issue that popped up was handled promptly and with personal attention. I know 4Noggins has alienated some people because of some political Facebook posts, but the small orders I have placed with them have also been promptly filled with no issues. There are choices. I have been spared the recent problems with Pipes and Cigars, but I have never been happy with their policy of not fully disclosing back order status or their UPS/USPS economy shipping. I had already resolved, before this latest round of issues cropped up, to only do business with them when they had something that no one else had in inventory. Again, there are choices.

Blends will go from "backordered" to "in stock" and stay that way for about an hour. And then they're on backorder again. I can't imagine that many people are buying up Larry's Blend to the point where they're tapped out after an hour. Also, P&C never notifies me via email that a certain blend is back in stock, even though I click the "notify" button. I would solely purchase from Smoking Pipes if it weren't for those very few H&H blends.

What better time to offer specials than when anything you want is out of stock?

P&C never notifies me via email that a certain blend is back in stock, even though I click the "notify" button.

Click to expand...

I would think that falls under the "software" heading, zero. The sort of thing that /should/ get fixed soon if their software is worth 2¢

zerohunter
Blends will go from "backordered" to "in stock" and stay that way for about an hour. And then they're on backorder again. I can't imagine that many people are buying up Larry's Blend to the point where they're tapped out after an hour.

Click to expand...

Larry's Blend is good stuff! You can include back-ordered stuff on an order and they will send you what they have right away, and the back-ordered stuff when they get it. If there's a sale on it when you buy it, you get the sale price, and if the shipping is free, you don't pay for any shipments. If it's labeled "Out of Stock" to begin with, then you are out of luck.

balkisobrains, Larry's Blend is so good. I only have a tiny sample now, but I can tell it's a keeper. As for the backordered stuff, I have never bought a blend when it's backordered. Honestly, I'm a bit afraid to pay for something that isn't "in stock," what with P&C having so many troubles recently. Have you had success with buying blends on backorder and receiving them? How long did you wait before you received the shipment you paid for?