Bad Experience With Pipes & Cigars (Lost My Cringle Flake)

[americaman]

Let me start by saying that I have had good experiences with P&C in the past, and I understand that we want to support retailers selling tobacco, because there are fewer than there used to be. But with that being said, an order I had essentially disappeared and P&C has not answered my calls or responded to my email. I know others have had bad experiences with P&C, but this is my first. Here is my (hopefully) short story, for those that are interested.

Two weeks ago I was in the hospital for several days as my first child was being born. While there, I received an email saying that there was trouble processing my payment for an order of Cringle Flake that I had made 10 days prior, and that I needed to call them. (Strange. I thought your card is charged when you pay for something, not 10 days later.) The reason they were having trouble was because I deposited my rent check early, thinking it would get deposited when rent was due and when I had all of the money in my account, but it was deposited early and my account went negative. Different problem, but obviously it triggered this.

So, I call P&C and am put on hold for about 20 minutes. I then try back later that day and it rings for about 30 minutes. Still, no one answers. Almost an hour on hold.

I decide to send P&C a message using their contact form, complete with my order number and everything. I have done this before and they have responded, yet this time I am still waiting for an email back. Yes, I have checked my junk folder several times.

I then call P&C a third time and am on hold again for about 20 minutes. I got the same robot voice telling me over and over again that I may experience additional wait times because they are helping another customer...”but we are confident that you will be thrilled with our service.” Lol. Family was over to see the newborn so I eventually had to hang up.

These are the steps I have taken to no avail, and I will continue to try, but at this point I do not expect anyone from P&C to answer the phone or respond to my emails. You think P&C wouldn’t fire everyone that works there just because of Covid, but maybe they did. With that being said, it looks like I am back in the market for Cringle Flake, so if anyone is selling any I would love to know.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

If you deal with them enough, you'll have a bad experience. By industry standards, they suck.

 

[eslavs]

I had a similar issue with Smokingpipes during the Sun Bear release - somehow, when placing my order, I selected 'Offline order', and after checking back a day or so later (and noticing the charge never came through on my card), I contacted them about it. I was afraid I missed the boat because of the delay in payment and the site showed Sun Bear out of stock. Luckily, their response noted that they hold the tobacco for a period of time pending payment. In your case, though, given the amount of time that's passed, you're probably out of luck.

With that said, congratulations on your firstborn!

 

[PipeIT]

Two weeks ago I was in the hospital for several days as my first child was being born. While there, I received an email saying that there was trouble processing my payment for an order of Cringle Flake

Congrats Dad! ?

As the kid is born, and the wife is done screaming from the pains of child birth, the yelling and screaming turns to joy and laughter, but hubby says wait, I need to check my email on the Cringle Flake order! LOL

Enjoy Fatherhood, call the bank, get the money back, forget P&C, time to move on!

 

[mikethompson]

If you just had your first kid, you'll be lucky if you can have some time to smoke your pipe!

That said, get the bank involved and move on papa.

 

[mingc]

Congratulations on fatherhood! Your life is now forever changed!

Sounds like P&C never charged your card, so you lost an opportunity to buy, but didn't lose anything you had already paid for.

 

[BarrelProof]

I’ve got a crisp $20 saying I know how this story ends.

 

[cshubhra]

Congratulations ? for being a dad!

 

[bnichols23]

Congrats on papahood in any case!

 

[verporchting]

Look on the bright side, at least the tins won’t be crushed by the horrible packaging, lol.

Sorry for your loss. It sucks to miss out on something you really wanted and just unconscionable to leave you waiting for that long before any notification of a problem. It’s like getting robbed twice. Very disappointing.

Vote with your feet and your wallet. Best advice I can give. Especially if you have attempted to resolve the issue in good faith and gotten nowhere.

 

[americaman]

Thanks everyone!

Congrats Dad! ?

As the kid is born, and the wife is done screaming from the pains of child birth, the yelling and screaming turns to joy and laughter, but hubby says wait, I need to check my email on the Cringle Flake order! LOL

Haha, it was in the elevator on the way down to get some cafeteria food that I saw it.

If you just had your first kid, you'll be lucky if you can have some time to smoke your pipe!

That said, get the bank involved and move on papa.

I actually stopped smoking for the time being because of this very reason. I figured I should stop temporarily before my daughter was born so that I would have more time to devote to her and help my wife raise her. But still, it’s the principle of the matter! Looks like they decided to wait 10 days before even considering shipping my order and charging my card, so I don’t think they ever charged me.

 

[UncleRasta]

Congrats on the newborn.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Hey congratulations on being a dad! ?
Don’t worry about the Cringle Flake, because you’ll soon be too tired and sleep-deprived to remember any of this! ?

 

[anotherbob]

Sorry about the kid (just making sure all bases are covered.) And you'll need that cringle flake even more now that you got a rug rat. Seriously though congrats on making a kid and there will be other tobaccos to be disappointed by.

 

[Prunetucky84]

Let me start by saying that I have had good experiences with P&C in the past, and I understand that we want to support retailers selling tobacco, because there are fewer than there used to be. But with that being said, an order I had essentially disappeared and P&C has not answered my calls or responded to my email. I know others have had bad experiences with P&C, but this is my first. Here is my (hopefully) short story, for those that are interested.

Two weeks ago I was in the hospital for several days as my first child was being born. While there, I received an email saying that there was trouble processing my payment for an order of Cringle Flake that I had made 10 days prior, and that I needed to call them. (Strange. I thought your card is charged when you pay for something, not 10 days later.) The reason they were having trouble was because I deposited my rent check early, thinking it would get deposited when rent was due and when I had all of the money in my account, but it was deposited early and my account went negative. Different problem, but obviously it triggered this.

So, I call P&C and am put on hold for about 20 minutes. I then try back later that day and it rings for about 30 minutes. Still, no one answers. Almost an hour on hold.

I decide to send P&C a message using their contact form, complete with my order number and everything. I have done this before and they have responded, yet this time I am still waiting for an email back. Yes, I have checked my junk folder several times.

I then call P&C a third time and am on hold again for about 20 minutes. I got the same robot voice telling me over and over again that I may experience additional wait times because they are helping another customer...”but we are confident that you will be thrilled with our service.” Lol. Family was over to see the newborn so I eventually had to hang up.

These are the steps I have taken to no avail, and I will continue to try, but at this point I do not expect anyone from P&C to answer the phone or respond to my emails. You think P&C wouldn’t fire everyone that works there just because of Covid, but maybe they did. With that being said, it looks like I am back in the market for Cringle Flake, so if anyone is selling any I would love to know.

Congrats on becoming a father! My son is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I wish you and your family well. And p&c...... ya..... you’re not the only one. I’ve had the upmost insanely great customer service with Smokingpipes.com, and will only use them when possible. They are willing to do anything for their customers, and to me, that’s everything.

 

[jvnshr]

You should better be ordering diapers Congratulations on the newborn.

 

[Pit&Pipes]

Another congrats on your son!! Like many have said the odds are in your favor of having an issue at some point. I too went through it twice this past month but they did make it right. I was just the inconvenience of holding for at least 45 mins to talk to someone. The girls there are great the gentleman ended up causing the subsequent issue for me .

On the great side...you have a new son!!!
On the good side...there is a ton more great tobacco out there to purchase!!!

 

[shermnatman]

What you are experiencing is certainly not limited to your isolated unsatisfactory "Failure-to- Launch" non-purchase with P&C; as more and more, this type of non-sense seems to be the standard level of incompetence, inattention, and, ineptitude so prevalent in the retail-world today - and, I am talking years and years before the new popular excuse for the Eff-Ups to hide behind: Covid 19.

On the other side of the coin... I will share with you an old P&C story of my own, which has a proper Customer-Service ending:

Because of "circumstance beyond my control", by one business-day, I missed the dead-line on some huge promotion P&C was having; that, in addition to some limited-time bundle-packages they were offering; which, I had ingeniously plotted out to swoop-in on with a huge order, and, would make out like 'The Tabaky Bandit' upon getting my order in on time - which I failed to do - and boy, was I mad at myself.

After spending the requisite amount of time being p.o.'d at myself, stewing in my own juices, and feeling as though I had fumbled the ball in the last big play of the Army v Navy football game, I thought about the big question: "What would I do if this was my customer?".

So, with nothing to lose, I picked up the phone, called P&C, and explained to 'the girl' that I wanted to place an order; but, for items on which the promotions had expired the day before - and, I wondered if they would be willing to accommodate a tardy tabaky-lover?

Then, 'the girl' put me on hold for just a few minutes, and then, Russ picked up the call with me.

I quickly laid-out my tale of woe to him, explained what I would like to see happen, and, if P&C would possibly be willing to accommodate me; even though I was the one who blew it, and they of course, had no obligation to do so - whatsoever.

He listened to me, and, simply and calmly said that he understood, and that it would be P&C's pleasure to take care of me on this one; and, when my Big-Box-of Burley-Joy arrived at my door, I gleefully discovered Russ had even thrown in some extra 'pipe toys and tabaky treats' - gratis !

And that, my friends, is how Business-in-America is supposed to be done, used to be done, and desperately needs to return to; and this current 'No GMO, Gluten-Free, Decaf Mocha-Latte sucking Snow-Flake Flake-Out World', where words like: Reliability, Dependability, Accountability, Attention-to-Detail, Unwavering Customer/Vendor Loyalty, and Consistent Product Quality and Knowledgeable Support, have become 'dirty words from the archaic age of the evil 'get off my lawn' guys.

Oh, and Congrats on the birth of your baby. You are right on-track with the 'Three Rings of Marriage': The Engagement Ring, The Wedding Ring, and, The Suffering; and embrace the new popular phrase in your home, of: "... back when you were born, when your Daddy used to smoke a pipe..". J/K

- Sherm Natman

 

[captainsousie]

The only problem I have had recently with P&C was that a postal service employee in Denver has been breaking open my parcels and the contents mysteriously disappearing. It only happens with USPS and only when ordering from a place that has a tobacco related name...not just P&C. They have graciously replaced the missing tobacco when it happens. We're working with the postal service to get to the bottom of it. It's down to only a few employees now...?

 

[3rdguy]

@blendtobac