Pipes and Cigars: Why the Hate?

[instymp]

I hate them because I ordered some tobacco & 5 packs of pipe cleaners. Tobacco was great but the pipe cleaners were bristle & I hate bristle pipe cleaners! So what if I ordered the wrong item #. They should have known! :D

Always had great service from them.

 

[cobguy]

Just received another shipment ... Magnum Opus, Beverwyk and AK.
All on time and all delicious! ::
BTW ... the M.O. reminds me slightly of FMOTT.

 

[saltedplug]

I wouldn't hesitate to order from them if I wanted some of Mr. Ouellette's blends, that is something that is only available through them. But I think it is only prudent to stay away from them until we start hearing consistent good news. One could argue this thread provides that, but I'd like to see how they rate over a longer period of time.

 

[dottle]

Esoterica,,now 19.95 per tin,,,,geez :crazy:

 

[rmbittner]

I've only ordered from them once -- before I realized I don't care for their house blends -- and it wasn't a great first impression. Web site said one thing when I ordered; they called later in the day to tell me something different. Then when the shipment arrived, labels were falling off some of the tins. There were even several tins where the labels had been stuck on with scotch tape. It just wasn't what I was expecting. Since I'm not a house-blend customer, I just don't have any reason to go back. (SmokingPipes.com is my go-to supplier, with occasional side purchases from Iwan Ries and a couple of great smaller shops I love. I think it's worth noting that I've placed 45 orders with SP over the last 8 years -- totalling more than $7,000 -- and only had one issue, which was handled without any problems.)
Bob

 

[redbeard]

I am totally kicking myself right now for ordering from here when I knew the problems people were having receiving their packages!!!! Ordered a very small package as a Christmas present from my girlfriends grandparents, shows LBF is in stock... My eyes light up and I throw some pipe cleaners in with it. Now, 8 days later I'm wondering if it will show up today or not so I call.... It only left two days ago due to what.... LBF WAS NOT IN STOCK AFTER ALL!!!! The guy on the phone acts like he doesn't believe me when I tell him when I placed the order and has me wait on the phone while he looks my order up. I am all out of pipe cleaners and am a very sad piper right now :crying:
It sucks but I like to give people/businesses the benefit of the doubt but man.... Think I should of learned my lesson this time?

 

[redbeard]

Please bare with me and my last bit of ranting, they sent me a confirmation email like they do and what is in the email?
"In the event an item is out of stock, we will make every effort to let you know asap."
:rofl:
Great job! I would of never been told if I didn't call myself and check up on the status.

 

[rmbittner]

redbeard:
"we will make every effort to let you know"
What's "every effort" supposed to mean? This makes it sound like it's a real challenge for them. Send an e-mail. Done.
But, honestly, unless you're talking about a hugely popular blend in short supply -- say, when the Esoterica blends hit -- there's no reason why the Web site inventory shouldn't exactly match actual inventory. And since Web orders would be time-stamped, you should be safe even if the blend goes officially "out of stock" after you order it.
As my own experience highlights, you only need to mess up once to encourage someone to purchase elsewhere. After all, it's never been easier to shop for pipe tobacco (at least in the U.S.). This company seems to be acting as if it were the only game in town.
Bob

 

[jgriff]

I think the key is that there are other vendors doing everything right. Apparently, they have great prices but if nothing is ever stocked or there are problems with receiving it, then why bother. If I order from Smokingpipes.com or 4Noggins, then I know it's all exactly as I ordered.

 

[pipeherman]

I'd be willing to bet a tin of tobacco that we will see at least 4 more threads about the pro's & con's of P&C.
Any takers?

You move that prediction up to 5 and we have a deal :nana:

 

[hfearly]

I'm with Ghost on this one.
Ever since they stopped shipping to Canada , they have failed to communicate a clear reason why, and have been pulling generic phrases like "we are working in it, resolution date unknown". Now, while it's correct that there are tons of ways that we could still bring their blends across the border, the situation still brings about an overall bad feeling. Seems like Canada's admittedly small pipe smoking community is not worth the effort. On the other hand, competitors seem to have no troubles shipping here, so it can't be that huge of a road block. Which makes me believe that it really is a matter of not caring enough from P&C's side.
I've brought this up multiple times and Russ has always answered the best he could, so kudos for that, but on a whole, the issue remains unresolved for no apparent reasons.

 

[05venturer]

The thread that just won't die :rofl:

 

[blendtobac]

I've mentioned this before, but the online inventory isn't real-time because we're on the Yahoo Shopping platform, which won't communicate directly with our inventory system. We will be relaunching our site soon on our own platform, and our inventory will then be real-time. It will also have much improved advanced search functions, better images and measurements and weights will be added to all pipes as we add them to the site. This alone will resolve a great many issues.

We ceased international shipping because CI doesn't do it, and all packages ship from the same system. The subject will be addressed again, and I'll let everyone know if it changes.
Russ

 

[strongirish]

I have used the site several times of late with nice orders and the shipping at first had a lot of out of stocks and they still forget things but over all still the best place for pricing, free delivery over $100 and overall selection. And then there is Russ. I have nothing but respect for him, I just wish he would answer his emails now and then. I have written him several times and he never responds.