PipesandCigars.com Horror Story

[rlunderhill]

I've gotten away from pipesandcigars. I buy all my Tobaccos from smokingpipes or marscigars. I've ordered many pipes from pipesandcigars along with pounds of tobacco. But I've noticed they charge more money for shipping than the rest. They give a better deal on tobacco but take it all back in the shipping. So, I just go to smokingpipes now or marscigars which has a low flat rate regardless of the weight.
I buy pipes from iwanries also. They do a great packing job on the pipes. Every pipe is wound tight and never flop around in the box. I received one bad pipe from iwanries and they credited my account with the return of the defective pipe. They have a respectful business. When I email them, they respond. The prices and selection is second to none.
Boswell has great service but don't give volume pricing on tobacco. It's the same price per ounce if I buy 1 ounce or 16 ounces. I'd love to buy one of their pipes, but when I go there, they're all sold. Good people there though. very friendly and helpful.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I've ordered from PipesandCigars 3 times and each time my order was messed up or delayed for no reason.
1st Order (mess up #1):

I ordered a Savinelli short pipe and some accessories. After two weeks of it being in pending status and them taking my money I called and they said the order was flagged because they can't ship tobacco to WA state. There was no tobacco in my order, so the service rep was confused. When she went to approve the order the pipe I ordered was out of stock even though the website still showed it currently in stock. So she asked what pipe I would like instead and I told her the pipe I really wanted but that the website listed it as out of stock. That one was in stock however and did actually get the pipe I initially wanted. Finally after another week plus my package arrived. The pipe was fine, but it took almost a month to get it and their inventory was messed up and my account was flagged incorrectly.
2nd Order (mess up #2):

I ordered a MM bent General corn cob and a few accessories. This order took over 2 weeks to get as it was in pending status for about a week and when it arrived the General had some flaws in it. I would guess it was a second sold as a first, but it still smokes fine. Still took way to long and again my account was flagged for no reason.
3rd Order (mess up #3):

I ordered a 3 pipe pipe stand, and some other accessories. After 3 weeks of no order arriving I checked my account. It said the order was undeliverable due to address error. Interesting, because my address had not changed from the last 2 orders. I contacted Pipes and Cigars and they said that from what information they had the package was delivered. Okay, so I checked with the post office, and come to find out the package had been waiting in their back room for about 2 weeks. Surprisingly it wasn't returned to sender. It wasn't delivered because Pipes and Cigars didn't pay enough shipping on the package, so the postman wouldn't deliver it. I had to pay another $3.75 to be able to receive my package. I called Pipes and Cigars back and explain the screw up on their part. Their solution was to give me an 8% discount on my next order and when I ordered I would have to leave a note in the order explaining I needed to be credited $3.75 on my shipping. Oh, and I had until February 1, 2013 to use the discount. This gave me just over 2 months to use it. I thought this was poor customer service as I should not have to tell them about my discount. They should be able to mark my account and know that I am to be discounted and I should not have a time frame to make a purchase to use the discount. What's up with 8%. What's wrong with 10%? That was just weird.
3 strikes and you're out! I said piss off and didn't use the discount, because I'm tired of their screw ups and them flagging my account for no reason. Just because I live in WA state doesn't mean my account needs to be flagged. Actually check the order first! It should not take 2 weeks to get my stuff either when every other place in NY I've ordered product from can get it to me in a week or less. It will be a while before I order from them again if I ever do. I'm fine with using Smoking Pipes even though the shipping cost more, at least I get it in a timely manner, I get what I order and I can actually get tobacco from them.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

*whistles* Wow... I think everyone who has posted on this topic is a regular poster here at the forums. And this is a lot of negative feedback toward pipesandcigars. I'm in retail, and I've heard it said a thousand times. "One customer is all it takes to hurt your business..." one unhappy customer. With word of mouth to family and friends and their family and friends, a bad review splits off like a spiderweb. Kinda like a crack in the windshield. It may start off small, but then it gradually grows with every bump in the road. Customer relations at Pipesandcigars really needs to see this topic, as it is in their best interest to see it and make important changes. I would like to continue doing business with them myself, as they have some tobaccos I'd like to try that nobody else carries, but at the same time, with this much negativity toward them, I can't help but wonder if further business with them would be a bad investment on my end.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

sorry about the double post, but in continuation of my above post... a new member to the forums seeing the bad reviews here who hasn't shopped with Pipesandcigars before is less likely by far to order from the company. Could be a lot of potential business lost for them.

 

[JimInks]

I had one unhappy experience with them recently, but got it resolved. I was not at all happy to be put through the angst, though, especially since it was not even a major purchase we were arguing about. I was promised a credit on my purchase, and the guy was refusing to deliver on that promise and went out of his way to give me a weak line of BS as he tried to deny it. I told him I wanted the credit that was promised me, and I was not going to back down, and that I expected him to keep that promise. He did, because I'm sure he knew that while I was not nasty in any way, shape or form, that I was not going to let it pass either. He even ended up complimenting me on not being a jerk to him. Outside of that, all my other experiences have been very good - especially the time I dealt with Russ, who is a good guy - so I'll order from them again - and I have, btw.
Edit: In fairness, I should add that a very short time later, the guy in question did go out of his way to help me out on another order when he didn't really have to - which I appreciated - so I'm not holding a grudge in regard to the earlier problem. In cold type, I realize it seems like I do, and I feel it important to clarify what I had written earlier.

 

[yazamitaz]

sorry about the double post, but in continuation of my above post... a new member to the forums seeing the bad reviews here who hasn't shopped with Pipesandcigars before is less likely by far to order from the company. Could be a lot of potential business lost for them.

Anthony, you are 100% correct. I just recently found this site and became a member last week. I was looking at a Nording on their site (and a few other sponsors) and was going to order it tomorrow (Payday!!!) but am now VERY skeptical and may look at a few of the other recommendations by the posts above. I am a sales manager and I can tell you bad customer service is the worst thing you can have associated with your company. The funny thing is I was going to use them due to some positive posts that I have seen, but those posts were about tobacco selection. Poor packaging and customer service would keep me away. Not sure about the rest of you guys, but when I buy a new toy I want to play with it IMMEDIATELY.
Just a noob's .02

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I only order from cupojoes or smokingpipes. Thanks for the heads up on it and I hope for their sake they make some changes soon.

 

[brdavidson]

I just received my Savinelli and though it was packaged correctly, the drilling is off. I'd be hesitant to purchase from them again, it is very noticeable and should have been caught if anyone actually inspected the pipe before shipping.

 

[voorhees]

I received notice that my P&C tobacco order shipped (in full) and will arrive monday the 11th. I will let you guys know if the order is correct.

 

[numbersix]

I think everyone who has posted on this topic is a regular poster here at the forums. And this is a lot of negative feedback toward pipesandcigars. I'm in retail, and I've heard it said a thousand times. "One customer is all it takes to hurt your business..." one unhappy customer.

This is the first I've heard of so many problems. It's too bad because I am willing to believe that these problems aren't necessarily typical. I've ordered tobacco from them with no issues, but I have to admit, now I'd be hesitant to do so again.
I am sure they're watching this post and I hope they have the cojones to respond. I would be willing to give a retailer another chance if they can admit there's a problem and are going to fix it.

 

[taerin]

This is the first I've heard of so many problems. It's too bad because I am willing to believe that these problems aren't necessarily typical. I've ordered tobacco from them with no issues, but I have to admit, now I'd be hesitant to do so again.

This is the biggest reason I was very hesitant to make this post in the first place, I'm still a happy customer, just not a pipe buying customer anymore. I hope they don't spit in my next order of tobacco now.
I wouldn't ever discourage someone from buying tobacco there, P&C is where I get a lot of my tobacco from and they seem to be excellent in that area. They also have the Hearth and Home and now a couple other lines by Russ, who is an exceptional pipe tobacco blender. His Black House is almost as good as Penzance and Anniversary Kake is a simply wonderful VaPer. They also get in all the hard to find tobaccos and occasionally have great deals on shipping.

 

[spartan]

Even with all the hiccups mentioned above I still think them a great retailer who will take care of the customer.
I liken these events to poor customer service reps, and wouldn't hold the hole company accountable; except for Bob Gates who should have expected that last pipe better.
@metalheadycigarguy

If I was told that on my NEXT order I get a discount because they screwed up my current order, I'd have lost my mind. You're supposed to make good on the order I placed, not the next order.
When it comes to unsatisfactory customer service you need to push back a bit and not accept incentives with deadlines as a solution to fixing a mistake.
I've had nothing but top notch service from them, so it saddens me to see situations like these.

 

[bobbyg]

PipesandCigars.com

1645 Central Ave, Albany, NY 12205

1-800-494-9144
Fellow Pipesmagazine.com Members,
As you can imagine we’ve received a very large number of customers calling and emailing in regards to this recent post.

I can tell you we take this very seriously and personally. I will offer no excuse because there aren’t any. Hindsight is almost always 20/20 and I’ve already made the appropriate changes to our procedures to address these comments moving forward.

We have seen some nice growth in the past few years and have experienced some speed bumps for sure. We’re still striving to keep the home town smoke shop feel we’ve always had with a caring owner and caring staff members. Over the past 3 years we have invested in infrastructure, software, staff and our facility as a whole to improve the customer experience. A post like this makes it evident that we still have work to do.

It may sound a little half-hearted but we truly appreciate the notification as it’s the number one way for us to get the temperature of how we’re performing and make impactful changes. I’ll admit a public forum is not my first choice but I’m a big boy and we’re smack dab in the internet age where competition is fierce. These communication tools are readily available for use and, quite frankly, should be.
Thankfully these are all easy fixes on our end so as of this writing:

1. Pipe inspection has been modified.

2. Packaging has been addressed.

3. I have added a 3rd level of Quality Control for outgoing packages.

4. Our front line staff members have also been reminded of the implications of a job half done or done poorly, myself included.

5. Timing and execution of customer comments and concerns will have increased speed as we bring on more service staff in the call center.

6. I will address the pipe photos based on what has been mentioned.
I believe with just these simple changes we can begin the process of rebuilding your trust and hopefully rebuild some lost relationships. I am available just about any time via email with a smartphone on my hip during off hours, and I always welcome phone calls.
Sincerely,
Bob Gates

E-Commerce Manager

bobbyg@pipesandcigars.com

 

[hfearly]

:clap:

 

[crpntr1]

Welcome to the forums
Glad to see you're being proactive in this matter :clap:

 

[lumberjakpipester]

:clap:

 

[seanlamb63]

Hoorah for P&C! :clap:

 

[rjscha]

Glad to see a response from P&C. I think we can all understand growth pains and appreciate efforts to make improvements where improvements are necessary.
I, for one, was just about to place an order with P&C (wanted to try the HH blends) and would like to see how things shake out before moving forward. For the record, I've ordered many many times from 4noggins and have had nothing but good results.

 

[numbersix]

Nice going P&C!!

 

[cigrmaster]

I emailed P&C last night at 8:12 pm with some comments and a link to this thread. I received an email from Sarah at 11 this morning thanking me for notifying them of the problems.
I think Bob's response to this thread shows they take everyone's comments seriously and that they will strive to do a much better job. I appreciate the fact that Bob takes these matters seriously and took the time to address them here. I think they will be doing a much better job going forward.
Excellent post Bob and I for one applaud you for standing up, taking your lumps and outlining what changes you will be making. I will continue to be a loyal customer.