Tip of the Hat to Iwan Ries

[hoosierpipeguy]

Got an email from Iwan Ries the other night about F&T CVP being available with instructions on how to log in and buy it. Took several attempts for that process to work but finally did. Ordered 10 tins. Mailman drops by today, open box, 11 tins of Cut Blended Plug. Didn't make me cry because I like that a lot as well but was more worried I lost out on the 10 tins of CVP. Found the original email, logged back in, couldn't make it work.
So I called. Lady answered, it was clear she was a bit stressed. Tried to explain what happened to her, she was struggling to understand all the F&T nomenclature I guess. Finally got the Owner on the phone. We actually had a mild debate for a bit about who screwed up. He finally said it doesn't matter, "we're going to take care of you". I said that means he still has CVP to sell me. He said they actually got another shipment in this morning. I said I'll take 15 tins if I can have them. He said he'd also send me a package to return the CBP. I told him I'd just keep them. He said fine if I wanted to do that, he'd give me a small discount on the new buy. I also talked him into 5 tins of Astley's 44.
We chatted for a bit after that. Super nice guy, we had some laughs about a few things. Nice to see them handle it well, it's not like they would have any problems selling that tobacco to any one of dozens or hundreds of people.

 

[oldgeezersmoker]

They are first rate in every way. I have had a few minor issues cropmup, every single time their resolution left me smiling.

 

[mrenglish]

That is definitely one of the reasons why they have been in business so long.

 

[lawdawg]

I got started on pipes at Iwan Ries back when I lived in Chicago. On my first visit to the store, I was looking for advice on where to start, and they gave me a free MM cob to sample some of their bulk blends. At the cash register, they wouldn't let me pay for the cob, and when I insisted, they rang me up for the price of one cob and gave me a second cob to take home. Friendly people working every time I went there. I'll stop back in if I'm ever back in town and have the time.

 

[3rdguy]

They sent the wrong product on an order a while ago, said it would be corrected and shipped out the next day and it never was. I just let it go.
I still give them plenty of business, I am overall that happy with them.

 

[mso489]

Iwan Ries has been around since before the Civil War, so they think long term. They want your business in twenty years and on, as long as you're around. Emptying your wallet one Tuesday afternoon isn't their goal; that's up to you. They'd like to be getting your orders until 2040 and forward.

 

[craiginthecorn]

Good folks. Old school in a good way. I was doing a bit of research on a pipe marked "Schaeff Chicago" that seemed to be from around the 1920s. I looked for a tobacconist by that name in the 1923 City Directory. I didn't find Schaeff, but I did find Iwan Ries, which at that time was located several blocks further west on Wells. Remarkably, their phone number hasn't changed since at least 1923 -- still FRAnklin-1306 (372-1306). Most businesses in the directory didn't have a phone number listed at all.

 

[cohibajoe]

I do Love this place...Every 2-3 months I do get the Email for Esoterica...For

2018 (3 Margate 8oz., 2 Tilbury 8oz., 2 Margate 2oz., 2 Dorchester 8oz., 2 Balkan Sobranie)

 

[kcghost]

At the Chicago show they do a box office business.

 

[cortezattic]

I stopped in there one day on the spare of the moment -- unshaven and dressed like a total slob. They treated me like a prince, polished my pipe while I shopped, and made me feel like I was their most important customer.