I am not sure which forum to post this in. Last week, I asked in the Tobacco Discussion forum for recommendations for Boswell tobaccos, as I was visiting their store the coming weekend. I promised to do an update after my visit, so here it is. Sorry if it is long winded.
I had a great time at J.M. Boswell's shop over the weekend. J.M. and his son Dan were incredibly helpful. It felt less like a business interaction, and more like I was in the home of an acquaintance. I told Dan that I wasn’t sure what types of tobacco I was looking for, but I had a list of recommendations. He showed me where the jarred tobaccos were and told me to sample as many as I liked. While sampling the tobacco, I strolled through the shop and spent a lot of time looking at different pipes that they had on display. I ended up purchasing three pipes that I knew I couldn’t leave there without. After I had chosen the pipes I liked, and the tobaccos I wanted, Dan said I was more than welcome to sit, enjoy the new pipes, and sample more of the tobaccos, even though I hadn’t been rung up yet. I sat for four hours and talked with J.M and Dan, as well as several of their regulars. It really turned the process of purchasing a pipe into an experience.
There was something really cool about enjoying the pipes I had purchased with the guys who made them. J.M talked at length about the tobacco business, and his personal views on it, and his feelings on ecommerce and why you can’t buy things directly from his website. He likes to get to know his customers. He likes to meet the people who will be buying his products, even if it is only by phone. He doesn’t want to have the risk of a customer’s information being stolen from a website. He said he might lose some business because of that, but that is the respect he has for his customers’ privacy and information. They also do very little advertising, and prefer to rely on word of mouth.
I may have gone a little overboard with my purchases though. I got 3 new pipes, as well as 3 tins of Frog Morton’s Cellar, 4 oz of Northwoods, 4 oz of Berry Cobbler, 2 oz of No Bite Delite, 2 oz of Boswell Premium Burley Blend, 2 oz of Bear Blend and 2 oz of Sweet Tea. They even threw in 2 oz of Boswell’s Best to bring to a coworker who had never heard of Boswell’s.
I would recommend that anyone who can visit their store visit it. It is well worth the trip. I have rarely been treated as well as a customer in any business. The relaxed atmosphere, combined with the regulars and J.M and Dan made for an awesome visit. If you can’t visit, you should call and order from them. I am confident they will treat you right.
I have pictures of my new pipes, and they are beauties, and I will be posting those pictures when I get home tonight. Sorry that this review was kind of long winded. I just really enjoyed my experience, and thought I should share.
P.S. Should I start a new thread with the pictures, or should I just post them in the comments of this post? I am new to this forum, and want to be sure to do things right.
I had a great time at J.M. Boswell's shop over the weekend. J.M. and his son Dan were incredibly helpful. It felt less like a business interaction, and more like I was in the home of an acquaintance. I told Dan that I wasn’t sure what types of tobacco I was looking for, but I had a list of recommendations. He showed me where the jarred tobaccos were and told me to sample as many as I liked. While sampling the tobacco, I strolled through the shop and spent a lot of time looking at different pipes that they had on display. I ended up purchasing three pipes that I knew I couldn’t leave there without. After I had chosen the pipes I liked, and the tobaccos I wanted, Dan said I was more than welcome to sit, enjoy the new pipes, and sample more of the tobaccos, even though I hadn’t been rung up yet. I sat for four hours and talked with J.M and Dan, as well as several of their regulars. It really turned the process of purchasing a pipe into an experience.
There was something really cool about enjoying the pipes I had purchased with the guys who made them. J.M talked at length about the tobacco business, and his personal views on it, and his feelings on ecommerce and why you can’t buy things directly from his website. He likes to get to know his customers. He likes to meet the people who will be buying his products, even if it is only by phone. He doesn’t want to have the risk of a customer’s information being stolen from a website. He said he might lose some business because of that, but that is the respect he has for his customers’ privacy and information. They also do very little advertising, and prefer to rely on word of mouth.
I may have gone a little overboard with my purchases though. I got 3 new pipes, as well as 3 tins of Frog Morton’s Cellar, 4 oz of Northwoods, 4 oz of Berry Cobbler, 2 oz of No Bite Delite, 2 oz of Boswell Premium Burley Blend, 2 oz of Bear Blend and 2 oz of Sweet Tea. They even threw in 2 oz of Boswell’s Best to bring to a coworker who had never heard of Boswell’s.
I would recommend that anyone who can visit their store visit it. It is well worth the trip. I have rarely been treated as well as a customer in any business. The relaxed atmosphere, combined with the regulars and J.M and Dan made for an awesome visit. If you can’t visit, you should call and order from them. I am confident they will treat you right.
I have pictures of my new pipes, and they are beauties, and I will be posting those pictures when I get home tonight. Sorry that this review was kind of long winded. I just really enjoyed my experience, and thought I should share.
P.S. Should I start a new thread with the pictures, or should I just post them in the comments of this post? I am new to this forum, and want to be sure to do things right.
