Comments on: Wine Retail Shop Blues

By: pt

pt — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:55:15 +0000

It is really unfortunate for the not so educated consumer that some salespeople get away with this kind of thing. If someone holds himself out as an expert by virtue of dispensing advice, they should certainly be called on the carpet for making up a sales pitch to sell a bottle without any regard for the consumer. If you were a frequent visitor to Montauk, he would have likely lost much more profit than just that single bottle provided the business. A word to the proprietor would be in order. Or publishing the name of the shop.

By: Lauren Buzzeo

Lauren Buzzeo — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:53:02 +0000

Thanks for the great comments, everyone! Seems like I’ve touched on a bit of a sore subject for many; too bad that we’ve all had similar experiences.

Ohio Wine Guy – I like the suggestion of taking him “to the shed”; I’ll keep that in mind next time!

Cesar Chavez – Like I mentioned, I was very tempted to “call him out” on his lack of knowledge, but for the sake of seeing how far it would go didn’t. But glad to hear that you would have a similar instinct!

Erika, Mmm Wine, Susan, Wine in Denver, D – It’s true and sad that shoppers do get profiled, especially on age and gender, and as an educated wine consumer nothing can be more frustrating. One would hope that retailers would have better etiquette than to place such judgments on customers and would actually attempt to help shoppers by asking questions like Wine in Denver mentioned. But, I have to admit I do understand D’s closing argument that “On the sales side of wine the art is not in the bottle as much as it is in the pitch.” Food for thought, indeed.

By: D

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:33:21 +0000

Having been in the business for many years. Most of the time this is common. There are thousands upon thousands of wines that enter and leave the store and you just don’t get to try them all. Most of the time I would size someone up and tell them what they wanted to hear about the bottle of wine they were mulling over. On occasion when it was a regular customer I would pay more attention, for fear of sending them away with a poor suggestion would refelct badly on repeat business. For the casual transient shopper it was more like being a clothing salesman, as long as they made a purchase before they left you had done your job. In this case from a salesmans perspective it seems like he did a poor job sizing you up and bullshitting what you wanted to hear about the wine you were choosing. On the sales side of wine the art is not in the bottle as much as it is in the pitch.

By: cesar chavez

cesar chavez — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 11:38:40 +0000

I’ve been in the wine business for over 30 years. If would’ve had a wine salesperson tell me that about a wine, I simply would have said, “young man, you certainly know jack shit about your business”.

By: Wine in Denver

Wine in Denver — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:41:15 +0000

What a sad case of a missed opportunity! At the Store I work in we always start out with a few questions, such as “what type of wine do you enjoy”, “How much do you want to spend” and most importantly, “what do you want it to taste like”. These are great ways to get to know the customer and give the customer a few options within their stated paramaters. As far as the ladies comment, that was just totally out of line.

By: OhioWineGuy

OhioWineGuy — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:36:48 +0000

How sad, but true. I was wondering how the females would react to his “the ladies seem to like this one” comment. That’s just rude and you should have taken him to the shed. I fortunately have a few wine shops locally with knowledgeable folks to buy from when I need them, but that local (if he is one) should have some idea what the selections taste like in one of the more know wine making regions.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:53:36 +0000

I find it interesting how often supposedly savvy wine shops still profile people. If a younger person walks in the door, or someone who does not fit their idea of an “important” wine consumer is browsing the aisles, many times the associates will brush on by without any interaction and head straight for the older, and sometimes less interested consumer. I also agree with Erika that they should try to gauge your wine knowledge with a few quick questions. That misstep with Wolffer is really unfortunate given that it was a local wine. I wonder if the shop has a habit of recommending wines that are not local?

By: MmmWine

MmmWine — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:10:32 +0000

Sorry you had that bad experience, Lauren. One thing I’ve learned from experience is that it’s okay to be humble and say, “I don’t know but let me ask someone who does,” rather than try to flub your way through an answer. It sounds like this sales person was not familiar with the wine and he ended up doing you a disservice by being dishonest about his lack of knowledge.

As for the pink wine and ladies like this comment, why, oh why, did he have to go there? There’s no need for it.

By: allison miller

allison miller — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:44:20 +0000

That is a great story Lauren. I only wish you called him out on it! There is nothing worse than an ignorant retailer. It sounds like he should be working in a tanning salon NOT a wine store!
Hope you enjoyed the wine and got to relax and enjoy it on the beach.
See you soon,
Allison

By: Erika

Erika — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:17:19 +0000

Cool post Lauren. Something else that irks me, of a similar vein, is when the associate assumes you don’t know anything about wine. I think a good salesperson can ask a couple of questions to gauge someones level of knowledge, without assuming they should be talking down to a customer. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m young and female and or maybe I’m hypersensitive and this happens to everyone, but it makes me want to avoid help at all costs!