There should be a"like" button for posts in this forum.
As several of you are aware from my thread a few weeks ago, NB and I cut the cord as well. My issue was not cost, but simple bad quality service (wrong items sent, etc). After years of loyalty to this company they lost me.
Oh ya, their customer service will make it right. They’ll send you the correct, replacement item. A week later, you can brew your recipe - If you happen to have time and a few days off.
Sounds to me as if NB is getting too “big,” and successful, and no longer need care as much about individual customers, as they used to.
The whole concept of loyalty towards any for-profit company is a bit weird, and doesn’t benefit the individual as much as it does the for-profit company. Keep in mind, ALL these places are trying to sell something to you, and trying to maximize their profits in the process. Vote with your dollars, and if they notice their profits going elsewhere, they’ll adjust. Money drives the process better than anything else. Maybe it’s the only thing driving it.
Personally, I don’t buy nearly as much stuff from NB as I used to. They are great for newer brewers, and offer great support. But I buy grain and hops in bulk, save bottles, and use weird yeasts that NB doesn’t even carry most of the time. And the cost for getting these things in bulk, in sizes larger than what NB typically sells, is much less elsewhere. Their fantastic service costs money, and in turn is reflected in their prices. They do, however, have some really cool gear that I can’t get elsewhere, like the 375ml Vinnie bottles. Those things are awesome. So I gladly pay what they ask for them, cringe at the shipping costs, and submit my order anyways. :mrgreen:
I really don’t see the big deal.
If you don’t like it, don’t buy from them and buy elsewhere. If you do like them, then continue to offer them your business. As noted above, we all have choices when it comes to shopping. :cheers:
I’ve never personally had issues with NB, although I admit I have started shopping local more just because it’s easier for me. A bit of a drive to get what I need, but buying grains in bulk I am saving money anyway. There are a few things I’ll grab from NB if it’s a good deal and I don’t need it right away, but other than that everything is purchased locally. Not a shot against NB, just my personal preference lately. There have been a couple of times that my LHBS doesn’t have exactly what I am looking for and they don’t have a suitable substitute, so I’ll order it online. I plan well enough in advance that this doesn’t bother me when I need to order.
I saw the ad for the “take 20% off any single item you choose”, so I go ahead and load my shopping cart, and see not all things are equal. At first:
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Tombstone all grain kit - $7.30 off
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then I add ingredients to do a second beer. - Still, just $7.30 off ( ??? )
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I also add 3lbs of light DME to the cart - yep, it’s STILL only $7.30 off the total bill, even though that bill has doubled since option 1.
So, I delete the Tombstone Pale Ale kit, and then with the remainder… - $2.40 off :shock:
I’m no rocket scientist, but I would think “20% off ANY item”, is just that…20% off any item. If I spend $100, I would think I should pay $80 + 7.99 shipping (for the items that apply, which was everything in my cart)
I’m not trying to be a smarta$$ but “20% off one item” is exactly that… 20% off ONE item.
It’s 20 percent of one single item. They take the discount off the highest priced item you purchase. It’s a pretty good deal of you’re looking at a somewh of an expensive piece of equipment. It’ll usuallyoffsets the cost of shipping and then some.
Reading comprehension FTW!
I misunderstood any single item as “every single” item as in, it didn’t matter what you purchased and how many, each was a 20%.
Oops.
I’ll take that serving of humble pie now…
No worries. It is a nice deal if you are buying something costly. They will soon have a save $20 on a $100 purchase which is the same thing as 20%…
[quote=“NB CS-TJ”]Hey guys,
We are here to help. If you are frustrated with us, please contact us. We are on chat, email and phones seven days a week and can usually find a resolution to ease frustrations.
The shipping rates on these screenshots should be the same shipping totals that you would see today if you have the same cart. Because of volumetric shipping, our fermentors cost us more to ship compared to some of our other products. We identify the products that do not qualify with “standard shipping rates apply” icon to the right of the product name.
Regarding the all-grain promotion, we limit the available kits to promise fast processing in the warehouse and grainroom. We know that order turn-around is very important to our customers and we do not want to cause any missed brew days.
If you would like to discuss this further, you can send me an email at Todd.Jackson@NorthernBrewer.com or I would be happy to chat on the phone too. My direct line is 651-289-9771.
Cheers,
Todd J[/quote]It all kind of boils down to this. Sounds to me like they are willing to help if you just talk to them. It is also nice to see someone from NB is monitoring the forum. It is really a place to discuss brewing and exchange info, not a place to complain about or even praise the service.
free country ! :evil:
My issue was that the “free” item raised the cost of the base order’s shipping by more than the shipping cost of the free item alone.
So if I put a BMB in my cart and get a quote, the shipping for just the BMB is about $10.
All the rest of my stuff would have shipped for $8.
The shipping quoted on that day was $23. I do not find it fair that adding a “free” item raises shipping $5 over the shipping if the two had been placed separately. That to me is not free; and while getting a BMB for $5 is still an awesome deal, it felt like a bait-n-switch. I know this is NOT a deliberate attempt to defraud anyone, and it an artifact of how one flat-rate ineligible item pollutes the whole order. This is why Amazon lets you select different shipping methods for different items in the cart when you have a mix of Prime eligibilities. If NB had the same feature this would not have been an issue for me. I would have been willing to pay $18 for the shipping.
I actually did chat with a CSR asking if there was anything to be done and was very politely told no. So while it does seem like they’re willing to help, when they’re locked in to a defective computation, a sympathetic ear is about as far as they can go to help. Personally, I do not get involved in the game of “asking for a manager” or writing to other Company reps. I don’t believe in fighting to get service, a company has to win my business, not the other way around. I’ll still order items from NB, but I’m going to be watching their offers much closer.
