Sorry for the delay on this. FYI, I haven't mailed my letter to Papa John's yet -- I will do so tomorrow. As a litmus test to each business, I wanted to mail the letters on the same day just to see who responded first and how. You understand, I'm sure.
They both go in the mail tomorrow (Thursday). Let me know what you think of this one...
Thanks for reading.
To the owner or manager of Cork & Barrel:
I plan on sending the enclosed letter to the Better Business Bureau. However, if you can remedy the conflict I have with your store, I’d be happy to tear up the letter and forget about this mess.
In short, I want to return a keg shell to you in return for the $50 deposit I paid your store.If you need more details, you may read the enclosed letter to the BBB.
Thank you.
Seth Jones
To: the Better Business Bureau
From: Seth Jones
Hello,
I’m writing to you to let you know about the list of follies that beset me while trying to be a customer of Cork & Barrel in Lawrence, Kan.
Recently I bought a kegerator for my house. I went to the Cork & Barrel location at 23rd and Iowa Street in Lawrence to buy a pony (or half-barrel) keg for my new kegerator.
Trip # 1
My wife was with me during this trip. I asked the cashier for a pony keg of Boulevard Wheat, which she kindly rung up for me. I paid her, and she sent back one of her co-workers to fetch the pony keg. When he came back, he told us there were no more Boulevard Wheat pony kegs. So they had to refund my debit card, which she did. After they told me what they did have available, I settled on a full keg of Wheat. She charged me for the full keg. She sent a different co-worker back to fetch the full keg. He came back with a pony keg for me. He looked at his co-worker, the one who said there were no pony kegs. “Dude, there were a bunch of pony kegs back there,” he told his colleague. “There were?” he laughed, “I was just trying to up-sell him to the full keg.”
So they once again refunded my debit card, and again charged it for the pony keg. The good news is that all of these charges were correctly reflected on my debit card. While I was there, I paid the $50 deposit that was asked on the pony keg shell.
Trip # 2
It’s a week later. I’ve invited over some friends, and sure enough, the pony keg runs dry. This time, I decide to go with the full keg of beer. Since I have a group of friends over, I wanted to get the new keg quickly, so my guests would not go without drinks for long.
My friend Eric and I went to the Cork & Barrel at 9th and Mississippi, since this one is closer to my house (the close proximity to my house of this branch was one of the reasons I chose C&B in the first place). I grabbed the pony keg shell and started walking inside with it. I was stopped before I got to the door by one of the C&B employees, who was smoking outside. “We don’t have pony kegs,” he told me. “That’s OK, I don’t want a pony keg,” I replied. “Well, we don’t deal in pony kegs, either,” he told me. “Wait – it’s OK, I bought this from your sister site at 23rd and Iowa, I just want to get a full keg of Boulevard Wheat…” “That may be the case, but we don’t work in pony kegs over here – we won’t trade you for it…” “I bought this from you guys, why can’t I trade you back what I bought from you?” “Doesn’t work that way. You have to take it back to 23rd and Iowa.”
Frustrated, I hopped back in my car and headed across town to the 23rd and Iowa branch. So much for the convenience of having two locations, one being close to my house. I walk in to the 23rd and Iowa location and set my pony keg shell on the counter and ask for the full keg of Boulevard Wheat.
“But you’re trading in a pony shell,” the cashier said to me.
“Yes, I know. But I want the full barrel this time.”
“Well, you can’t trade in a pony shell and get a full shell – that’s not fair.”
“Not fair? What’s not fair about it?”
“Well, it’s not right.”
“Wait… let me get this clear – what is the cost of the deposit on the full shell?” I asked.
“$50.”
“Well, I paid $50 for the deposit on this shell. How is that not fair?”
“Listen, I’m not saying I’m not going to let you do it… but you have to promise me you’ll bring this shell back to us.”
“Promise? It’s the same price! I just want my keg! I need to get back to my house with this beer quickly…”
“OK, but you have to promise you’ll bring it back. This isn’t a fair trade.”
“Promise? Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll bring it back. I’ll get my $50 deposit back. And then I’ll never shop here again, because this is ridiculous – this makes no sense!”
“Well, good, don’t shop here again, because we don’t make any money off our keg sales anyway!”
“Can I just get this keg now?”
Finally, I was allowed to trade in my $50 shell for a $50 shell, even though it “wasn’t fair.” I didn’t have to “promise,” even though I absolutely planned on bringing back the keg shell so I could get back my $50 deposit.
Trip # 3
It’s a month later and the keg is empty. I take it back to C&B so I can get my deposit back and then take my business elsewhere.
I set the keg on the ground and politely tell the cashier that I’m there to get my deposit back. She asks for my name.
“Seth Jones,” I tell her.
She rummages through their collection of index cards.
“Greg Jones?” she asks.
“No, Seth Jones,” I tell her.
“We… don’t have a Seth Jones in here,” she says.
“That’s fine. I don’t care. I bought this from here, I just want my deposit back, please.”
“Do you have your receipt?”
“I’m sure I do somewhere, but I don’t have it with me.”
Now one of the guys comes over to investigate.
“How long ago did you buy the keg?” he asks.
“One month ago.” I respond.
“Oh. Then we threw away your card. If you have the keg for more than a few days, the keg is yours to keep.”
Really? Even though I’ve returned the keg, I cannot get my deposit back? I only had a ‘few days’ to return it? Where was that stipulation? I never intended to drink this keg over a weekend… it’s for my kegerator, it was always my intention to keep it for a few weeks. At no time did any of the paperwork that I signed stipulate that I had to return the keg within ‘a few days’ in order to get my money back.
I protested a little bit but by now I knew that C&B was going to do what they could to rip me off of my money. I took the keg with me and left.
At the next liquor store, I asked them all the questions – how much is your deposit, can I exchange between a pony and a full keg, may I still get my money back if I have the keg for over a month – and none of this was a problem. How sad was I that I didn’t go there in the first place.
I believe that Cork and Barrel should refund my $50 in return for the empty shell. Their customer service is inadequate, I can accept that. But for them to try to take $50 from me on a whim is unacceptable.
In short, my complaints are that Cork and Barrel:
1. Tried to ‘upsell’ me a more expensive item by telling me the cheaper item was not in stock
2. Refused to do business with me at their sister location
3. Used vague language in exchanging the keg shell to make me feel like they were doing me a favor when in fact they should have done it no questions asked
4. Refused to refund my $50 deposit even though I returned the shell
Thank you for your time hearing my complaints. If you need any further information or documentation, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Seth Jones
4 comments:
Hey, Seth,
I think you have some points here, and they're valid. I think it's something that the management of the stores needs to address in its customer service training (if there is any). They also need to clearly state that if there's no crossover between the stores (and I don't think there is, I'll explain later) in terms of keg sales, they need to make that explicitly clear upon each sale.
"You have to return this pony keg here and if you don't return it in ten business days, you forfeit your deposit" would a simple statement, and signing a card that has that statement on it would be a reasonable, low-cost solution.
The biggest issue I think you have with the BBB over C&B here is the upsell comment and behavior. That's terrible business and just fucking stupid on their part. The customer wants what he wants and should be served what he's asking for, unless it's not available. In that case, a sub is suitable as long as it meets the customer's needs. I guess it's a nice thing that you encountered at least one nice, relatively honest person who brought up the pony.
The other issue you have is if there was no notification of loss of deposit, that's outright theft. I'd have to see what 'card' they're talking about and what their printed policy on keg sales are.
From the perspective of running the business I do, some stores do business differently than others in the same group. You're familiar with the line 'at participating restaurants' or something similar, I'm sure, so the fact that they refused to do business with you isn't necessarily surprising, but they could have been clear about that from the beginning, and that's a customer service issue. I think that in Kansas no one is allowed to own three liquor stores (there was a lawsuit a couple of years ago over Cork and Barrel ownership, if I remember correctly) and it may be that they're required by law to have some differences between the stores. It may not, I don't know, but the clerk should have been able to communicate that to you so that you'd understand. Again, that's a customer service issue and not necessarily a bad business practice that the BBB would address. At least, I don't think so.
If I were in your shoes, I'd be doing the exact same thing. That's frustrating, problematic and just bad business, but you may not be the customer they're aiming at any more. The store on 23d street is slightly more expensive on the rum and bourbon we buy at home ($1 - $3 more per bottle) than the store on 9th. That's what leads me to say that they may not be 'sister' stores in more than name.
All in all, I'm interested to see what sort of response you get. If you get to talk to the manager at either location, I'd be surprised. If their business is such that they're comfortable with how the staff is treating customers, I suspect you won't hear from either one of them.
plus, this ain't pizza. This is BEER. This is important stuff!
I've never been a fan of C&B, even when the guy ran a store up at 15th and Kasold. But this story (especially when I was DIRECTLY AFFECTED by having my beer delayed) seals the deal. The Chestys are done with C&B
I did know about the problems C&B was having about owning multiple liquor stores, and I didn't specifically ask about exchanging the kegs at their 9th street location, so I can let that slide.
The biggest problem I have is them keeping my $50 deposit. Sure, I have a nice new shiny keg shell out of it... but... it was never my intention to buy a shell off these folks in the first place. I guess I just remember back in college, when there used to be no deposit on getting kegs, and as the years roll on, it seems they get more and more strict about what they need. A deposit for this, sign for that, and we'll also keep your money too, thanks.
Also, I had to write up that conversation with the cashier. I know customer service sucks at some places, but her telling me our trade wasn't 'fair' and then acting like she was going to do me a favor... and then telling me not to shop there anymore... well, that was pretty maddening.
Mostly, I want my $50 back. I'll give them their shell back. They're holding my $50 hostage!
Yeah, you really are owed your $50 back, and it was crappy that they tossed your card without calling you. That's bad business and even poorer environmental responsibility. I hope management takes this to heart and does the right thing.
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