Extremely poor service, and Kaare--who I believe is the owner--clearly does not care. Earlier comments about condescension now make sense. If I could give zero stars, I would.
I ordered wine to be shipped to Atlanta, which was supposed to go out in October. They said it shipped, but I never received it. I had to reach out to them myself, and I received no explanation or apology. They eventually told me they'd have to reassemble the order and ship it again. I was assured that everything would be fine because they still had the requested wines and vintages.
Then I got a call from Sabrina, letting me know that one of the wines was no longer available. She asked if that was acceptable to substitute an alternate similar wine, and I said fine. I'm a wine collector and study wine, so vintages matter to me--even if this wasn't an order of grand cru wines. The total order was $399.08, so not extravagant, but still important to me.
The first time they charged me $57 for shipping. When they finally shipped the wine in January, the charge was $75. When I pointed out that this was unfair--since I had never received the original shipment and had to chase them to make it right--I was told, essentially, "we're not in charge of shipping." That's what I was told.
Regardless, that response is in poor taste, especially since I had to reach out multiple times, by phone and email just to get the wine I never received. Good customer service would have meant honoring the original shipping charge--even if they had to absorb a few dollars.
On top of that, they substituted two vintages, despite my order explicitly specifying which vintages I had requested. When I brought this up with Kaare, the owner, and explained that most wine buyers would not appreciate a vintage substitution--especially after all that had already gone wrong--his response was:
"These aren't expensive wines. You should just drink them and enjoy them."
That's not what I call customer service. To me, this is the equivalent of going to a restaurant, ordering a prime filet mignon, and being served something else--without being told. Maybe the substitute is good too, but I should be informed ahead of time and given the option to decline. That's basic respect for the customer.
What made me really unhappy is that I sent multiple emails to the business--one week after delivery, then again a month later, then two months later--and never got a response. I left message with the staff to call me back and no return call occurred.
Is that good customer service?
From a customer's standpoint, it's not even about the wine anymore--it's about the principle of responding, of caring, of doing something to make it right. I would have been satisfied with something as simple as a $20 credit on the increased shipping charge. But no credit, no apology, and no acknowledgment that they substituted wines I never agreed to receive.
In hindsight, I should have simply demanded they take the wine back when I received the incorrect order. But I didn't realize I was dealing with a business that treats its customers this way.
Buyer beware! They will respond to this email but all the facts have been presented and any defense on their part will be whitewashing how a customer is treated. I am in customer service business, so I know how to treat people.
Michael J.
Atlanta, Georgia read more
