Learn to Brew Horrible Customer Service

I just bought a wort chiller from Learn to Brew. I received it and it looks absolutely horrible. It is just about black with a lot of scratches and such. It has a lot of green oxidation spots on it and to boot on the welded faucet hookup has a huge bead of solder on the seal so it wont seal up..... I have literally called them 20 times over 5 days and sent 10 emails..... They still have yet to respond on this issue. Here is what they say on their site for customer service ,

"We look forward to helping you meet the challenges and make the most of your brewing and wine making experiences. If you ever have a question about brewing, feel free to drop us a line anytime.......We guarantee first-class customer service.
Learn To Brew is committed to making you happy. If you have any questions or concerns regarding our products or services, please contact Learn To Brew. We will respond to or acknowledge your inquiry within one business day.

Obviously they don't practice what they preach...any suggestions? anyone else had issues with them?

thanks in advance

They certainly do not answer their phone. I called their number to see if I could get trough with no luck. If you paid via credit card call your card company. They may offer some type of protection for items that are defective or bunk web purchases.

Posting here hits them where it counts, right in the wallet. Bad reviews from other home brewers will drive some business away. Keep posting on here until they contact you back. I have no history with this company but with most until they see a hit in their business they won't change.

Toga said:

If you paid via credit card call your card company. They may offer some type of protection for items that are defective or bunk web purchases.

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I agree with call your credit card company and dispute the charge. Explain the item is not as described and further more defective. Explain their guarantee and your efforts to resolve this with them. More the likely the credit card company will meet the same cold shoulder and your money will be returned to you.

PS add your experience to their FB page. That tends to get some owners attenion real quick https://www.facebook.com/#!/learntobrew?fref=ts

Good idea thanks!! I am so frustrated trying to do my first all grain on sat now I don't have the wort chiller I paid top dollar for.

Your certainly have a right to be frustrated. It's one thing to recieve a defective item, but it's WAY WORSE to have poor customer service that won't take care of the problem.

Totally agreed. You just don't expect this from an lhbs most are so awesome !!

Called again today 5 times no answer ! Time to take action. Wish I was spending this time making beer ! arrrggghhhhhh

8 lbs pale suck hole
1.5 lbs crystal "I don't give a crap"
1 lb flaked Lies

1 oz ********* stuck uppedness (for bitterness)

Dry hop with 2 oz Personal phone call infront of customers


Mash the specialty..............wait, what?

I thought we were "Learning to brew bad customer service"?

This recipe is a Home Depot clone and is SPOT on.

This doesn't sound like them at all. They were my LHBS for several years before I moved to MN and I have nothing but great things to say about them. Actually I have several great stories about these guys.

Ha I just called them. Answered on the third ring. Want me to conference you in?

Tried again still no go.....

oasisbliss said:

Tried again still no go.....

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What number are you calling? 405-793-2337. Give that a try I bet they answer right away. Trust me these guys are cool as can be.

It looks like others have had the same issue as you, oasisbliss, according to the Better Business Bureau. They aren't accredited, but it looks like they resolved the 2 similar complaints made to the BBB in the last 12 months. It may be easier to deal with them directly if you can get them on the phone, but lodging a BBB complaint to get their attention is another option.

My chiller is from them and it's been great for three years now.

I suppose I might have been lucky.

Yea that is the number I am using. Thanks for everyone's input. Hope to get this resolved soon. Bummed I don't get to use it this weekend.

What times are you calling? They do get busy but their hours suck. I live near there but have a hard time buying anything with their short hours. Other then that they are good people with great prices on most things.

learn to brew out of OK?


yeah.....I have had lots of problems with them. Twice I have ordered items and put a note in the order...."if you are out of stock on any item-please let me know asap" five days later I get an email-sorry we are out of stock on your bottle filler! and there go my dreams of giving my brews for Christmas......

Luckily rebel brewer (I called them) took my order to fedex after their normal processing hours to get me my beergun in time!

Now that is customer service-----and again this is not the first time I have had problems with learn to brew- I dont think they have half of the stuff in stock they sell on their site.

and buy chillers from NYbrew supply!-they are doing a custom for me and are highly recommended. I know that learn to brews prices are good-bu they are horrible....just bad. buyer beware

509inc said:

What number are you calling? 405-793-2337. Give that a try I bet they answer right away. Trust me these guys are cool as can be.

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no they suck.....and I talked to the nastiest woman you have ever talked to!

i didn't know my sister-in-law worked there..

I know this is over a month old and maybe you've resolved this but I would try some lemon juice to clean up the wort chiller, it might not be in as bad a shape as you think. New ones do not arrive as super shiny copper and will be somewhat dark/black when you get them as they have a residue on them that you need to clean off. I bet the green spots will come off pretty easily too. When you remove it from your wort after you use it the first time, it should be nice & shiny.

Also, that sucks that Learn To Brew is so hard to contact. I will certainly not ever buy from them.

They were my LHBS back when I lived in Norman OK, and I always liked them. Really friendly and helpful guys. But then again, I always transacted in person, I never did any online purchases, so I can't attest to how well they handle that end of the business. Sorry to hear you're getting so much grief.