Why I will never order from CHI Company again!!

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dragonbreath11

dragonbreath11

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Ok last month on 8/27 I ordered a vial of yeast and some specialty grains. Not a big order, I don't brew all that much. I was looking to order some English yeast and various crystals for the upcoming winter beers. Later next week 9/7 I was excited as the package came. I opened it up and all of the grain was mixed together (21lbs. of various crystals 30,60,90,120 etc.) and there was no vial of yeast. I think to myself WTF? If any of you have been to CHI Company's website or ordered from them before, if you order grain by the pound, they're supposed to ship the various grains in separate bags. There is no option on the website giving you the option to keep grain separate or together. Ok so at this point I'm peeved and figured they made an honest mistake. No problem I'll just go to the website and contact them via chat. I do just that and talk to a rep, Thomas I think. So he looks up my order while I ask him if it's their policy to ship grain separately or together and he confirms saying the grain is shipped separately. I tell him I could send him a pic of the grain bundled all in one bag if he doesn't believe me. He says it's not necessary and apologizes and says he will ship out another batch, this time separately at no charge. I also ask him why I didn't receive my vial of yeast. He says it ships directly from White Labs and the packing slip that was in my bundled grain says as much. So I thank him, understandingly, after all people make mistakes. Later that day I check on the website and my order is updated:

" 09/07/2011 Processing * Resend grain, segregated.

I forget about the order, 1 week passes and still no grain. 9 business days later 9/20, still no grain. So I go on chat again talk to what I think is the same person and I explain to him what happened and that I'm still waiting for my grain and yeast. The rep looks up my order again and says wait a couple of more days. I tell him about the yeast and that at least I should have received that since it shipped separately from the original order on 8/27 directly from White Labs. He tells me to hold on while he checks White Labs shipping info. Comes back a couple of minutes later and says there is no info on the yeast. He apologizes again and says a new vial will be shipped and my shipping fee will be refunded off the original order. A large sum of $7.99. I grudgingly accept. Here we are 7 business days after the 2nd complaint and still no segregated grain and no yeast which was ordered more than a month ago! Perhaps I should have ordered my supplies from China, I'm sure I would have gotten my grain and yeast by now with better customer service to boot. All this is laughable and needless to say I will not be ordering from CHI Company again.

Btw I'm still waiting for that shipping refund as well.
 
Just curious, why not have ordered from one of the many well know reputable vendors out there such as NorthernBrewer, MidwestSupplies, LabelPeelers, AustinHomeBrewsupply, etc? Just merely curious, of course I don't doubt there have been some instances of unhappy customers from these sites as well, but they are pretty well known for good business.


Rev.
 
I ordered from CHI and had no issues. I would call and ask to speak with the owner/manager. Chat sucks.
 
Rev2010 said:
Just curious, why not have ordered from one of the many well know reputable vendors out there such as NorthernBrewer, MidwestSupplies, LabelPeelers, AustinHomeBrewsupply, etc? Just merely curious, of course I don't doubt there have been some instances of unhappy customers from these sites as well, but they are pretty well known for good business.


Rev.
Click to expand...

I ordered from them because they have some of the best prices on grains also they claim to ship their yeast directly from White Lab and are guaranteed less than 7 days old. I've placed a yeast order from them before and can attest to the freshness though once burned is enough for me. Better old yeast than no yeast at all and money down the drain.
 
ultravista said:
I ordered from CHI and had no issues. I would call and ask to speak with the owner/manager. Chat sucks.
Click to expand...

Tried that with my order... Emailed first, no reply there. Then called, was told he'd call back in about 10 minutes. I waited about two hours before calling back. Was asked if he could call back again, which didn't happen that day. After going through this for a couple of days I finally got to talk with him. Then the 'fun' began... :eek:

I've reached out to Farmhouse, Rebel Brewer, and Keg Connection too. I typically get a reply the same business day, or within 24 hours. I don't expect immediate replies, but within 1-2 business days I should get SOME kind of response.

BTW, I've also posted on the previously mentioned thread (did it tonight)... Of all the vendors I've used, Chi rates the lowest. I'll use them as an absolute last resort, IF all the other vendors either don't have an item, or are a long way off from getting it back in stock. Even then, I'll have to want it pretty bad in order to place the order with Chi... Pretty sad truth be told. I'd rather have another vendor on the 'good' list...
 
BTW I paid via Payal. Could I challange the charge on the grounds that I tried working with the vendor after receiving wrong order/missing items?
 
Recommended! Call PayPal. Nothing like a refunded customer to get the vendors attention.

I've had nothing but good service from Williams Brewing, Midwest Supplies, Austin, MoreBeer, and Northern Brewer.
 
the lack of customer service sucks but if i lived in burbank i`would not be`ordering supplies from the woods up there in diamond`springs (placerville area). long beach, torrance woodland hills and los angeles have home brew shops and you can order directly from white labs...in san diego.
 
Honestly, I would have waited until you at least got the stuff (which everything indicates that you will) before posting a public complaint on this forum. Or at least give it a few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this because I think you're being unfair to CHI. I'm saying it because it's the VENDORS (particularly the bad ones) who see it as unfair, some of who will make things much more difficult for you.

And unfortunately, I can't think of a single vendor with as bad of a reputation as CHI for being totally petty about things, not to mention all-around piss-poor customer service. I know there are a bunch of people who won't buy from CHI even if they have the best price on something - heck, I've seen instances where CHI will be the *ONLY* place that carries a particular item, and people STILL won't bite the bullet, they're so strongly opposed to dealing with them. I don't know a single vendor who has alienated the homebrew to even a tenth the degree that CHI has. I've never seen a company in ANY industry who has actually complained about and shown such contempt PUBLICLY for their own customers, and when people call them out on it, they rationalize it acting like they're God's gift to the homebrew community, as if we actually owe them something.

You'd think such a company would have gone out of business long ago, but they manage to survive because they undersell everybody on a lot of stuff. The only reason they can do this though is that they don't even operate like a legitimate retail business, but more like a dude in his basement who, if I recall correctly, mostly only orders stock when somebody places an order, but rarely has much stuff actually on-hand. So ironically, if CHI operated like a respectable business - and therefore had to have the same expenses that competitors do - they would have gone out if business ages ago, since price is the ONLY reason why people continue to risk dealing with them enough to keep them afloat.

Oh well, live and learn I guess. I wish more people would actually look into them before placing an order with them.
 
"Honestly, I would have waited until you at least got the stuff (which everything indicates that you will) before posting a public complaint on this forum. Or at least give it a few weeks.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this because I think you're being unfair to CHI. I'm saying it because it's the VENDORS (particularly the bad ones) who see it as unfair, some of who will make things much more difficult for you. "

It's been more than a month since I placed the original order! Humor me, give me an update once in awhile saying we're busy with orders and will process your order as soon as possible, or there's been some complications, etc. How can the VENDORS see it as unfair? I pay you money, for goods, expecting that you ship the items I order in a timely manner. If you can't do this, then promptly notify me saying as much or refund my money or don't accept payment in the first place. What's so hard about that? It doesn't matter though. I believe in karma and eventually what goes around comes around even if I don't take action. I will be patient and wait another 1-2 weeks. After that I'm sending e-mails calling their company as well as White Labs. If that doesn't work, I'll file a formal complaint with BBB as well as go on every known homebrew web forum and voice my discontent. We'll see how much business this company gets. I'm sorry but the little that I work, I work hard for my money and I'll be damned if some POS shmuck is gonna steal it from me.
 
emjay said:
I'm saying it because it's the VENDORS (particularly the bad ones) who see it as unfair, some of who will make things much more difficult for you.
Click to expand...

That happened to me from this vendor. I didn't even start the thread, I just responded to one (just like this one) and was roasted on a pit in response by the vendor and by someone who immediately sided with the vendor that only had 7 posts to his name...... i.e. it was him or his wife or something.

Also, the jus was all lies, like I was never charged for the part, my box was sent out same day (...not according to usps) , etc. He even prosted the thread so now it appears on my user profile.

YO HBT : The last one is BS and I did consider dropping my premium support for HBT because I think that is a gross violation of my privacy. Prosting is bs. ...So someone has the right to decide which of my thousand threads appears on my user profile? K...



Check http://beverageequipmentco.com/index.html for harder to find fittings and such. You can find his stuff elsewhere and don't have to put up with that.
 
Williams is good but pricy I find. Brewers warehouse has had great survice as well as quick shipping, under a week on my last order. There even is a not box so you can give specific instructions about the grain.
 
Wojciech,
I personally apologize for this error. I thought the reshipment of your grain already took place and had arrived some time ago.

We have refunded your order in full and re-shipped it.
I have personally packaged your order: UPS #: 1Z38W1401269222442
Ships via 3-day select.
I have also included CO2 Keg Charger and Gas QD for your troubles.
I am having WhiteLabs re-ship your yeast via USPS Priority Mail.
We are also emailing you a discount coupon to use for any future purchase.

Dispite what a vocal minority says, this error is not the norm for us. We ship 75 to 100 orders per day. In one month we may have 2 to 4 errors. I realize this is no consolation for your order, but we hope we have remidied our error to your satisfaction.

Matt
The CHI Company
 
SankePankey said:
.

YO HBT : The last one is BS and I did consider dropping my premium support for HBT because I think that is a gross violation of my privacy. Prosting is bs. ...So someone has the right to decide which of my thousand threads appears on my user profile? K...
Click to expand...

:off:
I don't understand this. YOU prosted the thread, so it shows up on YOUR profile as one of the prosted threads.

And, it was over a year ago. If it bothers you so much, why didn't you mention it before, or talk to one of the moderators or the administrator? We can't fix things if no one tells us there is an issue.
 
TheCHICompany said:
Wojciech,
I personally apologize for this error. I thought the reshipment of your grain already took place and had arrived some time ago.

We have refunded your order in full and re-shipped it.
I have personally packaged your order: UPS #: 1Z38W1401269222442
Ships via 3-day select.
I have also included CO2 Keg Charger and Gas QD for your troubles.
I am having WhiteLabs re-ship your yeast via USPS Priority Mail.
We are also emailing you a discount coupon to use for any future purchase.

Dispite what a vocal minority says, this error is not the norm for us. We ship 75 to 100 orders per day. In one month we may have 2 to 4 errors. I realize this is no consolation for your order, but we hope we have remidied our error to your satisfaction.

Matt
The CHI Company
Click to expand...

Good job Matt at CHI. This is how you repair a reputation.

It's obvious that a few bad reviews can spoil the whole barrel. After that, it's a steep hill to climb to regain the trust of your customers. This post is a big step up that hill. Good luck.
 
I ordered 2 kegs from them and they charged me $8 to ship the both of them, half way across the country. I know I know, they just tied it in the price, but it was reasonable.I will try them again.
 
Naturallight16oz said:
I ordered 2 kegs from them and they charged me $8 to ship the both of them, half way across the country. I know I know, they just tied it in the price, but it was reasonable.I will try them again.
Click to expand...

...and we were lucky to make -maybe- $5/keg. Margins are tight!
 
Naturallight16oz said:
I ordered 2 kegs from them and they charged me $8 to ship the both of them, half way across the country. I know I know, they just tied it in the price, but it was reasonable.I will try them again.
Click to expand...

Yes, we'd be happy to supply you needs. Matt
 
Yooper said:
:off:
I don't understand this. YOU prosted the thread, so it shows up on YOUR profile as one of the prosted threads.

And, it was over a year ago. If it bothers you so much, why didn't you mention it before, or talk to one of the moderators or the administrator? We can't fix things if no one tells us there is an issue.
Click to expand...

I honestly have never hit the PROST button and if I did, it was unbeknownst to me. I don't even know what prosting is supposed to be, really. I was under the impression that prosting gave someone else the ability to elevate a post you are on to a more visible level, without permission (I guess like a more involved 'thumbs up'). If this isn't the case, it's news to me and thanks for clarifying it. And OK, I was totally being dramatic re: reneging my premium membership. This little issue pales in comparison to what I have gotten in return from HBT in knowledge/experience about brewing. I just felt it was a little invasive, but if that's not the case, I'm glad. I could have broached it with an admin, but that's not really my style anyways. Sorry if you thought I was bashing HBT, no way.

Consumers who lay out their hard earned cash are going to post something somewhere on the internet when someone shafts them. That's the only recourse we have. Where is another, please? I guess besides sending the products that we really wanted back (at our own expense, no less). I am in the customer service business myself and have a great record (not perfect). If I can't treat a customer the way I want to be treated by someone in my shoes, I cease to solicit their business and let them know it. I would have had no complaints being fired as a customer by this vendor pre-purchase, not post-purchase. And before posting anything, I gave the vendor the opportunity on countless calls to make it right. That courtesy I understand very well being in the business. I invite anyone to completely ignore my experiences when deciding about a purchase before hand. But, those of us who have had bad experiences post-purchase deserve a place to talk about it. I'm very sure this vendor would not be in business past yesterday if this were the norm with all orders. We all make mistakes. It's how we handle them- an apology with solution for a mistake warrants a customer's forgiveness, but indifference, well, you can bet on a customer's wrath for that. That's CS 101. That is the only issue with this vendor as (and as I have said before) his stock and prices are great. That's what lead me to his store in the first place.

My suggestion is this. If there is not an appropriate place to commiserate on vendor experiences, maybe there should be. I don't see why they have to be in the equipment/brewing sections and such. There really should be an 'Angie's List' part of the vendor section, that's all.
 
SankePankey said:
My suggestion is this. If there is not an appropriate place to commiserate on vendor experiences, maybe there should be. I don't see why they have to be in the equipment/brewing sections and such. There really should be an 'Angie's List' part of the vendor section, that's all.
Click to expand...

Like the Company Reviews section (which has its very own CHI company thread)?
 
Oh, touche. Guess I didn't know about that. I was looking for it in the Vendor section. Thanks Malfet. (man, sure wish I knew that was there a long time ago.. :) )

Suggestion # 2,084... for us scrolling impaired americans, how bout a sticky link to that in the vendor showcase section?
 
SankePankey said:
Oh, touche. Guess I didn't know about that. I was looking for it in the Vendor section. Thanks Malfet. (man, sure wish I knew that was there a long time ago.. :) )

Suggestion # 2,084... for us scrolling impaired americans, how bout a sticky link to that in the vendor showcase section?
Click to expand...

It's relatively new, intended I'm sure (just like you mention) to consolidate what was previously showing up scattered throughout the boards.

I know people were upset that posts in the CHI-company vendor thread were deleted, but I don't think it's right to think of it as "censorship" on the part of the mods. This board accepts money from vendors to keep its servers running, and the powers that be have decided to give those vendors a place to pitch products. That's a common enough and reasonable way to do things.

There's a pro-vendor slant in those threads, no doubt about it. But, in every other sub-forum on here, the vendors are just regular posters. The point of giving vendors control over those threads is to make sure they don't have it in the rest of the forum. That kind of firewalling is a standard practice in journalism, too. Don't think of the vendor threads as their soapbox, think of it as their quarantine.

TheCHICompany said:
Ain't that the truth!
I'd like to say more, but......
Click to expand...
Man, you have an uncanny ability to say exactly the wrong thing at critical moments.
 
Really, if he just hired someone to be not him, the company would most likely be a-ok. We all can't be everything to everyone. On the other hand, every business is a direct mirror reflection of the top. There's no getting away from that. I don't care who you hire.
 
When I went through business school (back in the early '90's :)) We were taught an unhappy customer turned away approx. 7 customers. I think in today's age of mass info that number is far into the hundreds, even thousands. I've never conducted business with this company, but because of the overwhelming negative reviews I more than likely never will. An internet company must perform customer service at the highest standard or suffer the death sentence of bad reviews becoming viral.
 
Well, I would just say to that, welcome back to the days of word of mouth. After the e-era (or i-era... wtf) and a brief hiatus of anonymity in the last decade, we are back to the tenet of word of mouth to promote (especially) e-business.

So,in other words, a goose is best cooked in it's own jus, no?...
 
The number of negative replies is interesting, as are the replies from the company. To be fair, the typed word does not convey tone. Not sure if that is better or worse.

B
 
Sorry, but I refuse to say "do not buy from this person". As I said, the company's zeal is in product inventory, not righteous customer service. The forum activity is not something I care to go into.

(sorry if this sounds self-righteous in any way)
 
TheCHICompany said:
Wojciech,
I personally apologize for this error. I thought the reshipment of your grain already took place and had arrived some time ago.

We have refunded your order in full and re-shipped it.
I have personally packaged your order: UPS #: 1Z38W1401269222442
Ships via 3-day select.
I have also included CO2 Keg Charger and Gas QD for your troubles.
I am having WhiteLabs re-ship your yeast via USPS Priority Mail.
We are also emailing you a discount coupon to use for any future purchase.

Dispite what a vocal minority says, this error is not the norm for us. We ship 75 to 100 orders per day. In one month we may have 2 to 4 errors. I realize this is no consolation for your order, but we hope we have remidied our error to your satisfaction.

Matt
The CHI Company
Click to expand...

Well I appreciate your trying to remedy the situation Matt. I have received the repackaged grain but you packaged the grain in thin brown bags. Upon opening the carton most of the bags had broken and spilled into the cardboard box essentially mixing the grains again. I managed to salvage some but again the mixed grain is useless for any recipe as I cannot tell what how much of a particular grain is mixed. I will not discourage other homebrewers from ordering from CHI Company but I myself will not be placing an order in the future. Thank You.
 

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