Any Issues With Northern Brewer?

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

+1. This forum is not a customer complaint database, and they might not read your post. They are stand-up guys and girls, and I'm sure they'll work with you.

1st, I have contacted them. 2, I'm not using it as a customer complaint forum, i'm just seeing if anybody else has had issues for my future purchases. Seems like a reasonable thing to do imo.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'll give them a call and see what my options are.

 

[Coff]

I order 95% of my stuff from NB, the other 5% I get from the LHBS only out of necessity.

One of my many orders included a Better Bottle when I got the package I noticed that the bottle had a dent the size of a silver dollar on the top side. I called them and explained the issue and how I was concerned that even if I pop the dent out there might be a few small inconstancies that could be a comfy home for infection. The man on the line told me not to worry they use many BBs that have dents without issue, but he offered to refund me the money for the bottle and let me keep it!!

Now thats customer service, bc of that move I will always order with NB.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

Lots of great customer stories, i'm sold. My mill works great too and was pretty fast delivery. Now i'm wondering if I screwed up the thread myself reading what Malintent and joety said.

 

[doctorRobert]

+1000 to these comments. If you shoot them an email and you don't hear back, the next step is a phone call, not to complain on a discussion forum for all to see.

This thread is only a few hours old and we've already had the the people coming to NB's defense, those coming out and saying they've had crappy customer service from NB, and even people who feel they need to complain about another homebrew mail-order shop, completely unrelated to NB. What's the point?

What's wrong with asking on a discussion board? We are a community here, we can offer advice on how to deal with the situation and the OP can get other peoples experiences.

 

[flipfloptan]

The only thing wrong with putting something on this board is you are getting only one side of the story. The age old adage we have all heard is true: There are 3 sides of the story each persons and the truth somewhere in the middle.

As an operations officer for a top company, I know I would rather hear what we are doing bad and can improve on than being told we are great all the time.

With this being said how the customer approaches serving up the compliant or improvement goes a long way. If they are respectable, clear on the problem and tell me what the would like or see changed, you will get a better outcome. Putting it on this board isn't going to solve anything.

Any company worth anything will welcome the bad news and make a quick and fair decision to fix the problem. If not, that is a huge red flag to not do business with that company. If you continue that is your problem. Competition is a good thing if utilized.

NB included. My last two orders have been with them. They have arrived on time, good packaging and a little extra goodie thrown in.

 

[doctorRobert]

Fair enough. Our opinions will just differ on the matter.


I just dont know why people are so attached to these vendors and cry foul when somebody posts an issue. Most of the time its a legitimate issue and its not like the OPs are trying to trash their business, but trying to get other peoples opinion on the vendors.

There have been homebrew vendors which have sucked, and should be avoided. People with bad or unethical business practices should be outed. Now northern brewer is great, they are awesome, but how is the OP suppose to know if he cant ask about them or share his experience on a discussion board. Because of the feedback on the forum the OP is probably more likely to use then again.

I take issue with a popular vendor on hbt, ive gotten several bad kits and messed up orders. Im probably just unlucky but i cant say anything because ill be crucified on here. (yes ive contacted them and they havent been great in rectifying the situation).

 

[IffyG]

I just dont know why people are so attached to these vendors and cry foul when somebody posts an issue. Most of the time its a legitimate issue and its not like the OPs are trying to trash their business, but trying to get other peoples opinion on the vendors.

People get upset because one email to a vendor does not equal a satisfactory effort on the part of the consumer to get a problem rectified. Whenever I have had an order screwed up, regardless of the vendor, the first thing I do is pick up the damn phone and call them...

Threads like this should be reserved for companies that are habitually bad or do not respond to any avenue of communication.

 

[1234]

+1 on the Phone Call. If you send an e-mail you don't know if the person who gets the e-mails is out on vacation and somebody is supposed to check that person's in-box. Even though this is the information age I don't understand why people don't communicate either in person or over the phone. If my LHBS, www.rebelbrewer.com was to screw up my order I wouldn't send them an e-mail. I would call first to let them know that something isn't right with the order and that I am on my way back to get whatever was needed to make the order right.

 

[joety]

+1 on the Phone Call. If you send an e-mail you don't know if the person who gets the e-mails is out on vacation and somebody is supposed to check that person's in-box. Even though this is the information age I don't understand why people don't communicate either in person or over the phone.

Slightly but this is a big beef of mine at work. Folks will send me an email and then wash their hands of the issue like it's been "solved". When I inquire several days later what the status is I get a "well I sent you an email." I get 200 emails a day at work, sometimes things get missed.

 

[Xcorpia]

I ordered a kit from NB and got a bag if coffee beans instead of hops. I got annoyed because I was planning on brewing that weekend. I picked up the phone, explained the situation and they quickly mailed me the hops, no questions asked. I could have made the story up just to get a free pound of hops, but they trusted me and were very apologetic. Now that's good costumer service in my book

 

[Teromous]

I ordered a kit from NB and got a bag if coffee beans instead of hops. I got annoyed because I was planning on brewing that weekend. I picked up the phone, explained the situation and they quickly mailed me the hops, no questions asked. I could have made the story up just to get a free pound of hops, but they trusted me and were very apologetic. Now that's good costumer service in my book

Haha, I keep checking back at this thread to see what crazy stuff I'll read. How do you even screw that one up? Coffee beans??? I'm going to order from them and maybe they'll mess up and give me some free SS pots or something :cross:

 

[Hockeyhunter99]

NB is top notch in my book. if my local guy doesn't have it, i will make an online order and within a few days i have all my stuff. they have even thrown in a poster and a few glasses for me. stopped by their store in st. paul (not connected to the warehouse, where they ship from) and they have all the LHBS materials 10X. i couldn't imagine what their warehouse looks (and smells ) like. as an online shopping outlet, all places have their bad orders from time to time. NB makes every effort to make sure you are coming back to them for your orders.

 

[rmullins]

No issues with Northern Brewer here. I had ordered their Stirplate which was dead on arrival. Shot them an e-mail and had a return label in my inbox with an apology that night to get the issue sorted.

 

[Xcorpia]

haha, i keep checking back at this thread to see what crazy stuff i'll read. How do you even screw that one up? Coffee beans??? I'm going to order from them and maybe they'll mess up and give me some free ss pots or something :cross:

lmao

 

[Nightbiker]

Protip: Place the coupling against the nipple, then slowly turn it backwards, (CCW). You will feel it "click" down as the threads align at a certain point in the rotation. Then slowly thread forwards.

This works very well with spark plugs too to avoid cross-threading.

Very true. My solution was to ALSO order a pair of female to female plastic couplers (one per outlet/inlet) and use male threaded nipples to thread into THOSE. Gave me a cheap 'safety' to avoid metal against the pumps' plastic threads.

To the OP, I've used NB (as well as a host of others) with no issues at all. Come to think of it, both of my March pumps came from Northern Brewer. They are generally the first site I look to if my LHBS doesn't have what I need.

 

[joety]

Very true. My solution was to ALSO order a pair of female to female plastic couplers (one per outlet/inlet) and use male threaded nipples to thread into THOSE. Gave me a cheap 'safety' to avoid metal against the pumps' plastic threads.

To the OP, I've used NB (as well as a host of others) with no issues at all. Come to think of it, both of my March pumps came from Northern Brewer. They are generally the first site I look to if my LHBS doesn't have what I need.

I missed Shorty's post the first time through but I believe I did not start out by cross threading. I think it developed after I had the nipple mostly on. Once I refiled the threads and tried it again, I noticed a propensity to go out of alignment again. It was only after I applied even downward pressure while doing the final tightening that I got it on appropriately. I like your solution if I'm faced with replacing them at some point and can't pull the trigger on the SS head model.

 

[broadbill]

What's wrong with asking on a discussion board? We are a community here, we can offer advice on how to deal with the situation and the OP can get other peoples experiences.

It unfair to NB because they will most likely correct the customer's problem , but this thread will still be out on the internet for all to see. Even if the OP comes back and says "No problems, NB fixed me right up"....most people who read the thread may not make it to page 5 of the thread where the resolution to the complaint was posted. This is assuming that the OP would bother to post to say his complaint was resolved after the fact.

Furthermore, the complaining customer didn't bother to adequately contact the company before starting this thread. NB may not have had the chance to fix the problem, so it is unfair to take them to task when they may not know there is a problem.

 

[doctorRobert]

It unfair to NB because they will most likely correct the customer's problem , but this thread will still be out on the internet for all to see. Even if the OP comes back and says "No problems, NB fixed me right up"....most people who read the thread may not make it to page 5 of the thread where the resolution to the complaint was posted. This is assuming that the OP would bother to post to say his complaint was resolved after the fact.

Furthermore, the complaining customer didn't bother to adequately contact the company before starting this thread. NB may not have had the chance to fix the problem, so it is unfair to take them to task when they may not know there is a problem.

The OP wasnt bad mouthing them, but asking if anyone had a similar experience before he called them. Maybe there is any easy fix.

Thou shall not talk poorly of my preferred homebrew shop.
Commandment number 11.

Everyone can talk **** about bmc but their not around to defend themselves either. OP just asked a question about a product, he wasnt trying to ruin their business.

 

[AussieBrewerInColorado]

The OP wasnt bad mouthing them, but asking if anyone had a similar experience before he called them. Maybe there is any easy fix.

Thou shall not talk poorly of my preferred homebrew shop.
Commandment number 11.

Everyone can talk **** about bmc but their not around to defend themselves either. OP just asked a question about a product, he wasnt trying to ruin their business.

Thanks doc. you are correct, I simply wanted to know everybody's experience on this vendor, I was in no way disrespecting any company just wanted some feedback on experiences from people who have purchased from them before and if they had any issues. I'm really not quite sure why so many posters are getting in a pickle about it, it was a very innocent post. Simply asking about others experiences were. I don't always have the opportunity to call, and NB today emailed me back saying they didn't receive my original email. Calling is obviously the best way to get things figured out, but I don't always have the opportunity to call during the day so I thought 2 emails through their website would be sufficient. For all those people who said just call them, i did. But do I need to? i think if i order online, I should be afforded the ability to get what I ordered and if I have questions, respond in the same manner that I ordered.

 

[broadbill]

The OP wasnt bad mouthing them, but asking if anyone had a similar experience before he called them. Maybe there is any easy fix.

Thou shall not talk poorly of my preferred homebrew shop.
Commandment number 11.

Everyone can talk **** about bmc but their not around to defend themselves either. OP just asked a question about a product, he wasnt trying to ruin their business.

I've never ordered from NB. Commandment #11 does not apply.

So are you going to address my comments? I addressed yours.

 

[rico567]

I placed my first order with NB this Spring, having ordered pretty much solely from Midwest prior to that. My order was filled accurately and in a timely manner. Prices were about the same, but I managed to save $14 on shipping (included a 50# sack of malt). I was pleased with the way my order was handled.

 

[doctorRobert]

It unfair to NB because they will most likely correct the customer's problem , but this thread will still be out on the internet for all to see. Even if the OP comes back and says "No problems, NB fixed me right up"....most people who read the thread may not make it to page 5 of the thread where the resolution to the complaint was posted. This is assuming that the OP would bother to post to say his complaint was resolved after the fact.

Furthermore, the complaining customer didn't bother to adequately contact the company before starting this thread. NB may not have had the chance to fix the problem, so it is unfair to take them to task when they may not know there is a problem.

The OP wasnt even complaining. He asked if anyone else had that same product from NB. He said he was going to call them, but wanted feedback from others before he called. I doubt NB wants a phone call everytime a brewer has a problem.


The OP never said anything bad about NB so I fail to see what your issue is.

This is an online community for its members to share information. He had a question about a vendor and asked. Wtf is wrong with that? Even if it gets corrected, he still had an issue and this forum should be open to him asking about his issue.

He didnt know much about NB, so he asked and received a lot of positive feedback about NB that probably made him feel better about his purchase. There is no way NB loses a single order from this thread, maybe they even gain orders. But who cares, we arent here to prop up a homebrew shop but to talk about making beer.

 

[spears2571]

I say "brew more...learn more" Less debate and more brewing!

 

[broadbill]

The OP wasnt even complaining. He asked if anyone else had that same product from NB. He said he was going to call them, but wanted feedback from others before he called. I doubt NB wants a phone call everytime a brewer has a problem.


The OP never said anything bad about NB so I fail to see what your issue is.

This is an online community for its members to share information. He had a question about a vendor and asked. Wtf is wrong with that? Even if it gets corrected, he still had an issue and this forum should be open to him asking about his issue.

He didnt know much about NB, so he asked and received a lot of positive feedback about NB that probably made him feel better about his purchase. There is no way NB loses a single order from this thread, maybe they even gain orders. But who cares, we arent here to prop up a homebrew shop but to talk about making beer.

Either you are not following along, or you are being intentionally obtuse.

OP had problem with a product that NB sells...and by the sounds of it the problem may well have been caused by "operator error" and probably isn't NB's fault in the first place.

OP sends two emails and doesn't hear anything back from them.

OP could have called NB. OP could have called March Pump (manufacturer of product in question). OP could have done a search on this site and found other people that have had problems with pump (and most likely would have found the contact info of a guy who actually MAKES the March Pump!).

OP doesn't do any of these things. He posts and complains. You say its not a NB complaint? His post about the lack of response he got from NB, not how to fix his pump leak....That is a complaint in my book. Then you have the last sentence of his post:

There are so many other suppliers here that I think that can step-up and earn business when stuff goes wrong.

...and this isn't a complaint?

OP could have handled it differently, that is all I'm saying.

 

[doctorRobert]

Either you are not following along, or you are being intentionally obtuse.

OP had problem with a product that NB sells...and by the sounds of it the problem may well have been caused by "operator error" and probably isn't NB's fault in the first place.

OP sends two emails and doesn't hear anything back from them.

OP could have called NB. OP could have called March Pump (manufacturer of product in question). OP could have done a search on this site and found other people that have had problems with pump (and most likely would have found the contact info of a guy who actually MAKES the March Pump!).

OP doesn't do any of these things. He posts and complains. You say its not a NB complaint? His post about the lack of response he got from NB, not how to fix his pump leak....That is a complaint in my book. Then you have the last sentence of his post:



...and this isn't a complaint?

OP could have handled it differently, that is all I'm saying.

I suggest you go back and re-read this thread from the OP. The OP said he was about to call them but wanted to ask if anyone else had this problem and he would call with everyonces concerns. He did not start a thread by saying NB screwed him over - though the responses certinaly spun it that way. He wrote he was about to place to call but wanted to see other people's experiences first.

If you have an issue with that, I seriously don't have words to describe how stupid the rational is behind that.

He could have searched, he could have called, he could have done a lot of things differently. But then there is no point in even having this forum at all, because 99% of the stuff on here has been asked, answered and re asked 1,000 times before here, in some book, or elsewhere on the internet.

 

[IffyG]

He could have searched, he could have called, he could have done a lot of things differently. But then there is no point in even having this forum at all, because 99% of the stuff on here has been asked, answered and re asked 1,000 times before here, in some book, or elsewhere on the internet.

Except in this case he was having an issue with a product from a specific vendor. By that fact alone the OP should have picked up a phone and dealt with it by actually talking to a person that can help him...

 

[doctorRobert]

Except in this case he was having an issue with a product from a specific vendor. By that fact alone the OP should have picked up a phone and dealt with it by actually talking to a person that can help him...

I thought that was the point of this forum. To help people, not to give them a hard time. Believe it or not, it's actually people on this forum that make these posts and people ask questions about products all the time here, about a variety of products from yeasts, to barley crushers, to different grains.

How was the OP suppose to know its not a kegkits.com situtation or things like that if he doesnt ask?

If the OP was at a pub, talkin with his friends, would it have been appropriate to bring this up or would his friends have acted like most of the people here? Why should does this forum need a different set of rules and whats allowed to be posted.

 

[broadbill]

I suggest you go back and re-read this thread from the OP. The OP said he was about to call them but wanted to ask if anyone else had this problem and he would call with everyonces concerns. He did not start a thread by saying NB screwed him over - though the responses certinaly spun it that way. He wrote he was about to place to call but wanted to see other people's experiences first.

If you have an issue with that, I seriously don't have words to describe how stupid the rational is behind that.

He could have searched, he could have called, he could have done a lot of things differently. But then there is no point in even having this forum at all, because 99% of the stuff on here has been asked, answered and re asked 1,000 times before here, in some book, or elsewhere on the internet.

I did re-read it and so should you...especially the title of the thread....enuff said. This was started as a complaint thread, not as a "I have a problem" thread.

I have no problem with OP posting about his issues with NB. But he'd better have and actual issue. Many of us feel he didn't have one and responded in kind (or rather told the OP that he should have handled it differently). That may not have been the advice he was looking for, but as you pointed out, this is a public forum after all.

 

[IffyG]

I thought that was the point of this forum. To help people, not to give them a hard time. Believe it or not, it's actually people on this forum that make these posts and people ask questions about products all the time here, about a variety of products from yeasts, to barley crushers, to different grains.

How was the OP suppose to know its not a kegkits.com situtation or things like that if he doesnt ask?

The point is before you air your dirty laundry on a public forum (that will be floating around forever) you need to make an effort to exhaust all possible lines of communication with a vendor. Sending an email doesn't cut it for reasons mentioned earlier in this thread. A simple phone call will clear up 99% of situations like this, but no one wants to pick up a damn phone these days.

If the OP was at a pub, talkin with his friends, would it have been appropriate to bring this up or would his friends have acted like most of the people here? Why should does this forum need a different set of rules and whats allowed to be posted.

I can tell you with 100% certainty I have called out my own friends for not going to a business or picking up the damn phone to address a problem they are having. If you fail to give someone a reasonable opportunity to help you, they can't.