BrewMasters Warehouse (now, rising from the ashes!)

[paingodd]

Well, I am on my second order with them and sorry to say it will probably be my last. I order all my items on Mondays normally and as of Thursday it still hasn't even shipped. YOU CAN BET YOUR A$$ THEY BILLED ME THOUGH !!!! They are an hour and a half from me and can't seem to get out my orders. I wanted to spend my weekend brewing not driving 3 hours. In their defense, the site is great, the products are cheap, and very good quality. I just can't put up with it taking this long when Northern Brewer, is a little higher priced, but would have already had it here. I really hate this but, looks like my business will continue to go north to N.B.

 

[JesseRC]

Yeah, same here. I wont be brewing this weekend either. I think their prices and site are awesome, but I want to be treated like a walk in customer.

 

[ddrrseio]

hey ed,

got everything today and i love how you packaged everything - the hops and yeast were still somehow cool after a cross country trip with just one cold pack i bought.

the reason everyone is upset is lack of communication. your product, price and packaging are excellent, but it was unacceptable to wait days and require a phone call to find out why there was a delay. a simple email to everyone waiting would have gone a long way. small gestures like credits were great, but some upfront (rather than responsive) updates would have prevented most people's frustration.

that said, i like seeing you posting in here and i like what i received today. i'll be ordering from you again.

 

[JesseRC]

I agree, however somethings just not right. I mean I waited 6 days and nothing. So I send an email and next thing you know its an immediate response that it's shipping today. By the end of the day it shipped. Cool, right?

Well maybe, but isn't the point of good customer service is to have a customer not have to get to this point. Why does an email or phone call generate an action. I want my credit transaction to trigger an action. I'm wiling to wait 2 business days for an order to be processed and ready for shipper pickup. More than that and I'm wondering what's going on.

 

[Marlowefire]

I'm curious to know more about those having delays with their orders? Was this delay with off the shelf products in regular quantities or for brew builder kits? I could understand a couple days wait for brew builder kits that need to be weighed and packaged but off the shelf stuff that they just throw into a box....a week to ship seems strange.

 

[Disintegr8or]

I'm curious to know more about those having delays with their orders? Was this delay with off the shelf products in regular quantities or for brew builder kits? I could understand a couple days wait for brew builder kits that need to be weighed and packaged but off the shelf stuff that they just throw into a box....a week to ship seems strange.

My order was an all grain cream ale recipe, a wheat recipe, and 2 packs of US-05. Staples at any brew shop.

 

[JesseRC]

Mine was an all grain red ale recipe, dry yeast and no hops. I would think that brewbuilder recipes would be easier to fill since grain supplies are readily available. If an item is back ordered, then I expect a delay with a notification of such delay.

Also, I had read this thread before I even ordered from. I have ordered from them in the past and I believe there are exceptions to everything. I will also try them again (once more). The next time I order I wont call at a week or even 2 weeks. If it takes longer than a week I wont order from them again.

 

[sjbeerman]

I have also experienced delays in some of my recent orders. It is especially tough for those of us living on the west coast. It takes 5 days to get to me and if you add an additional 3-4 days just to ship out, it means I need to order about 2 weeks in advance! I ordered several brew builder kits from them last year and almost every time it was shipped the same day. Therefore, this is the level of service I have come to expect. So, when I ordered close to Christmas last year, it didn't ship until 3-4 days later which meant I was unable to brew around the holidays like I had hoped.

I ordered another brew builder kit from them this past Mon and three days later it is still pending. I contacted BMW and they said they are running behind, but they have hired a couple more people and they hope to reduce the ship times down in the future.

In general, I would pay slightly higher prices for faster shipping. However, BMW is still the best around online homebrew store I have found. They have exceptional customer service (I receive quick responses from my inquiries, they have immediately shipped a replacement product when a mistake was made), they have an excellent selection of products, and I love the brew builder feature. Therefore, I will continue to support BMW for most of my online purchases.

 

[smyrnaquince]

I ordered yesterday in the hopes of brewing in two weekends. We'll see what happens.

 

[Marlowefire]

Looks like i will be making in person visits then.

 

[ThinkingOutLoud]

I'm lucky enough to live pretty close to BMW and work regularly takes me within 10 mins of them or so. I've always had great experiences with them and as an outsider looking in, I think I'd attribute things like this to growing pains. If you've "liked" them on Facebook (and everyone should), they had a post about hiring a new person or two just about 2 weeks ago. On my last trip there yesterday or the day before they were out of 1/4" barbed swivel nuts...someone online ordered 40 of them . So yeah, I think they may be overwhelmed with crazy orders like that... Anyway, I can't speak for their online customer support, but I'm sure they're trying like heck to get things squared away so that the support is on par with their in-store quality.

A big +1 for BMW!!!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

We have cut off a good 3 days off of the wait time. By this time next week we should be back to our more usual turnaround time of next business day.

We have also initiated some new policies so that word will go out ahead of time to let you know if we are delayed like this in the future. Hopefully it is not something we ever have to use after we get caught up.

We also hired 2 new people with another person that looks like a good candidate for hiring. That will really help out a lot in the future when we get slammed like we have been here lately.

Again sorry for the delay and we are doing everything we can to get caught up and make it right.

 

[bovineblitz]

The curse of popularity

 

[03rangerxlt]

I live right down the street from BMW, and they happen to be next door to my favorite pizza place! My fiancée and I took their brewing class there, and the staff was great. They seemed to have been cleaned out over the Christmas holiday and were getting their stock back on the shelves. I was surprised with how much walk in business they to considering they are a specialty shop with a small customer base. I guess more people home brew than I imagined!

 

[bovineblitz]

I live right down the street from BMW, and they happen to be next door to my favorite pizza place! My fiancée and I took their brewing class there, and the staff was great. They seemed to have been cleaned out over the Christmas holiday and were getting their stock back on the shelves. I was surprised with how much walk in business they to considering they are a specialty shop with a small customer base. I guess more people home brew than I imagined!

In the past year about 8 people I know have started homebrewing out of nowhere. I think it's been difficult for everyone to properly stock their shelves with the rapid growth of homebrewing.

 

[smyrnaquince]

We have also initiated some new policies so that word will go out ahead of time to let you know if we are delayed like this in the future.

That sounds like a good idea!

Have you considered adding something to the site so when I am placing an order, I get warned if an item is out of stock before I commit the order? This would be a handy feature.

I'm glad for you that you are getting more business and I am glad for us that you are staffing up to handle it!

 

[atom]

glad to hear it...i'm planning an order for next week...

 

[smyrnaquince]

I ordered yesterday in the hopes of brewing in two weekends. We'll see what happens.

Ordered on February 1. Received an email that the order shipped today (February 3).

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Have you considered adding something to the site so when I am placing an order, I get warned if an item is out of stock before I commit the order? This would be a handy feature.

Yes we sure have considered that, and in fact is a feature in our next version of our website. We are still in the process of a redesign so no new changes are being added to the current website. When the new site is finally done (been in development for over a year) you will not be allowed to order an out of stock item.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[Seven]

I just ordered ingredients for two batches on Monday, January 30 and it was at my door 4 days later. I know sometimes orders take longer to ship for various reasons but I still think you guys do a great job. Thanks Ed and everyone at BMW.

 

[two_hearted]

What about sending an automated order confirmation email? Its good to know that your order was processed after you spend a lot of money.

 

[CGVT]

I always check my past orders in my account. It will show as pending until it is shipped.

For me, after it switches from pending to shipped it shows up the next day.

 

[smyrnaquince]

Yes we sure have considered that, and in fact is a feature in our next version of our website. We are still in the process of a redesign so no new changes are being added to the current website. When the new site is finally done (been in development for over a year) you will not be allowed to order an out of stock item.

Thanks,

Ed

Sounds good! Maybe consider a feature that would email the customer when the item is in stock. Or an option to let the order stay in place and get filled when the item is in stock. But I agree, at the very minimum, don't accept the order if something is out of stock. That would let the customer decide to substitute for the item, buy the item elsewhere, or wait with the whole order.

I don't recall your current policy, but Amazon doesn't charge my credit card until the order ships. I like that.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Sounds good! Maybe consider a feature that would email the customer when the item is in stock. Or an option to let the order stay in place and get filled when the item is in stock. But I agree, at the very minimum, don't accept the order if something is out of stock. That would let the customer decide to substitute for the item, buy the item elsewhere, or wait with the whole order.

I don't recall your current policy, but Amazon doesn't charge my credit card until the order ships. I like that.

We consider all the features brought up by our customers. I wish I could get all of them into the website, but that is certainly something we have considered.

The charging policy is also something that will be fixed when the new website launches.

 

[paingodd]

I would like to add I ordered Monday Feb 13, 2012 and the order shipped today Tuesday Feb 14, 2012. Being in the same state, I will have it tomorrow Now that's a HUGE step up from my last post around #31. I now give them a rating of a perfect 10 !!! Keep it up BMW !!!!

 

[Disintegr8or]

I ordered from them again yesterday. I don't need it till the weekend of the 25th, so I am in no rush this time.

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

I would like to add I ordered Monday Feb 13, 2012 and the order shipped today Tuesday Feb 14, 2012. Being in the same state, I will have it tomorrow Now that's a HUGE step up from my last post around #31. I now give them a rating of a perfect 10 !!! Keep it up BMW !!!!

We have made some huge strides in getting the turn around time back in order. Still have a little ways to go before it is where I want it to be, but a vast improvement thanks to a lot of hard work by the guys in the shop.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[paingodd]

We have made some huge strides in getting the turn around time back in order. Still have a little ways to go before it is where I want it to be, but a vast improvement thanks to a lot of hard work by the guys in the shop.

Thanks,

Ed

A huge pat on the back to you and the guys in the shop !!! Thanks Ed !!!

 

[JesseRC]

Ok, well it gives me great pleasure to announce that my confidence in BMW is back. I ordered from them yesterday before noon (as I said I would) and by end of business day my order had shipped. Awesome guys!!

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

Ok, well it gives me great pleasure to announce that my confidence in BMW is back. I ordered from them yesterday before noon (as I said I would) and by end of business day my order had shipped. Awesome guys!!

Thanks a lot man. We have been working really hard, and are now caught up to where I want to be. We may have times when we just can not ship same day but next business day should not be a problem the vast majority of the time.

Thanks,

Ed