Midwest Supplies Grain Mill- Read before ordering!

[gratus fermentatio]

You cant show the first guy at the front desk (who probably makes minimum wage or just above) and expect them to care that much.

(In my polite voice) Actually You can, and should expect them to care; it's his JOB. He could've at least said he'd bring the complaint/problem to the Mgr's attention, that's his job too. Now I'll also have to say I agree with giving them a reasonable chance to remedy the problem before posting about it online; but at the same time, I think more people should expect people to do their jobs.

Used to be if somebody was doing a halfassed job they were given the chance to improve & if they failed to do so, they were replaced. When I worked with the public I always did the best I could to get the customer the best deal for the lowest price. If they had a complaint or problem I couldn't solve myself, I brought it to the attention of someone who could, usually the boss & did so ASAP. Anyone who looked to be 10 yrs older than myself, I addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am."

All I'm saying is that not only is it OK for someone to expect more from their LHBS, they have a duty to expect more from their LHBS. If they don't, they're just encouraging the continuation of & worsening of the problem...

AND he should mill his own grain.
Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

 

[ericnem]

Just a quick update. Midwest and MachineShopBrewing have been in contact with each other and it seems the wheels are in motion to rectify the situation by having the rollers replaced.

 

[BBKing]

(In my polite voice) Actually You can, and should expect them to care; it's his JOB. He could've at least said he'd bring the complaint/problem to the Mgr's attention, that's his job too. Now I'll also have to say I agree with giving them a reasonable chance to remedy the problem before posting about it online; but at the same time, I think more people should expect people to do their jobs.

Used to be if somebody was doing a halfassed job they were given the chance to improve & if they failed to do so, they were replaced. When I worked with the public I always did the best I could to get the customer the best deal for the lowest price. If they had a complaint or problem I couldn't solve myself, I brought it to the attention of someone who could, usually the boss & did so ASAP. Anyone who looked to be 10 yrs older than myself, I addressed as "Sir" or "Ma'am."

All I'm saying is that not only is it OK for someone to expect more from their LHBS, they have a duty to expect more from their LHBS. If they don't, they're just encouraging the continuation of & worsening of the problem...

AND he should mill his own grain.
Just my 2 cents worth. Regards, GF.

I agree with this 100%.

My main point is that I would have bypassed the first guy at the counter and just asked for a manager. Thats just my approach.

Cheers

 

[BBKing]

I had a problem with MWS back around tax time when I bought a propane burner off of them. Long story short, after I made the order I received a call from one of their guys apologizing saying that they didnt have the specific burner in stock at the time, and that I would have to wait for said company to send it to me directly.

When it got to me, the burner came with the wrong regulator. This WAS not the fault of MWS, but I called them first asking them the best way to take care of it and get a new regulator. Whatd they say? Send it to us, we'll replace it so you dont have to wait any longer than you absolutely have to.

Thats service if you ask me. They took care of a mistake that wasnt even their fault.

Sorry, but I'll defend MWS all day long.

 

[idigg]

This thread hurts baby Jesus. Let MWS fix the issue before crying online. You have multiple stir plates but not a mill? Go brewers.

 

[midwestsupplies]

We are sorry that there was an issue. We try to keep our equipment in top shape at all times. We have multiple mills and we try to keep a gap that works for all brewers. We were just told of the issue and are diving in to fix it. We do encourage feedback and that is the only way we can know how we are doing. My name is Todd Jackson and I am the Customer Service Supervisor. I invite you to contact me with any issues and I will get the ball rolling to make them right. My email is [email protected], or you can email any of our service team at [email protected] and I can be reached at 1-888-449-2739. If you are local, feel free to ask for me when you stop in. I am usually in the shop Monday through Friday, but will always respond to emails. Most of us who work at Midwest are brewers, and we want everyone to make the best homebrew possible. Please let us know when something isn't going right and we will try to make it right as quickly as possible.

 

[modobrew]

This is the best advice you've gotten in this thread. If you really think there's an issue, try addressing it to someone other than the poor dude at the counter probably making less than $10/hr.

I will say, however, that I bought from Northern just this week and the crush was *terrible.* A lot of the grains still looked whole, just cracked, almost no flour. 60% efficiency with a system where I routinely pull about 70-75%. Not a huge deal in terms of cost, but it did screw with my recipe and the beer won't be what I wanted it to.

I recently had the same experience with NB. I got around 60% as well when I am used to hitting closer to 75-80%. Called them up and they told me there is a not an issue..

 

[bad67z]

We are sorry that there was an issue. We try to keep our equipment in top shape at all times. We have multiple mills and we try to keep a gap that works for all brewers. We were just told of the issue and are diving in to fix it. We do encourage feedback and that is the only way we can know how we are doing. My name is Todd Jackson and I am the Customer Service Supervisor. I invite you to contact me with any issues and I will get the ball rolling to make them right. My email is [email protected], or you can email any of our service team at [email protected] and I can be reached at 1-888-449-2739. If you are local, feel free to ask for me when you stop in. I am usually in the shop Monday through Friday, but will always respond to emails. Most of us who work at Midwest are brewers, and we want everyone to make the best homebrew possible. Please let us know when something isn't going right and we will try to make it right as quickly as possible.

Todd, on behalf of all of your customers here. Thank you for addressing this issue and putting it to rest. Oh and welcome to the forum. Please don't be a stranger.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

We are sorry that there was an issue. We try to keep our equipment in top shape at all times. We have multiple mills and we try to keep a gap that works for all brewers. We were just told of the issue and are diving in to fix it. We do encourage feedback and that is the only way we can know how we are doing. My name is Todd Jackson and I am the Customer Service Supervisor. I invite you to contact me with any issues and I will get the ball rolling to make them right. My email is [email protected], or you can email any of our service team at [email protected] and I can be reached at 1-888-449-2739. If you are local, feel free to ask for me when you stop in. I am usually in the shop Monday through Friday, but will always respond to emails. Most of us who work at Midwest are brewers, and we want everyone to make the best homebrew possible. Please let us know when something isn't going right and we will try to make it right as quickly as possible.

Now that's some good customer service! Well done Todd!

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

Now that my timeout for not playing nice with the other kids is over....

I have been in contact with Midwest and they are working to rectify the situation.

For those of you who had problems and those of you who understood what this post was about, thank you. For those who felt the need to tell me to get a grain mill, you completely missed the point of my original post and you people are the reason newspaper headline writers stay in business.

Now that's some good customer service! Well done Todd!

True, they have jumped to get in front of the problem and I will continue to shop there into the future when the problem gets fixed. However, good customer service is not a reactive customer service, it is proactive in preventing problems like this from ever coming up.

 

[Homercidal]

I don't see a problem with the OP. He had a terrible experience from a well-known, and often-used vendor and wanted to let people know about it.

There IS a difference between a somewhat coarse crush to prevent stuck sparges and a crush that is unusable.

And it's not up to anyone on here to tell the OP where he has to spend his money. If he wants to have the LHBS crush his grain, then that's his perogative. They actually offer that as a service, after all.

It's like if we made bread and the store offered to grind your flour. You wouldn't expect the store to simply toss it in the food processor for a few seconds, would you?

He went to the employee, showed his concern, and got nowhere. The employees who work the floor are the people who are supposed to work with customers. They should have engaged the manager for anything that was beyond their control.

Thankfully I built my own crusher before going AG. It's not the most pretty thing in the world, but for almost free using scrap from work, it does a good job. If I get a bad crush, it's only my own fault.

 

[broadbill]

For those who felt the need to tell me to get a grain mill, you completely missed the point of my original post and you people are the reason newspaper headline writers stay in business.

...and from the sounds of it, you missed the point of all of the criticism of your posts. If you are going to use this forum to post concerns about a company's service then I think you should do due diligence beforehand and allow the company to remedy the problem before slagging them on here.

Now this issue is on its way to being resolved, yet there is a permanent record of it on the interwebs. Seems like of unfair for what appears to be a genuine mistake/oversight by MWS.

Even if you were in contact with their customer service beforehand, then I think you jumped the gun about posting. MWS by all measures seems to be a reputable company (by your own admission), so there isn't any reason they would not fix the problem in a timely manner. Your post about it isn't going to affect how well or how fast the change occurs.

As for those guys unlucky enough to get grain while this problem persisted, I'm sure MWS will make be sure they are taken care of. Sure, you could say your post was a warning...but jeez, it is really that big of a deal? It not like we are talking about defective children's car seats or anything....

True, they have jumped to get in front of the problem and I will continue to shop there into the future when the problem gets fixed. However, good customer service is not a reactive customer service, it is proactive in preventing problems like this from ever coming up.

I'm sure the good folks at MWS will take your sage business advice to heart

 

[mikeysab]

True, they have jumped to get in front of the problem and I will continue to shop there into the future when the problem gets fixed. However, good customer service is not a
reactive customer service, it is proactive in preventing problems like this from ever coming up.

You had a problem with the crush and they fixed your problem. Now youre criticizing their customer service? Are you ever gonna be happy? If I were them, i'd tell you to find somewhere else to shop. Then THAT would be put on the internet

Sometimes problems come up. It's part of life. I'm sure you make mistakes, or are you proactive and never have problems come up? Gimme a break dude, be happy you got your concern taken care of and move on.

 

[ReverseApacheMaster]

...and from the sounds of it, you missed the point of all of the criticism of your posts. If you are going to use this forum to post concerns about a company's service then I think you should do due diligence beforehand and allow the company to remedy the problem before slagging them on here.

Now this issue is on its way to being resolved, yet there is a permanent record of it on the interwebs. Seems like of unfair for what appears to be a genuine mistake/oversight by MWS.

Even if you were in contact with their customer service beforehand, then I think you jumped the gun about posting. MWS by all measures seems to be a reputable company (by your own admission), so there isn't any reason they would not fix the problem in a timely manner. Your post about it isn't going to affect how well or how fast the change occurs.

What is the "due dilligence" a customer is required to do? Shouldn't the management -- of any business -- bear the burden of quality control?

I don't see how a customer has a duty to fix the problems that management should, well, manage. I mean, that's what they are PAID to do. And even though he alerted the people who are PAID to assist customers, somehow that just wasn't enough? He had to go how many levels up a business before it's the business's responsibility for its own operations?

I guess I just don't understand that attitude, especially in light of all the bitching done about BMC and big breweries. If you have a bad beer, dislike the business model of big breweries, etc. are we supposed to call their customer service and take the time to try to complain up each level of the business until we reach the managers/owners/board of directors/shareholders?

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

What is the "due dilligence" a customer is required to do? Shouldn't the management -- of any business -- bear the burden of quality control?

I don't see how a customer has a duty to fix the problems that management should, well, manage. I mean, that's what they are PAID to do. And even though he alerted the people who are PAID to assist customers, somehow that just wasn't enough? He had to go how many levels up a business before it's the business's responsibility for its own operations?

I guess I just don't understand that attitude, especially in light of all the bitching done about BMC and big breweries. If you have a bad beer, dislike the business model of big breweries, etc. are we supposed to call their customer service and take the time to try to complain up each level of the business until we reach the managers/owners/board of directors/shareholders?

I couldn't have put it better myself.

The staff was courteous in handling this issue, but that doesn't excuse the fact that quality was overlooked until a post was put on a public forum. Calling that good customer service is like thanking a car maker for replacing a part after it has failed and left you stranded in the middle of nowhere. It should have been caught months ago and fixed before it affected their customers.

That being said, I understand mistakes are made by everyone, everyday. But we still hold people accountable for them when they are made. Just because this happens to be a homebrew shop and we are all homebrew geeks does not let them off the hook. I am sure all of you who are arguing with me have never complained about a product or service in your life and told many people you know about it. If you got bad food or service from a restaurant, what do you do? You stop going and tell your friends about it. Rarely do you call over the manager to make them aware.


I am going to let this thread go because it is over and some people just don't get it and never will as we go round and round. We will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Looks like this one's resolved. Let's put it to bed.

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

I just want to state that Midwest Supplies has replaced the rollers in their grain mill and it is really working well now. I promised that I would update on the previous thread that I started when the mill was fixed. I was in last night to pick up some malt for a batch of bitter and I got the best crush I have ever gotten from Midwest. I ran through some Marris Otter at the .040 setting and it was a perfect crush. The grain was broken into 5-15 pieces and the husks were almost completely intact.