Northern Brewer

[myelo]

My last order from NB, I used the first level of expedited shipping (forget what it's called by it was $3 more than the flat rate) because I wanted to brew that weekend.

Ordered: Sept. 7 (Labor day)
Shipped: Sept 8
Arrived: Sept 11

Brewed Saturday

 

[Yesfan]

I ordered three beer kits from them about a week and a half ago. The box arrived on my doorstep beat to hell and back and stacked on a much lighter (and probably more fragile) package addressed to my wife. Here's a pic.

That's what I saw as the UPS truck was driving off. I contacted Northern Brewer to let them know and offered to send them the pic for verification (I don't know how to do that through their feedback system). Good thing is, the contents were all good. I was worried, since it was an all-grain order, one or more of the bags would be ripped and grain spilled everywhere.

Everything looked good and I wasn't really expecting (or worried about) a reply, but the next day I saw where a Jules Z had emailed letting me know that replacement kits were on their way out "ASAP". I wasn't even charged for the replacement order! Wow.

IMO, Northern really didn't have to go that far to meet my satisfaction. This was clearly UPS's fault but Northern deserves my highest praise for "making it right" (even though they are not to blame).

So Jules, if you read this a big thank you to you and the folks at Northern.




As for UPS....go f%$# yourselves.

 

[chuckcomm]

Ive always gotten amazing service from Northern and yes their new flat rate shipping process is a bit slow but not a big deal.

 

[MaxStout]

I ordered three beer kits from them about a week and a half ago. The box arrived on my doorstep beat to hell and back and stacked on a much lighter (and probably more fragile) package addressed to my wife. Here's a pic.


That's what I saw as the UPS truck was driving off. I contacted Northern Brewer to let them know and offered to send them the pic for verification (I don't know how to do that through their feedback system). Good thing is, the contents were all good. I was worried, since it was an all-grain order, one or more of the bags would be ripped and grain spilled everywhere.

Everything looked good and I wasn't really expecting (or worried about) a reply, but the next day I saw where a Jules Z had emailed letting me know that replacement kits were on their way out "ASAP". I wasn't even charged for the replacement order! Wow.

IMO, Northern really didn't have to go that far to meet my satisfaction. This was clearly UPS's fault but Northern deserves my highest praise for "making it right" (even though they are not to blame).

So Jules, if you read this a big thank you to you and the folks at Northern.




As for UPS....go f%$# yourselves.

That's awesome service from Northern. Nice that they went the extra mile, even if it wasn't their fault.

I've noticed that UPS' handling of packages has gotten a lot more sloppy in recent years.

 

[Yesfan]

Yeah and that's one reason why I stay with them for my brewing needs. They are not the only good ones out there, but since this thread is about them.......


EDIT: I also left feedback on their sight making sure Jules Z got the appropriate recognition. Forgot to mention that in my previous post.

 

[jake-k]

Received $150 in gift cards for Christmas this year for northernbrewer. Put an order in yesterday for various things, order came to right at $150 but with their promotions going on, I also received a $10 voucher for using my gift card plus a free caribou slobber extract kit valued at forty dollars. All for $27 shipping out of pocket. I'm pretty jacked, especially for the new big mouth bubbler I have coming. Love these guys and their service.

 

[chisena]

I love NB but had to temporarily bow out of their emails over the holidays. I feel like they were emailing me every day!

 

[dontpanic13]

I recenlty place an order for a variety of different items from NB that was delivered very fast even though it was the Christmas holiday. However, after I opened the package, I noticed that I was missing the 6.5 gal Big Mouth Bubbler from my order even though it was marked as shipped. Chatted with support on the day after christmas and they got one out to me right away. I was a little bummed that I didn't get it on time but their customer sevice has been top notch and plan to do more business with them in the future.

 

[Trippel-A]

My MIL ordered a thermometer for my new Spike Brewing kettle from NB because she thought it would be better than the one I requested. But it was the wrong size. She called NB, they helped her with the return right away, and recommended she get the thermometer straight from Spike. I was impressed they recommended she buy elsewhere to get the right thing.

 

[MaxStout]

I love NB but had to temporarily bow out of their emails over the holidays. I feel like they were emailing me every day!

I used to get those, but I haven't bought from them online in quite a while, so the email carpet-bombing has subsided. NB is a 20 minute drive for me, so I go in person.

Now if I could get Amazon to knock off the 3 or 4 emails a day...

 

[jcav]

I've been a Northern Brewer customer since the 90's. Bought all of my early extract equipment there at first, then as time went on I bought other items, my first two corny kegs and Co2 gas tanks, man did that make a difference in my beers and no more bottles.... Now I buy grain from them and they have fast turn around on Wyeast so it's always fresh (at least when I have bought it). I use other companies as well, but I can say I have never had a problem with an order and flat rate shipping is pretty cool too.

John

 

[signpost]

I placed an order last week and it came today. Not the fastest processing, but flat rate shipping is a good deal.

My yeast was just packaged a couple weeks ago and still cool when I opened the box.

I've gotta admit I was almost hoping they screwed up, so I could get some bonus grains or yeast or something from them.

But alas, everything was good.

 

[Yesfan]

............I've gotta admit I was almost hoping they screwed up, so I could get some bonus grains or yeast or something from them................

I've wished that ever since UPS jacked up my last order from Northern. Three 10 gallon batches for the price of 5 is pretty awesome.

 

[brewbama]

I could understand this statement "This means that if someone has paid for higher shipping their order will be prioritized." if the folks who pay for faster shipping were paying for reduced order fulfillment time.

But they're not, they're paying for faster shipping which starts from the time the order is picked up at the business doorstep until delivery at the customer's doorstep. It does not include order fulfillment time.

Higher shipping rates for faster shipping causes the shipper to prioritize the delivery not the retailer/wholesaler to prioritize order fulfillment time.

If there was an option to pay for priority order fulfillment I could understand prioritizing the order differently in-house.

Under their current model, orders should be satisfied first in/first out with options available for faster shipping.

Regardless, otherwise they have a great business model.

 

[elgee]

Not sure if anyone else has had the worst customer experience as I have had with Northern Brewer, but I do not think I will ever shop with them again. There are plenty of other shops on the Internet and I've had much better customer service with almost all of them. The issue that I had, was that I ordered a beer kit, and asked them to separate the white wheat malt from the rest of the grain bill so I could mill the white wheat separately, (my mill never crushes it that good so I use a corona mill for white wheat) and said that they could not pass on those instructions for the grain room. This is truly a disappointment, as I have in the past had decent experience ordering from Northern Brewer, but after this horrific response that I received from them, I refuse to buy anything else from Northern Brewer or any of their subsidiaries. It is also unfortunate, considering that the beer kit was over $60. They could have accommodated this request when whiting out the grains, but decided I was not important enough to do this.

 

[Yooper]

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[Braufessor]

I have easily placed well over 50 orders with Northern Brewer...... probably more along the lines of 75+. Almost every single one of those orders was promptly and correctly filled. Shipped fast, and arrived in perfect condition. On the very rare occasion something was not just right (frozen yeast or a missing/incorrect part of the order) Northern Brewer immediately, and without question, replaced and shipped (free of charge) the part of the order in question. Easily some of the best customer service of any online retailer I have dealt with.

 

[user 4295]

Not too long ago, I placed an order with NB for various ingredients and cleaning supplies. When the package arrived, the lid on one of the containers of PWB had broken and the PBW was everywhere. I notified them and they asked me to email them some photos of the package. They responded back by saying they would take care if it. I was only expecting to receive a new container of PBW, but instead, they resent my entire order again. Now that's customer service!

 

[geoffey]

Once I went into NB to buy a beer kit. Measured all the grains, crushed them, picked out the yeast and hops and went to the register. Discovered I had forgotten to bring my wallet. Dude said, "not the first time this has happened. Take the ingredients home with you and call us when you get home with your CC info".

When I called in 30 min later with my CC info I chose not to complain about them not separating my grain for me when I was in the store. I could have though.

 

[chisena]

Just took them 4 days to ship my order. I guess they are busy but it's kind of annoying since two years ago all my orders shipped next day. Whatever.

 

[myelo]

Yeah, same here. I've got an order pending -- it's day 4 and hasn't shipped yet. That's new in the past year or so. Before then, with the flat rate shipping they would get it out within a day or so. Now if you want it processed that fast, you have to bump up to the next level of shipping priority, which of course costs more.

 

[chisena]

Yeah, same here. I've got an order pending -- it's day 4 and hasn't shipped yet. That's new in the past year or so. Before then, with the flat rate shipping they would get it out within a day or so. Now if you want it processed that fast, you have to bump up to the next level of shipping priority, which of course costs more.

They finally shipped on 3/11 (day 5). Fortunately I'm just down I-35 from them so it only takes 2 days once they manage to get it on a truck. Frankly, they should give me free shipping based on what I spent there in the last few years! [sarcasm... sort of] 🤔

 

[chisena]

Oops...

 

[mongoose33]

Just took them 4 days to ship my order. I guess they are busy but it's kind of annoying since two years ago all my orders shipped next day. Whatever.

That's the price you pay for cheap shipping. If you need it fast you need to choose that option.

 

[bleme]

That's the price you pay for cheap shipping. If you need it fast you need to choose that option.

That's not exactly true. I generally order from Northern Brewer and another internet shop that also offers flat rate shipping. My last order from NB took 4 days for them to put it in a box. Meanwhile, my order from the other company was shipped the same day that I ordered and I got it the next. Granted, NB was never quite that fast, but I've been ordering from them for 4 years now and it has never taken 4 days to fulfill.

 

[treacheroustexan]

I ordered a kit on Wednesday and still haven't had anything ship. Hopefully tomorrow!

 

[elgee]

Took 4 days to ship my kit and another 6 to deliver it, so 10 days in total, not to forget the liquid yeast hopefully made the journey safely.

 

[myelo]

That's the price you pay for cheap shipping. If you need it fast you need to choose that option.

That's true but it's not actually the shipping that's different. The flat rate and the next level of shipping are shipped the same way. What's different is the processing time at the warehouse. With the expedited shipping they fill it right away. With the flat rate it typically takes a few days to fill the order at the warehouse.

In the past, the flat rate shipping was filled within a day or so in my experience. They have recently changed that policy.

I don't have a problem with this because they don't claim "Flat rate same day shipping" like some places do. And they give you an honest estimate of the delivery date when you pick the shipping choices. So it's completely honest and fair ... it's just different than it used to be and different than some competitors.

 

[chisena]

That's the price you pay for cheap shipping. If you need it fast you need to choose that option.

I never indicated I needed it fast. Just pointing out the fact that they used to fill orders faster than they do nowadays (in my experience).

 

[TravelingLight]

Glad I found this thread. I was coming to ask if anyone had any issues with NB. I placed my first order with NB on 3/17. Clicked the flat rate with a delivery between 3/23 and 3/25. All good, be here by Friday to brew this weekend. Got an email on 3/18 saying yadda yadda we are working on getting your order ready, and that it "will arrive as promised between 3/23/16 and 3/25/16." They haven't sent a shipping notification so obviously I'm not getting it tomorrow, again, just want it by the weekend. But when I login to my NB account it's not even listed in my orders. It just says no orders. I have an order number and everything. It better be here by Friday or I'll be pissed.