Liquor store etiquette

[AGarrison]

I posted this question on one of my favorite blogs the other day:

I'm in my local store last Saturday, standing by another customer and a store clerk. The customer says, "I really am interested in knowing the distilleries and source of the whiskey I buy." The clerk proceeds to tell the customer that Bulleit makes great whiskey at their distillery and is part of Brown-Forman. Futhermore the clerk states Woodford Reserve is sourced and not made at their own distillery.

Question: Do you chime in to clear up the mis-statements and potentially lose a sale for the clerk?

The answer was really insightful:

"As for correcting ignorant strangers, that particular good deed almost never goes unpunished. Also, consider that they don't know who you are, so objectively they have no way of knowing who's right and who's wrong. Bite your tongue and walk away, or start a blog."

http://chuckcowdery.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-case-of-fleischmanns-rye.html

I hope he doesnt mind if I reprint his answer here, but it was so good I thought to share it with everyone.

http://whiskeylist.blogspot.com/ downloadable spreadsheet of over 1000 whiskies (rats! i dont qualify to get on SKU's list since I'm a database site. oh well)

[squire]

No, I completely disagree. When in that circumstance (I've been there) I immediately yet politely correct the misinformation, no one has ever mistaken me to be uninformed and I have always been thanked for providing the correct answers.

Actually, in the stores I frequent, if a customer were to ask such a question the clerk or owner would point to me and say, "ask that guy".

[MyOldKyDram]

I've tried. It's never been appreciated, by the clerk or the customer. I don't bother any longer.

[michaelturtle1]

If I am in my local store and someone has a question, the whisky monger generally points to me. If I am out and hear something erroneous, I keep my mouth shut as in the eyes of a random customer and random liquor store employee my opinion really doesn't mean anything no matter how right I am and how wrong they are.

[BigBoldBully]

Hate finding myself in these situations. If you say nothing, you feel guilty like a doctor just driving by a car wreck. If you say something, you might end up like brainy smurf.

[black mamba]

Now I'm confused. If BF makes Bulleit, why can't they make Woodford Reserve??? :70358-devil:

[squire]

Sure they can, just ask the clerk.

[CaptainQ]

Bite your tongue and move along. It won't do any good to educate the ignorant.

[ErichPryde]

I have a very good answer for you, if you're good with words and people. Depending upon how strongly I feel about the misinformation (and misinformation is my least favorite thing, right up there with slaughtering babies), I may approach the clerk after he is done talking to the customer and say one of the following:

"It seems like you're really into whiskey. Have you ever looked into straightbourbon.com? Lots of good information there!"

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to that other customer, and I wanted to let you know that some of what you said was incorrect. (insert correct info here) Please don't take my word for it- this is verifiable (at reliable source)."

or something along those lines. Many times, the clerk really thinks they are sharing correct info- and it's all about approach. How good are you with people? How assertive? How likely to make them listen to you? If you come across as an authority and from a position of power without being threatening and make it clear that your intent is to HELP, not make them feel stupid, many people will listen.

This mitigates much of the damage of the misinformation, because even if the one customer leaves, at least the clerk will tell the next three the right info. Depending upon the customer, they may not remember. If it looks like they're seriously into whiskey, I may talk to them, too, who knows?

It's all about measuring your mark and suiting your words and body language to the task, and I rarely have an issue with it.

[ErichPryde]

It's funny you should mention Bulleit, because I heard the same thing from a shop owner who said he liked the new rye they were distilling. Said he got the information directly from a rep of the distillery. :/

[TheNovaMan]

That's interesting, because I've heard that Bulleit buys their rye from MGP, which used to be LDI. In fact, I don't know of any 95% rye that isn't MGP juice.

And then go from there...

[MauiSon]

Deep Thought: Civilization is built on lies, myths and fantasies. Destroy or dispel them and gird your loins for the anarchy of reality.

[squire]

Yes, gray hair, an air of authority, a facility with words, gentlemanly demeanor and politeness get the point across without causing offense.

The main thing is sincerity, once you learn to fake that the rest is easy.

[T Comp]

The words "Templeton and Iowa made" make it hard to stay silent. A smart phone to prove your point helps at least to the store clerk...most of the customers could care less about correct information. And if you don't know AG...Cowdery is a regular contributor here including 2002 BOTY.

Edited March 21, 2013 by T Comp

[Dolph Lundgren]

I’ve corrected (out-of-town) clerks on both Templeton and Bulleit, and I can’t help but think that I came off as a pretentious know-it-all. I’ve found that if the person is inquisitive, go ahead and chime in (casually) because the person will probably appreciate the information, but if the clerk is spouting off some nonsense and the customer is eating it up, best to keep quiet.

Thad is right - most customers don't care (and want something they can shoot, not sip).

[SFS]

Depending upon how strongly I feel about the misinformation (and misinformation is my least favorite thing, right up there with slaughtering babies)...

[omgmarclol]

Misinformation is also my least favorite thing, but as stated earlier, no good deed goes unpunished, so long ago I decided to replace the criterion of "how strongly I feel about the misinformation" with a different filter: I only correct misinformation related to a) my professional settings or me personally. I've found that people spouting nonsense (those with benign intent anyway) are usually either simply ignorant of the facts or are attempting to provide themselves with the illusion of control over their environment in some way. Members of the former category often don't appreciate the facts being pointed out, as they feel made wrong. Members of the latter category wish to remain free of facts, as their minds are already made up.

i have the same philosophy.

[Yeti]

The main thing is sincerity, once you learn to fake that the rest is easy.

Regardless of context, this is one of the greatest things I've ever read.

[TomH]

The words "Templeton and Iowa made" make it hard to stay silent. A smart phone to prove your point helps at least to the store clerk...most of the customers could care less about correct information. And if you don't know AG...Cowdery is a regular contributor here including 2002 BOTY.

I may be a little bit of a PITA, but I've taken great delight at visiting Templeton's table at events like WhiskyFest when they are pitching their marketing to a good size group and asking for a pour of some of that great Hoosier made whiskey.

[squire]

Give 'em enough rope and they will hang themselves.

[Quantum]

Whenever I see someone ask a whiskey related question, I tell them to buy the most expensive Crown they can afford and advise they stay away from that old grandpa 114 stuff. Store clerks usually seem fine with this, and if the customer doesn't laugh in my face I assume they wouldn't know what to do with good advice anyway.

On serious note, if I hear an answer that is so wrong it bothers me, I tried to be good natured and say something like "A while bad I heard something about it actually being _____". If they seem receptive I follow up, but if not I let it drop.

[P&MLiquorsEric]

He could be partially right with Woodford or at least he was correct at some point. WF was Old Forester for the first few years of its life. Same owner in Brown Foreman but different distilleries. In fact, there is still some debate over whether all the juice in WR was made in Versailles. Im of the opinion that it isnt.

As a store owner, I try to ensure we give good information. Often times customers come to us with information that is inaccurate and we do our best to politely correct. However with some folks, ignorance is bliss.

[gatsby]

I'm always amazed at how uneducated most liquor store tellers are about bourbon. The other day I was in one of my regular liquor stores to inquire about whether they might be receiving some Elijah Craig 12 SB (which they had no idea was even being released) and there was a rep from Diageo there doing Bulleit tastings. I got to chatting with her and she asked what types of whiskeys I like. I told her that I try to drink as many different whiskeys as I can but I probably drink Eagle Rare most often. I then told her that I had started to get into the different single barrel offerings by Four Roses and that they had some very interesting and different bourbons. Being unfamiliar with the brand/distillery, she was very surprised when I told her the juice in the Bulleit bourbons was actually made at Four Roses.

[matthewdc]

Whenever I hear misinformation--it's usually from the store clerk to me--I just simply smile and nod and move on.

Now there are a few store around here that I shop semi-regularly that are super knowledgeable and I'll end up chatting with them for 20-30 mins and often times we learn from each other, which is really neat. So it just depends on the store on whether to weigh in or not.

[WAINWRIGHT]

I find in most cases you can tell if a customer is buying what they have just been fed or not and approach in these regards.I find at most of our local shops if there is a question the manager will lead them my way,don't always have the answers and never pretend to.I enjoy helping when I can and some will even come back and ask more questions,I always lead them to SB and some will even pull out their phone and do a quick search.