LostBottle Posted October 9, 2013 Author Share Posted October 9, 2013 (edited) These are all great responses. Thanks to those of you commenting here in this chain. It's a great help to see all the views of the customer perspective, which is why I write the rather provocative blog posts to begin with -- to garner response and use that response to start a dialogue. If this were really the case, then why not allow customer comments on your blog? Is it easier to level criticism when a direct retort, or even dialogue, is not allowed?What's sillier than a blog entry on how hard it is to deal with customers who expect what they bought to arrive at their doorstep in good condition? An entire thread on such a blog entry in an internet forum.Josh, I that might answer your (rhetorical) question about why it is here. Edited October 9, 2013 by LostBottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 Yeah, but what's sillier than a post on a thread in an internet forum about a blog entry on how hard it is to deal with customers who expect what they bought to arrive at their doorstep in good condition? A picture of a post on a thread in an internet forum about a blog entry on how hard it is to deal with customers who expect what they bought to arrive at their doorstep in good condition![ATTACH=CONFIG]16677[/ATTACH] touche.:bowdown:He's doing anything to keep himself occupied so he doesn't think too much about his fantasy football matchup this week. What can I say? My usual mid-season nose-dive is starting early this year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Dog Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 I think the underlying root of the problem is what he addressed in the final paragraph. Just get rid of the additional packaging. It shouldn't even be part of the equation, and it just makes whiskey more expensive at the consumer level. It makes sense to package something in a box if there are glasses or a flask or some other tchotchke included, but otherwise it's just a waste of materials. This sort of thing is rampant in the Scotch whiskey realm, and I really hope it doesn't bleed over into the American market. Wild Turkey is probably the worst offender off the top of my head.I agree completely. Sick to death of all those boxes and tubes, which I chuck in the trash/recycle anyway. Some may argue about $300 Scotch packaging, but what is added to OGD114 by using that silly box? It's wasteful. Wasteful in the same way it's wasteful for Josh to hope Detroit wins the Central Division.(Yeah, I said Central.) :fish2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squire Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I appreciate David D's post showing he can take a punch, we do discuss his blog here a bit.When Hancocks Reserve came out in the round wooden box my young son appropriated it for his toy soldiers then asked me to buy another for the opposing army and that's the sum total of use I have for Bourbon packaging. If I could afford $400+ for a bottle I would instead be buying a barrel and inviting my friends along to pick it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiskyRI Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 I liked David's post. I think the focus on the decoration and presentation of high-end whiskies all too often represents more effort than went into making or tasting the whisky inside. We've all tasted high-end whiskies that when tasted blind aren't all that interesting (cough, Dalmores, cough, Signet) but sure do have great packaging. The recent fetishization of packaging is a distraction, in my mind, from the whisky inside. I'd gladly pay less for a bottle with a simple label than pay more for the same whisky in a fancy package. @WhiteDog is spot on - why the heck does OGD114 come in cardboard box? That being said I'm human and I still have my nice velvet Pappy bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 10, 2013 Share Posted October 10, 2013 OK, so I'll actually try to make a constructive post. I agree that too much packaging is superfluous and goes in the recycle bin eventually. The only reason I like the boxes and tubes is for a very specific reason: the location of my bunker in my garage. When I buy whiskey or other spirits in tubes or boxes I often keep the bottle in the packaging so that it is not covered with dust and cobwebs when I am ready to take the bottle out of the garage and into the house. When that happens, packaging then goes in the bin.I can understand why it would be irritating to get requests for tubes for mid-shelf distillery releases or those ugly-ass tins the Signatory releases come in but almost all of the high-end SMSs (I'm thinking at least $400 and up) are purely collector's items that will never be consumed. They are expensive knick-knacks like the sort of stuff that ends up on Antiques Roadshow. If a collector is buying one of these to display or as an investment, then appearance and condition is everything. So naturally they are going to be very concerned with those things. Squire, I like it when Dave posts here too, because he actually is interacting with people who read the K & L blog, something that doesn't happen on the blog itself since the comments are always turned off.WD, the Detroit Pistons couldn't win a slam dunk contest against a middle school basketball team, let alone the Central this season! Good thing I still root for the Pacers too. :grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVTsteve Posted October 11, 2013 Share Posted October 11, 2013 If I could afford $400+ for a bottle I would instead be buying a barrel and inviting my friends along to pick it out.A barrel! Now there's some packaging to be excited about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildrnesxperienc Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I didn't mind the post when I read it the other day and didnt take offense to it. That being said, I have requested packaging before (EH Taylor) and since I bought it I don't feel I have to justify it. Bottom line is, I paid for it, I want everything that comes with it, no questions asked. It's up to me to decide what to do with the box, not you, and I don't have to explain my reasons since I'm the person with the money. :grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 The tubes do make good trumpets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trey Manthey Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 It's up to me to decide what to do with the box, not you, and I don't have to explain my reasons since I'm the person with the money. :grin:Now I just have this vision of you checking out at a liquor store and indignantly shouting, "I'm the person with the money!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sku Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 The tubes do make good trumpets.[ATTACH=CONFIG]16700[/ATTACH]Excellent, though it looks more like a didgeridoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildrnesxperienc Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Haha! And nobody move!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fussychicken Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I once got really miffed when United pretty severely scraped up and marred a somewhat expensive piece of luggage I had just purchased. Feeling quite confident, I marched into the missing luggage room to demand reimbursement so I could get a new bag. She took one look at me and said, "You know, luggage is supposed to keep the things inside safe, it looks like it did its job." I didn't really have a comeback to that. And yes, the same bag is still doing its job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokinjoe Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Would anyone really even buy the HP Loki, if not for the wooden doohickey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theglobalguy Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 Would anyone really even buy the HP Loki, if not for the wooden doohickey? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sutton Posted October 12, 2013 Share Posted October 12, 2013 "You know, luggage is supposed to keep the things inside safe, it looks like it did its job."That's pretty much how I think of packaging - keeps the label nice. Otherwise, those shelling out bucks for $400 bottles will be even more upset with damaged labels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostBottle Posted November 11, 2013 Author Share Posted November 11, 2013 (edited) Looks like the Scotch guys over at W3 have some recent opinions: http://www.whiskywhiskywhisky.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=65&start=6525 Edited November 11, 2013 by LostBottle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts