Cigar Weekly

tuowl74 · 09-08-2006, 03:21 PM

A couple of weeks ago, the wife and I took a weekend trip to NYC, primarily to see a play on Broadway, but also to stroll around the grounds and do the tourist thing.

During our walk, we chanced upon the Nat Sherman store. Since I live in an area where cigar stores, especially large ones are few and far between, I was excited to look around. I was immediately struck by the "old-style " feel of the place, by which I mean a lot of big glass display cases and large wall humidors with a lot of wood.

The problem I had in this store was the many sales people, dressed like secret service agents, whose eyes followed my every movement as I looked from case to case. Now I am not a threatening looking person, as I am in my mid-50's and dress as such, but I felt extremely uncomfortable there. There were perhaps 5 customers in the store but none of the 10 to 12 employees ever acknowledged any of us.

The next day, we happened by a JR's store and, immediately upon entering, we were welcomed by an extremely pleasant woman who asked us if we needed any help and then smiled and told us to please look around. Several employees looked up, smiled and actually acknowledged us, and made us feel that they were glad we were there. I asked a question of a clerk there about some Gloria Cubanas that were on sale and he was not only knowledgable about the product, but extremely pleasant to talk to. I bought 5 or 6 sticks and left wishing for such a store in my hometown.

Anyway, the point of all this is that good customer service and pleasant, knowlegeable people sell cigars and, since Lew reads here, I would like to tell him that he has a customer for a long time.

09-08-2006, 03:21 PM	#1
tuowl74 Starting Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Harrisburg PA Posts: 67	A trip to Manhattan A couple of weeks ago, the wife and I took a weekend trip to NYC, primarily to see a play on Broadway, but also to stroll around the grounds and do the tourist thing. During our walk, we chanced upon the Nat Sherman store. Since I live in an area where cigar stores, especially large ones are few and far between, I was excited to look around. I was immediately struck by the "old-style " feel of the place, by which I mean a lot of big glass display cases and large wall humidors with a lot of wood. The problem I had in this store was the many sales people, dressed like secret service agents, whose eyes followed my every movement as I looked from case to case. Now I am not a threatening looking person, as I am in my mid-50's and dress as such, but I felt extremely uncomfortable there. There were perhaps 5 customers in the store but none of the 10 to 12 employees ever acknowledged any of us. The next day, we happened by a JR's store and, immediately upon entering, we were welcomed by an extremely pleasant woman who asked us if we needed any help and then smiled and told us to please look around. Several employees looked up, smiled and actually acknowledged us, and made us feel that they were glad we were there. I asked a question of a clerk there about some Gloria Cubanas that were on sale and he was not only knowledgable about the product, but extremely pleasant to talk to. I bought 5 or 6 sticks and left wishing for such a store in my hometown. Anyway, the point of all this is that good customer service and pleasant, knowlegeable people sell cigars and, since Lew reads here, I would like to tell him that he has a customer for a long time.