Great customer service: Rare Wine Co.

WINE TALK
1

Twice they canceled sending a shipment to me because of the weather. That may have been overly cautious, but as they noted, it is impossible for them to tell which route a shipment would take and they didn’t want to take the chance. I liked that they were serious about the issue.

So I called today to find out when the wines could ship and they told me (a) they were not willing to ship via ground until the spring BUT (b) they would send the wines 2d day air for $25/case. That is cheaper than the ground price (CA-DC) charged by most retailers, but they wanted to “provide an option” for customers who want their wine now.

Above and beyond. The cold weather is not their fault, and I suppose I could have simply assumed the risk if I were that eager to get the wine.

I have never had anything but great service from them. If they had a functioning e-commerce website, they’d get a bunch more of my money.

2

So let me get this straight:

You asked for ground shipping and they refused to ship it, not once, but twice?? And then they tried to bait-and-switch you for 2 day air???

Unbelievable!!!

Neal, please out this retailer!!!

I predict 10 pages within the hour.

3

I am assuming this was an attempt at humor. Just in case . . .

First, the retailer is “outed” in the title.

Second, we had prearranged a date for shipping, but when it was too cold, they canceled and we set a second date. The weather wasn’t right then either, so I called to arrange an alternative and they offered the 2d day service.

4

Rare Wine Co. is top notch. One of my favourites to deal with.

5

No doubt this was humor. Rare Wine is all class. Some years ago I found a bottle I wanted from them for an upcoming dinner. Didn’t have time to get up to Sonoma to pick it up (must have been too hot to ship), so they arranged to hand carry the bottle and leave it at one of their accounts closer to my home. Good folks.

6

Yes Neal, that is clearly humor. You DC fellas need more nights out.

7

yaacov you’ve failed at trolling. [snort.gif] [snort.gif]

8

Beat me to it, Yaacov.

9

Yep, I just called RWC since I didn’t get any info on my expected shipment yesterday. No shipping for me unless I want overnight for $108/case on top of what I’ve already paid. Pass on that option. While I appreciate they are taking care of my wine for me, I think they were overly cautious last week This week is certainly a no-go. I’m bummed to have to wait for the aged wines I bought specifically for the holidays, but I’d rather get them late than damaged.

10

+1 Neal.

I got their email this week about shipping options as well and was pleased to see that they were on top of the weather situation. I ordered my wine over the summer and have been getting periodic updates from them ever since. Great communication. It was my first time buying from RWC and I plan to continue in the future.

11

RWC is a fixture on my personal list of top 5 merchants.

12

All of my experiences with them have been stress free and professional.

13

Easy solution, move to California. You will never have weather delay anything ever again. neener

14

You’re kidding, right?

I have two shipments that were picked up yesterday to be shipped to me here in NorCal. One is coming from Southern CA where it was in the 80s yesterday. The other is coming from Missouri, where the low was in the mid 20s yesterday. So, I’m worried about one shipment being too hot and the other too cold. How did I both lack the patience to wait for the shipping window and miss it entirely? :frowning:

15

+1 on Rwc. I have always been extremely impressed with their customer service. I finally got the chance to meet Mannie a few weeks ago in Chicago. Truly a class act!

16

As a former (but still at heart) Domaine DC’er, the last thing we need is another night out. It’s not a good thing to wake up and pull receipts from the pockets of the pants you slept in.

17

MannieWineCo.