Positive rant on a retailer -- K&L Wines

WINE TALK
1

With all the negative rants about retailers and wineries thought it would be good to mention a very positive encounter I had.

Won a 6-bottle lot at K&L’s auction and was having it transferred to their LA store to pick up. During transit one bottle broke, damaging the other 5 remaining labels, and today I got the email letting me know. They offered to refund all money (cancel the order) or I could keep the remaining 5 bottles and they’d give me credit for the broken bottle and a substantial discount on the remaining 5.

I replied back I’d still take them regardless and they didn’t need to give me any discount, as I don’t really care about a label being stained. I got a reply email with the credit for the broken bottle and the discount as well. They didn’t need to do that but I am very appreciative of it and of their excellent customer service. [welldone.gif]

2

Nice story. Really wished they shipped to Illinois.

Alas…

3

My SO was picking up some stuff for me the other day there, and whoever was giving her the boxes, determined that one cork was bulging, so they pulled that and credited me. I only found out later when I got the boxes a few hours later, but it was definitely nice that they did that proactively.

So that was pretty cool.

I also love that they are fairly nice about ‘hold to ship’ or ‘will call’ at their store, giving purchasers 3mo or so to accumulate things.

However some family members have started resenting how I impose on them for K&L pickups, and have started pushing back. Such ingratitude – despite all the free life/relationship/financial/pet/child rearing advice I give them, unsolicited.

4

K&L is the best. Just learned that (again) this afternoon. I’d bought a pair of '06 Smith Haut Lafittes, both of which were cooked. They took them back immediately, store credit, no problem, even though I only had one bottle to bring back (the restaurant I’d opened one in had taken it away). I find their customer service and the depth of their selections to be excellent. I hope that when they knock down that building for the 350 feet worth of condos they want to put up there, K&L retains the retail space.

5

I love K&L and the fact that they moved down here. I’ve bought and sold through them several times. Rarely buy from anywhere else these days.
That said, I mis the old days when retailers knew me and helped with buying decisions.

6

Those bastards. They really should have given you all of the wine for free. I think you should write them a series of angry emails.

Oh, wait, I’m not Bill L. Great customer service on their part. K&L has been great in all of my business with them.

7

How do they ship to LA? Is it by refrigerated truck?

8

Love KL. They are a class act and very reliable.

Returns are not always so smooth though. Just recently I bought 4 bottles of 2002 Pillot Chevalier Montrachet. 2 were oxidized. I wanted to return the other 2. First,I emailed the online support to get approval which of course they gave for the remaining 2 bottles.

When I arrived at the Hollywood store, a new employee started telling how they couldn’t do a return because “when you buy old wines…” Even after I got one of the managers he was hesitant until I showed him the reply from the support case.

Again, I love them and order from them time and time again for the past decade plus but in some instances it’s probably best you create a support case first.

9

K&L is great. And an example of how easy it really is to exceed customer expectations, thereby making customers their biggest fans. Too many sellers these days just don’t get it.

10

You have a certain lawyer to thank for that.

11

Do you know if they really won’t ship, or they can’t ship Internet orders? The language on the site is interesting - it says they can’t ship Internet orders to those states and suggests you call them. I’m not sure what they are really saying.

12

Yes!

13

Great post, Andy! A+ customer service is a huge reason behind K&L getting the majority of my retail wine purchases. Good pricing, selection, website, and location also count, but not nearly as much as their wonderful customer service.

14

Peter,
It’s really easy to build that relationship with an employee or two at K&L. From personal experience, I can recommend the guidance of Jacques.

15

Good question; I’ve assumed that they don’t ship to Virginia, either, but I’ve never called them to push the issue.

16

They will ship through third parties, but it’s not something that I want to deal with.

Thankfully, we have a few retailers locally that carry some older/more obscure wines, but K&L’s selection and pricing still sets the bar.

17

Positive rant?

Well done by K&L

18

I have ordered from them a handful of times and they have always been first rate. I completely forgot about a lot of Conterno Granbussia after they told me that it had arrived and they were awaiting shipping instructions. Perhaps a year later they contacted me again and reminded me for the third time…

19

Yes, just like the notorious Mother Theresa!

20

Always positive experiences for me too. A few months ago, I bought a Faiveley Beze from them. Before I could pick it up, they notified me that they actually got the vintage wrong, and offered to substitute another vintage (more expensive) for the same price I paid.