Question to my fellow wine geeks…Am I being unreasonable?
For a some background (and names will not be disclosed), I was on a mailing list of a Napa winery very early on and was given great pricing and personal service. The wines were exceptional and therefore I purchased large quantities (around 5 figures a year on average) and received a favorable discount to retail pricing in return. After a few years on the list I visited the winery and was treated to fantastic tasting where the proprietor pulled me aside and basically begged for my help. He needed customers and asked if I can introduce his wines to some of my wine drinking friends. I obliged by setting up a dinner with some serious wine drinkers which was a huge success. The sales at the dinner far exceeded all expectations and they also gained a dozen or so members to the mailing list. I also became an advocate for them as I loved them and their wines.
I was told on several occasions that for all I have done, I would ALWAYS receive better allocations and pricing. Fast forward a few years…the winery gets big scores, raises prices and I get dumped into the masses as I’m no longer needed. No longer getting better allocations nor special pricing and am treated the same as the guy who just joined the list.
I decided not to purchase any more wine from them as I am disappointed that they went back on their word. They wont miss me…but I needed to get this off my chest.
I tend to think that it isn’t fair (promise aside) to expect special pricing beyond whatever the winery offers list members as a whole for the volume you buy. When they could sell the wine to another list member for more, then you essentially cost them some money. But, IMO, they SHOULD certainly throw you the bone of getting a premiere allocation.
If only a gentleman’s agreement was in place, and based on a handshake, even electronic, yes, you are being a bit unreasonable. Did you contact them and seek any reasons as to why? Maybe they have some new hire that is unaware of any loosely based agreement you had? Maybe the owner has more important things to do than serve your expectations? Sorry to sound rough, but I think you were expecting more than you should have. I know many people in the wine industry and I ask nothing from them. If I like the wine, I am happy to pass it along to my friends who will probably like it too. Take a deep breath, count to ten. It’s a lot of money you are saving so buy elsewhere. Life is too short to worry about such inconsequentials.
Mike…I don’t think you’re being rough at all. I spoke to them a few times and got the same response that they can charge what they want and they felt they have been fair to me.
I feel the same way about about passing along the names and even opening a bottle or two (or five) with friends to spread the word, but I (and not only me…one other guy as well) went way beyond that. We hosted a few dinners and made several introductions.
I agree with your last statement the most…life is to short to worry about these types of little things. I just live by my word more than others do.
30% or more? It isn’t all the winery. Yes, you are being unreasonable to some extent. One other factor is how they distribute. All mailing list or do they sell a good chunk through the three tier system?
I understand that you feel fairly responsible for the success of the winery and based on what you have described you may be right (though hearing both sides is probably a good idea). This is what happens when two people, businesses, entities “grow apart”
I know who it is. Would love their side’s story. Always two.
Maybe your understanding is different than theirs? Maybe it was for a certain time? Just playing devils advocate…
So, you purchased an enormous amount ($10,000 +/- is HUGE from one customer on a mailing list - even more so since it sounds like you were buying that much maybe 5-8 yrs ago) - probably were their largest direct customer or at least in the top handful - on top of that, it was at a time that they really, really needed the business…then you made intros and got them a lot more business (again at a time that was critical to them)…now that they have “made it”, you are forgotten about?
I don’t think you are being unreasonable in the least. I would be most upset about losing the allocation and less concerned about the discount because I would view that as of a more limited duration type thing. In my opinion, you deserve to maintain your allocation - apart from the discount, it doesn’t cost them anything to make you happy with that.
Second, while I absolutely understand scaling back such a large discount (as long as nobody else is getting it), better judgment on their part would probably have been to throw you a bone for a while and maintain some type of discount that perhaps has a tail of a few years. My guess is also that when you were buying big at the beginning you were also doing them a big favor by being a “direct” customer and so even with the 30% off, they probably did a good bit better than how they did through distribution. Assuming they are still selling through distribution, arguably they shouldn’t mind selling to you, giving you a bit of a tail discount and just reducing slightly what goes out through distribution (essentially taking your larger allocation from distribution where a few cases won’t hurt anyone and providing only a portion of the price break that they give distribution).
Just curious, if you buy the same big allocation, how many fewer people can they allocate to on the mailing list? Cannot believe that materially impacts them to have a handful of fewer people on the list.
Really too bad as it sounds like you loved the wines and really liked the people… hopefully they can make it right and this can just be a hiccup in your relationship with them. Maybe talking with them again would be helpful. Given your prior relationship with them, I bet they are good people and not jerks and there is a chance that this is just a misunderstanding.
Biggest part in my opinion is the allocation and that doesn’t cost them anything. The discount is in my view a second and different matter which can be dealt with separately.
Naming them is complete nonsense. I can completely understand them pulling their “extra” discounts, but you should still be able to purchase the amounts you were previously purchasing. That’s kind of chickensh*t to not giving you your usual allocations.
For smaller wineries, it’s just too hard to keep track of who get’s what when you are throwing your prices all over the board. You should have been rewarded with extra wine, rather than having lower prices because then you run into issues like this.
