When someone else signs for and keeps the wine ...

Cellar Rats (ITB)
1

We’ve all had it happen … you send a wine order to your customer’s last known address, but WHOOPS! they forgot to tell you that they’ve moved. Like, you’re supposed to just cosmically know that. And whomever is at this last known address signs for the wine, keeps it and drinks it.

Not this time, happy campers!! A resident of Clovis, CA is in for an unpleasant surprise. The wine you signed for last month and kept was meant for a police officer. And guess what else? If the transaction for the wine (inclusive of tax and shipping) is over $400, it’s a felony theft! [stop.gif]

This has been quite an education for me. It started this weekend when a good-looking couple came in and asked to pick up their case order. They weren’t in our will call list or unprocessed list, but I quickly found their names on the processed list. “We shipped your wine on March 31,” I said. “Oh oh,” they replied. “We forgot to mention…” Yep, they’d moved, and someone else had signed for the wine. They had sold the home and the last they knew it was being renovated prior to renting, so the signatoree could be a resident, owner, manager, carpenter, landscaper … who knows?

Generally, a carrier will deny any claim for the value of the wine because after all they did deliver to the address on the label. Unless a winery or retailer can get the wine back in good condition, you’re pretty much out the value. If you want to keep the customer, you’ve got to pony up the inventory, again, even though it isn’t your fault. As this couple are regular case buyers, I offered to replace their case before they could even think to ask. Mrs. Police Officer said that is a wise move, actually, if a police report is to be filed, because it narrows the “victim” down to one–the winery. As opposed to the winery and the buyer, making it simpler for the police and the DA to address the theft and restitution.

A quick check with GSO provided a signature, and 411 and Anywho provided some matching phone numbers. I gave that information and an invoice for the wine to my customer, a former Clovis police officer. She will file a police report and take it from there. She says a couple of cops will likely knock on the resident’s door and inquire about the lost package.

Ooh, a remote check of the answering machine says she has called with an update … [1974_eating_popcorn.gif]

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…and?

I love a good mystery almost as much as I’d love a package of wine to show up unannounced and unpaid for by me. :wink:

3

I recently got off the phone with Mrs. Police Officer It seems the young couple who bought the house converted the garage into …

Yep, you guessed it. A huge, custom wine cellar! Mrs. PO did not file a police report but she asked a former Clovis co-worker to make a personal call and inquire about her wine delivery. The visiting officer had a copy of the itemized invoice and was able to read off exactly what he was looking for. The recipient danced around a little, said he has been getting several cases delivered a week, he cellars some there and sends some to a storage facility in SanFran, his wife unpacked it, he thought he was a wine club member here, etc. The visiting officer pointed out that it’s grand theft, and while it’s understandable that one might rip past the package label without noticing, he was holding a faxed copy of the customer’s full-page receipt with their name and address and credit card slip on it, which was inside the box, on top of the wine. Mr. Wine offered to give the visiting officer the 9 bottles still in his possession, but the VO thought they would be better off in the cellar than in the patrol car, and suggested that Wine call us at the winery. Which he promptly did, and left a very eager voice mail.

I called back and VM’d a pleasant message as well. When we connect, I will offer to let him keep the wine (after all, he told the VO he is familiar with our brand, has visited the winery and likes the wine) and I will offer him a significant discount for his trouble. Maybe I’ll even offer to fast-track him on the waiting list if he would like to receive 2 shipments a year.

So all’s well that ends well. Lesson for the trade = if the delivery is more than $400 retail (inclusive of shipping service) you can file a police report and have some officers go knocking on the door looking for the wine. Always good to have a POS system that prints name/address info on the receipt, and one that regurgitates past sale receipts with inventory detail.

But while I was still on the phone and before the ink dried as I was taking notes, call waiting beeped and a customer in VA has moved to SC. Her wine is in transit and can’t be re-routed, only returned to the winery. Her engagement is broken, her job terminated, the move was sudden, and she didn’t notice the winery email alerts asking for address updates. So I ended up commiserating and sympathizing, and I’ll probably eat the shipping costs out and back, as well as the cost of the wine if it’s cooked.

I think I’m behind for the day.

[dash1.gif]

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That’s a nice story and I’m glad it is being worked out…
Of course, since it happened to a POLICE OFFICER who could request a home visit
things worked out
Had it happened to a REGULAR person there would have never been a home visit!

Budget crisis don’t ya know… we just don’t have the manpower…

blah blah blah…

5

great story. thanks.

poor girl…engagement, job, move, etc. she’s got bigger fish to fry.

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Good question for Andy Velebil. If it’s a filed report for grand theft, wouldn’t a home visit be the most efficient response? Officer Velebil?

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Grand Theft applied to a case of wine! That must equate to a Parker 95, no?

Great story, Mary. Sad about the next one in line, though. Why don’t you let her keep the wine and charge the grand thief for it?

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Eh, hers is only a $100 purchase, so I can’t declare urban war on her ex. But it’s also $20 in shipping out, $15 return/redirect fee, and $20 shipping back. $55 in shipping costs for us, plus a wine box that’s floating around the continent for 10-12 days. But as it turns out, she has friends who are also in the wine club, so it always pays to keep everyone happy. [friends.gif]

9

I’m continually impressed at the goodwill efforts described in these threads.

If I were Mrs Police Officer or the Jilted Fiancee, I’d be telling everyone I knew about how “that wonderful Mary over at Dover Canyon” made things right for me. I think the most common consumer experience is one of indifferent service. Next most common is bad service. So, on those occasions when someone does the right thing, it’s worthy of note, and I really hope that efforts to cultivate goodwill pay off big time for those who make that effort.

You might be behind for the day, Mary, but I hope you’ll finish ahead over the long run.

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Sorry for the delay, just returned from up north tasting some 2007 Vintage Port cask samples that were just declared for an upcoming article, good stuff I may add! [good.gif]


It depends on where the report was filed and where the “suspect(s)” lived. If they were close then usually a detective or maybe an officer would stop by for a little chit-chat. That usually resolves things mighty quickly. When the average law abiding person is faced with a felony, they usually pony up to fix things.

If the “suspect(s)” were far away, say another part of the state or another state, then usually a phone call to the “suspect” is in order or the detectives will contact the “suspects” local agency detective to do some follow up for them. As long as there are “fresh” workable leads then it can be handled relatively quickly. Of course it depends on the department and how busy/overworked they are as to how fast they get on the case.

I always recommend to do what was done here; gather as much evidence as you can prior to contacting the Police. That way you can turn over copies to them and much of the leg work is already done. That makes it far easier for the officer/detective to quickly complete the case and get your wine back.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS keep the originals or a full set of copies of everything you are going to give the cops…just in case it gets lost between the officer that takes your report and the detective assigned to handle the follow up. Remember the cop you talk to first generally isn’t a detective and his/her report is then forwarded 1-3 days later to a detective to do all the leg work.

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Mary:

In Va. only $200 will rack up a felony.

PM me the locale and I let you know if I might be able to assist on the “reach out and touch” aspect.

12

Interesting story, but it misses most of what Americans seek most: murder, violence, espionage, and infidelity. Are you sure the cop was not having an affair with Mrs new home owner? Are there any incriminating photos? Was the wine used for some bribing or ‘drugs for chardonnay’ scheme? Do you have any customers in Cali Columbia with a name that rhymes with Nablo Yescobar?

Kidding Mary, great story. [berserker.gif]
Thanks for sharing.