a tale of customer service

[Zeno Marx]

A short story made long. Brevity is not one of my virtues. I'm working on it, but not in this moment...

I used to only order from Pipes and Cigars. It wasn't out of loyalty, but pure economics and habit. I tend to order tobacco once a year during the big sales in August or around the winter holidays, and I prefer to make one big purchase from a single business. It's not the best way to operate, but it's how I tobacco dance. As prices at P&C began to jump, and then a couple years ago when there was some confusion with the taxes applied to my order (they just couldn't explain it until the representative did some research), I went digging for the first time in years. It was a long time coming, but ignorance will do that to you.

I'd never ordered from Tobacco Pipes. Honestly, I think I might have only stumbled upon them once or twice a long time ago. I think I bothered this time because I heard they sold 5LB bags at big discounts, and that got me curious. So last year, I made my annual order and changed my step by going with them. I don't know how they stack up against other outfits in other regards, but their prices on Stokkebye and Sutliff are significantly lower.

So, I made my big order with them again. I needed something small to put me over the free shipping cap, so I grabbed a Legend cob for $8. My other couple of Legends have been nicely done pipes, especially for the money. This one was not. There was a crack in the shank that I think they sloppily glued shut at the factory, and inside the bowl, said shank wood was barely beveled, making for this large tube of wood taking up 1/4 of the chamber and leaving these large slots on each side of it where tobacco would surely never burn and get smoked.

I always tell people to return things they aren't satisfied with, and though I should immediately take that same medicine, I was going back and forth about asking for an exchange over an $8 pipe. Should I just carve the dang inside the bowl out and call it a day? I can be VERY indecisive about things, so rather than hem-hawing for weeks and then surprising Tobacco Pipes with a complaint, I thought I'd start the ball rolling and simply email them, explaining my dissatisfaction and start the ball rolling in case I decided to ask for an exchange or refund. I didn't ask for anything. It was purely "this is what is going on. no need to do anything right now. I'm not sure how I feel about it."

Within two hours, I received two emails from Tobacco Pipes: 1) apologizing for not checking it before they shipped and to watch out for a little something in the mail 2) a shipping notice that they'd sent a Legend cob, no cost to me.

I feel this kind of customer service was how everyone operated when I grew up, but I rarely encounter it anymore. If anything goes wrong, it's always some kind of hassle. There are always questions asked. With Tobacco Pipes, no question was asked.

ps- when did the Legend cob go from being a billiard to an acorn?

 

[D.L.Ruth]

Glad that worked out. I am generally the same, eh is 8 bucks do i REALLY want to hassle about it? I really like smoking pipes because they have great customer service. Good customer service will go a long way in my book.

 

[Singed]

Legends come in two bowl styles now: Rob Roy a Dublin/Acorn shape, and 5th Avenue a billiard. They can also be ordered straight or bent stem.

hHad the same obstructive stem insertion in three I ordered. I removed one and cut it back, filled thefloor with pipe mud to the draft point and reinserted it.
Was a little trouble. But I made a great smoking pipe out of it!

I didn't think to bother contacting MM (where I ordered them), frankly I was concerned they would want them shipped back - not worth my effort. I have had excellent service from MM and imagine they would correct any shortfall of their products.

I am glad to hear you got good service from Tobacco Pipes bc I regularly order from them as well.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Legends come in two bowl styles now: Rob Roy a Dublin/Acorn shape, and 5th Avenue a billiard.

interesting. I had no idea. Have you had this issue with one shape more than the other? I've only had billiards, and this was not the case with them.

 

[Ranger107]

I like them. I ordered a Pete House Pipe from them that was described as 2.9 oz in weigh. When I received it the pipe weight was a hair over 4 oz. I emailed them and they promptly sent me a return shipping label and refunded the cost including shipping. So they are good to do business with.

 

[Singed]

interesting. I had no idea. Have you had this issue with one shape more than the other? I've only had billiards, and this was not the case with them.

No, I've had both shapes and both stems, they smoke equally well. I think the deep insertion of the stem is more to protect the floor of the bowl because the is no maple plug in the bottom of a Legend, it's bare cob and will eventually rot out if you smoke wet. I expect the lack of a maple plug is a cost-saving measure. After all, the legend is their cheapest, most produced pipe. Many consider it disposable and the quality tolerances are definitely more flexible than other models..

 

[Rasher-Roll]

I've only had one customer service experience with them. I ordered the Bourbon Barrel Plum Pudding and received the original. I emailed them and within about a day they sent me an email back apologizing, sent me a tracking number for the replacement tin, and told me to enjoy the original. I've always been pleased ordering from them.

 

[Timbo]

They sounds like a class act all around.

It's not the 8 bucks, it's the principle of it all and Tobacco Pipes sound like they get it.

 

[Swede]

Glad that worked out. I am generally the same, eh is 8 bucks do i REALLY want to hassle about it? I really like smoking pipes because they have great customer service. Good customer service will go a long way in my book.

I too had a recent good experience with SP customer service on a Ropp I ordered that had off center drilling.

 

[Zeno Marx]

Replacement showed up today. My sample size is 2: 1 acorn shape and 1 billiard shape (the replacement).

I don't understand the acorn assembly. As I stated, the shank is a mess inside the bowl. Anyone who smokes a pipe (likely nobody in the factory) would look at how large it is, taking up 25-33% of the bowl, with nearly no beveling, and think, "This is a smokeable pipe." The billiard replacement isn't like this at all. The shank is nearly flush at the bottom of the bowl, and it is beveled from the furthest point away from the insertion, across the bowl, and nearly all the way to the insertion point. I don't have to do anything to this billiard to smoke it. It looks like a smoker assembled it, not a theater prop designer.

 

[Timbo]

Chalk and cheese Zeno, hard to believe they're from the same factory.

I expect some quality issues with MM pipes due to their cheapness but not that level of buggeration.

 

[Singed]

My new Charlestowne Cobbler is already failing. Poor materials and the bowl is charring already. I notified MM with images they agreed that the bowl was poorly drilled and the cob was weak and pithy, they immediately issued me a refund. They would have sent a new pipe but international shipping would have exceeded the value of the pipe. I am satisfied with that and pleased with their timely service, the refund has already been processed through PayPal.

I will smoke the pipe to death, perhaps line the bowl. I may even buy another in the future. It was a disappointment because this is a mid-range pipe in their line-up but MM didn't offer excuses or argument, they followed up with a professional solution. I cannot fault that.

 

[Singed]

Chalk and cheese Zeno, hard to believe they're from the same factory.

I expect some quality issues with MM pipes due to their cheapness but not that level of buggeration.

I agree that quality control should be more stringent. I would even be willing to bear higher cost to serve that end rather than having to sort through purchases with returns in mind. This is a sign of the times, it is not limited to tobacco products alone.

 

[D.L.Ruth]

My new Charlestowne Cobbler is already failing.

My Charlestown Cobbler is about in its way out as well, but I have had mine for almost 6 years or so.

 

[Singed]

My Charlestown Cobbler is about in its way out as well, but I have had mine for almost 6 years or so.

It's a great pipe...I just drew the short straw.