Crazy bad behaviour in a cigar shop!!

[topshelfcigars]

One time not too long ago a guy comes in and peruses my sale table where there's a sign that says "BUY 3 GET 1 FREE, MIX AND MATCH OK".

He picks up six of the same cigar off the tables and brings them to the counter. I let him know about the special, and that as it stands he'll get one of the cigars for free, but if he grabs 2 more off the table, one of those 2 will be free also, just for his information, no pressure ...

He proceeds to tell me that of those 6 cigars on the counter, 2 of them are free, as he understands the deal. So I say no, the deal is you pay for 3 and get a 4th one for free. He looks at me like he is about to come over the counter and hit me. Then I say: did you ever see a "buy 1 get 1 free" deal? That means pay for 1, get the 2nd one no charge, not bring up the product to the counter and get it for free. He still stares me down like his head is going to explode and I start to feel like I'm going to have to defend myself physically, so I ask him to leave.

[GJProductions]

Originally Posted by topshelfcigars

One time not too long ago a guy comes in and peruses my sale table where there's a sign that says "BUY 3 GET 1 FREE, MIX AND MATCH OK".

He picks up six of the same cigar off the tables and brings them to the counter. I let him know about the special, and that as it stands he'll get one of the cigars for free, but if he grabs 2 more off the table, one of those 2 will be free also, just for his information, no pressure ...

He proceeds to tell me that of those 6 cigars on the counter, 2 of them are free, as he understands the deal. So I say no, the deal is you pay for 3 and get a 4th one for free. He looks at me like he is about to come over the counter and hit me. Then I say: did you ever see a "buy 1 get 1 free" deal? That means pay for 1, get the 2nd one no charge, not bring up the product to the counter and get it for free. He still stares me down like his head is going to explode and I start to feel like I'm going to have to defend myself physically, so I ask him to leave.

haha I wish I could have seen this, he must have been really confused!

[Arnie]

We have found in the restaurant that we have to be VERY careful any time we offer a special. And we have learned NEVER to offer free stuff. It causes more headaches and resentment than it's worth. We try to figure every possible point of confusion and every way someone could scam us. It's not worth the trouble most of the time, which is a shame because we'd like to offer our customers something nice as a "thank-you" but the dopes and scammers ruin it for everyone. So we learned to give our best customers a gift certificate once in a while. They love it.

[SmokeRings]

some of these stories are just unbelievable! i work in my parents shop which is partially retail, and have run in to some situations where i felt i was going to need to defend myself physically. i have also had customers put our product in their pocket directly in front of me, i guess thinking that i just wouldnt say anything.
people, no matter what kind of store they are in always think they can get something over on the attendant/shop.
im very thankful for my b&m's and wouldnt even think to do half the things you guys have shared in your stories.

[Herf N Turf]

Originally Posted by Jack Straw

Cigar Man Andy told me that a little trick is to soak used cigar butts in water for a while, and then use the water to spray down your lawn - this gets rid of bugs, but leaves plants just fine.

Leave it to Andy...

I cant say I ever put this together, but it will work. Many commercial pesticides are nicotine based.

Guess I need to add a topical note:

Several years ago, I was in a small cigar shop at the counter about to pay for some sticks. There was a man in front of me, who'd been shopping next to me and I was 99% sure he'd been dropping sticks in his shirt pocket. As he was paying for his pack of Black and Milds, the shop owner came from the back and walked up to him. He said, "Hiya buddy, those cigars are on me this time." He then quickly grabbed the man's pocket, crushing the contents. He then said, "Those too, but if I ever see you on my property again, I will prosecute you for tresspass."

[Cigary]

Originally Posted by topshelfcigars

One time not too long ago a guy comes in and peruses my sale table where there's a sign that says "BUY 3 GET 1 FREE, MIX AND MATCH OK".

He picks up six of the same cigar off the tables and brings them to the counter. I let him know about the special, and that as it stands he'll get one of the cigars for free, but if he grabs 2 more off the table, one of those 2 will be free also, just for his information, no pressure ...

He proceeds to tell me that of those 6 cigars on the counter, 2 of them are free, as he understands the deal. So I say no, the deal is you pay for 3 and get a 4th one for free. He looks at me like he is about to come over the counter and hit me. Then I say: did you ever see a "buy 1 get 1 free" deal? That means pay for 1, get the 2nd one no charge, not bring up the product to the counter and get it for free. He still stares me down like his head is going to explode and I start to feel like I'm going to have to defend myself physically, so I ask him to leave.

We all know what he was thinking here,,,you are offering 1 free cigar for every 3 you buy. I'm sure in his mind he was thinking,,,,might as well condense two seperate purchases and save the hassle and get his 2 ( free ) cigars. If there wasn't a sign discouraging this then I can see his point. What prevents him from making 2 seperate purchase,,,or 3 or maybe even 4? There are stores that now have a sign that says "No Combining" on this offer and is only good for the one purchase to prevent what took place in your store. Had I been in your store I would not have made a fuss but rather explained to you that as the offer stands you are "offering" one cigar free for every 3 somebody buys,,,people are always on the lookout to test any offer that is out there.

[orca99usa]

You can also use tobacco juice on insect bites & stings to draw the histamine out and relieve the sting / itch.

When I was 10 or 11 years old, we were staying at my great uncle's house in rural northern Georgia. I was outside and a yellow jacket got under my shirt sleeve. The thing had to have stung me at least 8-10 times before we could get it out. My mother broke apart one of her cigarettes, moistened the tobacco and applied it to my upper arm. It worked remarkably well.

[Arnie]

Originally Posted by Cigary

We all know what he was thinking here,,,you are offering 1 free cigar for every 3 you buy. I'm sure in his mind he was thinking,,,,might as well condense two seperate purchases and save the hassle and get his 2 ( free ) cigars. If there wasn't a sign discouraging this then I can see his point. What prevents him from making 2 seperate purchase,,,or 3 or maybe even 4? There are stores that now have a sign that says "No Combining" on this offer and is only good for the one purchase to prevent what took place in your store. Had I been in your store I would not have made a fuss but rather explained to you that as the offer stands you are "offering" one cigar free for every 3 somebody buys,,,people are always on the lookout to test any offer that is out there.

The math still doesn't add up. If you buy three you get the fourth free, if you buy six you get the seventh and eighth free,,,, and so on. No matter how you slice it you have to buy sets of three to get the fourth ones free. Pay for the first 30, get the next 10 on the house. It's not that hard to figure out.

[Cigary]

Originally Posted by Arnie

The math still doesn't add up. If you buy three you get the fourth free, if you buy six you get the seventh and eighth free,,,, and so on. No matter how you slice it you have to buy sets of three to get the fourth ones free. Pay for the first 30, get the next 10 on the house. It's not that hard to figure out.

The math is this,,,,,buy 3 cigars and you get 1 free cigar,,,period. The owner did not want to let the guy bring up 6 cigars and get 2 free,,,,he wanted the customer to bring up 8 cigars to get 2 free.

[Arnie]

Originally Posted by Cigary

The math is this,,,,,buy 3 cigars and you get 1 free cigar,,,period. The owner did not want to let the guy bring up 6 cigars and get 2 free,,,,he wanted the customer to bring up 8 cigars to get 2 free.

Yes, that's because that is how the deal works. It's buy 3 get 1 free, not buy 4 get 2 free.

Put it another way: for every set of 4 cigars you pick up from that table ONE of those cigars will be free. For this deal to work you have to have multiples of 4 in your purchase..

[GJProductions]

buy 3 get the 4th free! makes sense to me

[cammons]

He proceeds to tell me that of those 6 cigars on the counter, 2 of them are free, as he understands the deal. So I say no, the deal is you pay for 3 and get a 4th one for free. He looks at me like he is about to come over the counter and hit me. Then I say: did you ever see a "buy 1 get 1 free" deal? That means pay for 1, get the 2nd one no charge, not bring up the product to the counter and get it for free. He still stares me down like his head is going to explode and I start to feel like I'm going to have to defend myself physically, so I ask him to leave.

I understand what a buy 3 get 1 free deal means but what the guy at the store probably was thinking was that if he bought 3 cigars, that one of those cigars was going to be free. therefore if he bought 6 cigars, 2 of them would be free, or so according to him .

[Cigary]

Originally Posted by cammons

He proceeds to tell me that of those 6 cigars on the counter, 2 of them are free, as he understands the deal. So I say no, the deal is you pay for 3 and get a 4th one for free. He looks at me like he is about to come over the counter and hit me. Then I say: did you ever see a "buy 1 get 1 free" deal? That means pay for 1, get the 2nd one no charge, not bring up the product to the counter and get it for free. He still stares me down like his head is going to explode and I start to feel like I'm going to have to defend myself physically, so I ask him to leave.

I understand what a buy 3 get 1 free deal means but what the guy at the store probably was thinking was that if he bought 3 cigars, that one of those cigars was going to be free. therefore if he bought 6 cigars, 2 of them would be free, or so according to him .

There ya go,,,,he says potato and the other guy says putahto. Let's call the whole thing off.

[orca99usa]

It's not worth the trouble most of the time, which is a shame because we'd like to offer our customers something nice as a "thank-you" but the dopes and scammers ruin it for everyone. So we learned to give our best customers a gift certificate once in a while. They love it.

It's probably because of situations like those talked about here that a couple of B&Ms I frequent have gone to punch cards. You get one punch for every stick you buy (at one of the places each stick has to be at least $7, but since I'm a regular the owner doesn't differentiate). You get a discount on your next purchase once the card is filled (at one place it's a free stick valued up to $10, at the other it's just $10 off). That way you reward your regulars without opening things up to everyone who comes through the door.

I rarely go to a cigar event anymore, other than those walk-in events (with no free food or drink) that last all day and people just come and go. The others are so terribly crowded and so many of the attendees are obviously there solely to mooch whatever they can, it just isn't worth the hassle to hang around.

[bxcarracer]

The mos stupid thing I hear everytime when im at my B&M is people will come in and say "it smells like crap in here,"