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Stopped in a cigar lounge today and..

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I welcome the members-only policy or a high buy-in for entry. I have grown
sick and tired of every entitled low-life spending $4 on a cigar and
expecting to squat for free in a lounge for 6 hours, taking up the chairs
that should be intended for true paying customers who actually deserve to
be there. Every square inch of that shop and lounge costs the owner money.
You are not entitled to it because you bought an underpriced sh** stick
from the discount bin. Respect the house and earn your keep.
Do whatever you please with your own B&M. I'm sure you can institute policies that prevent "lowlives" from taking up your precious space. But if you sell shit sticks and make profit off them, turning your nose up to people who smoke those very cigars is a dick move.

Also I'd like to add this is a pretty friendly board but you won't find a warm reception with the pompous and arrogant attitude you have displayed.
 
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The first time I smoked a cigar, I was a 22. Bought it in a gas station. That was a very long time ago. I graduated to much better cigars afterwards. Everyone starts out somewhere. There is the opportunity to teach & guide others, to help them educate their palate. - - Some people are attracted by the whole 'we're exclusive' thing. It's the same factor that drives country club membership. Fine, whatever floats your boat. Maybe that's a winning strategy for some in their area. - - But it seems to me that welcoming, rather than excluding people from your business would be a better long term strategy.
There's one B&M I've gone into, (when visiting my brother who lives in another city) whose owner is a complete jerk. He doesn't welcome people as they enter the shop. He's always complaining about something- particularly how little business the shop is getting. (No kidding!) Overall, - a very negative vibe. - - - While the shop is close to my brother's house, I drive far outta my way to shop at the other B&M in town instead.

There are few businesses that 'get it' when it comes to customer service. Most complain about the economy and the customer rather than look in the mirror. People like to frequent the few businesses that do 'get it' because its a break from what they usually experience.

I don't go to B&Ms where they have a snooty attitude. I know good guys who wear jeans and drive an old pick up that could buy their B&M ten times over, (likely more). But those guys aren't posers. - Besides, I can guarantee that if the B&M is in America, they're not able to stock my favorite cigars, anyway. So, what's so 'special' about them ?


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That Tinderbox sucks. The lounge area is essentially the size of a booth at McDonald's. There is a House of Cigars on North High St there in Columbus with a much nicer lounge and humidor. The prices are still high as Tinderbox, but being in central Columbus you won't have to travel all the way over to the far east side either.
That would be great, but I live East of Columbus - so House of Cigars is actually further from home. I went there once at noon and the place was full of stale smoke just hanging in the air with only the clerk and 1 guy (not smoking) in the lounge. Perhaps they had a ventilation issue that day. Plus the humidor was smokey as well.

Good thing I have my own lounge at home - only 2 chairs (not leather), no TV, just a small heater and ventilation is a little dicey in the cold with the door closed. But all are welcome and I'll even provide the cigar.
 
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I asked that question at the shop I tend to visit and he showed me his hydrometers two at 72 and one read 73 But I'm not sure all are doing the same. I did buy a cigar that day from him that in retrospect had not rested long enough to be the smoke I expected.
 
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That would be great, but I live East of Columbus - so House of Cigars is actually further from home. I went there once at noon and the place was full of stale smoke just hanging in the air with only the clerk and 1 guy (not smoking) in the lounge. Perhaps they had a ventilation issue that day. Plus the humidor was smokey as well.

Good thing I have my own lounge at home - only 2 chairs (not leather), no TV, just a small heater and ventilation is a little dicey in the cold with the door closed. But all are welcome and I'll even provide the cigar.
My bad. For some reason I had it in my head that "Noork" was north west of Columbus.
 

bostoneo

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Good thing I have my own lounge at home - only 2 chairs (not leather), no TV, just a small heater and ventilation is a little dicey in the cold with the door closed. But all are welcome and I'll even provide the cigar.
cya in a couple hours, omw from akron. Hope you have a lot of cigars :p
 
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You know, I equate these types of discussions to the ones on coin forums where the poster complains because a bank won't "do business" with him selling coin rolls, "because I'm a customer" even though he doesn't have an account at the bank. Not sure I would have used the same words @saracigars used, but I agree with the gist of her statement.

Keep in mind the space used for the lounge costs money, and someone using it to smoke a stick isn't generating any revenue by sitting there. The revenue for the shop comes from sales of product. Buying one stick, whether a $4 stick or a $20 stick, doesn't generate the revenue necessary to maintain said lounge. Think about it, what's really the mark up on that $9 cigar? The bulk of the shop's revenue comes from the sales, either by membership dues, or volume buying.

I have gone into several cigar shops with lounges while traveling, and have never failed to get a seat in the lounge. Why? Because before I ask to take that seat I have browsed the humidor, selected and, paid for, a handful or so of cigars. Even though the owners knew I was from out of town and probably won't be back, I had a comfortable seat, access to the tv remote, and all the coffee I wanted for the next 90 minutes. Did I pay a bit more for the sticks I bought? Yeah, a little. But it was worth it for a lonely guy from out of town with some to kill to enjoy a smoke in a comfortable setting.
 
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Policy needs to be public and plainly visible. I wouldn't have driven over there if the website said "private parties" or minimum cover of........
If I was a minority or a woman or handicapped and such an arbitrary decision was made "several cigars" they'd be sued.
If you have a private lounge don't advertise it as "visit our lounge". The door was open, the lights on and no one else was there. The guy even complained about how bad business is. I don't consider a $12 cigar a cheap cigar, maybe Saracigar does, but I don't.
There are other places to smoke a cigar in the area and that's where I'll take my business.
 
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