The Bar Towel

I've had good service from LCBO employee's much more than bad.

Good example: Milcroft store in Burlington, Muskoka Harvest Ale had come out and store was showing inventory of 12, so I figured they got one case in. Couldn't locate it, asked, employee went out back, couldn't find it, checked the computer with me, went out back again and finally found the box. It had not been put on the right shelf. She spent at least 15 minutes looking for me.

Bad example: Went out of my way to a store in Mississauga that showed quite a bit of inventory of Black Creek Porter (can't recall the exact amount). Found only 3 bottles on the shelf, so asked if they had more out back. Was flatly told no. Decided to let it go because I have had situations in the past where the store really did sell a lot and were out. However, checked the inventory the next day and they still had plenty. The guy was just too lazy to look.

I have to agree with those who think the examples posted so far of "exemplary service" are really just examples of acceptably good service in the private sector context. The woman at Front & Jarvis who is "genuinely curious" to know "what is with this beer?" I mean, come on! She should know this going in - it's her job! I'm sure she is aware that Vintages does periodic limited wine releases, and some are quite popular and sell out quickly. She should know the same holds true for beer and perhaps read up on what is coming in. Her customers shouldn't have to educate her. But we encounter this time and time again in the LCBO and I think it's the most annoying thing -- when you know more about the product than the person working there. In a good private sector store the employee always knows the product.

midlife crisis wrote:I have to agree with those who think the examples posted so far of "exemplary service" are really just examples of acceptably good service in the private sector context. The woman at Front & Jarvis who is "genuinely curious" to know "what is with this beer?" I mean, come on! She should know this going in - it's her job! I'm sure she is aware that Vintages does periodic limited wine releases, and some are quite popular and sell out quickly. She should know the same holds true for beer and perhaps read up on what is coming in. Her customers shouldn't have to educate her. But we encounter this time and time again in the LCBO and I think it's the most annoying thing -- when you know more about the product than the person working there. In a good private sector store the employee always knows the product.

I know wine geeks that know more than certified sommeliers.
I know car nerds that know more about cars than the average salesman.
I know photogs that know more about cameras than any salesperson you'll find.

Guess those people should all be out of a job.

midlife crisis wrote: In a good private sector store the employee always knows the product.

I dont know about that.

I would qualify that with a "good private sector" small one man operation "store the employee knows the product".

Most of those big box stores are self serve self checkout, if it aint on the shelf we dont have it.

Ukie wrote:

midlife crisis wrote: In a good private sector store the employee always knows the product.

I dont know about that.

Yeah I can't tell you how many times I've gotten absolutely horrendous service at place "in the private sector".
I could list 5 or 6 local restaurants off the top of my head where I have been treated the way NO CUSTOMER SHOULD EVER BE TREATED (cratez can even vouch for me).
I can't tell you how many times I've been treated like shit at my local No Frills.
Last time I was at Wal-Mart (shopping with my mom, I don't shop there), we were told an item we were looking for "was over there somewhere", as thew lady continued gossiping with her co-worker in from of customers.
You can get shitty service anywhere.

SteelbackGuy wrote:

Yeah I can't tell you how many times I've gotten absolutely horrendous service at place "in the private sector".
I could list 5 or 6 local restaurants off the top of my head where I have been treated the way NO CUSTOMER SHOULD EVER BE TREATED (cratez can even vouch for me).
I can't tell you how many times I've been treated like shit at my local No Frills.
Last time I was at Wal-Mart (shopping with my mom, I don't shop there), we were told an item we were looking for "was over there somewhere", as thew lady continued gossiping with her co-worker in from of customers.
You can get shitty service anywhere.

You can choose to go hundreds of other places for a meal, you can got to Metro or Zehrs or any of a dozen other grocery spots, Walmart has no monopoly on the goods it distributes, but to buy booze you have to go the LCBO. Its not the same comparison Len.

icemachine wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:

Yeah I can't tell you how many times I've gotten absolutely horrendous service at place "in the private sector".
I could list 5 or 6 local restaurants off the top of my head where I have been treated the way NO CUSTOMER SHOULD EVER BE TREATED (cratez can even vouch for me).
I can't tell you how many times I've been treated like shit at my local No Frills.
Last time I was at Wal-Mart (shopping with my mom, I don't shop there), we were told an item we were looking for "was over there somewhere", as thew lady continued gossiping with her co-worker in from of customers.
You can get shitty service anywhere.

You can choose to go hundreds of other places for a meal, you can got to Metro or Zehrs or any of a dozen other grocery spots, Walmart has no monopoly on the goods it distributes, but to buy booze you have to go the LCBO. Its not the same comparison Len.

its exactly the same. People here are basically saying that if its private sector, it automatically means great service, and that isnt the case.

SteelbackGuy wrote:

icemachine wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:

Yeah I can't tell you how many times I've gotten absolutely horrendous service at place "in the private sector".
I could list 5 or 6 local restaurants off the top of my head where I have been treated the way NO CUSTOMER SHOULD EVER BE TREATED (cratez can even vouch for me).
I can't tell you how many times I've been treated like shit at my local No Frills.
Last time I was at Wal-Mart (shopping with my mom, I don't shop there), we were told an item we were looking for "was over there somewhere", as thew lady continued gossiping with her co-worker in from of customers.
You can get shitty service anywhere.

You can choose to go hundreds of other places for a meal, you can got to Metro or Zehrs or any of a dozen other grocery spots, Walmart has no monopoly on the goods it distributes, but to buy booze you have to go the LCBO. Its not the same comparison Len.

its exactly the same. People here are basically saying that if its private sector, it automatically means great service, and that isnt the case.

The difference is we can vote with our dollars when it comes to private sector services.

icemachine wrote:

SteelbackGuy wrote:

icemachine wrote: You can choose to go hundreds of other places for a meal, you can got to Metro or Zehrs or any of a dozen other grocery spots, Walmart has no monopoly on the goods it distributes, but to buy booze you have to go the LCBO. Its not the same comparison Len.

its exactly the same. People here are basically saying that if its private sector, it automatically means great service, and that isnt the case.

The difference is we can vote with our dollars when it comes to private sector services.

You can do that anywhere. I'm not sold.

Guys there is good and bad service in every type of service/industry. From my personal experiences with the LCBO's I have frequented in my area have all been good. I remember when I was searching for some St Ambroise Citrouille last year, I called up both Leamington and Windsor LCBO's and both people I spoke with checked their inventories/let me know when their orders would arrive. I work at TBS and I'm sure in LCBO it's the same, some people have chips on their shoulders that no matter how much you do for them, they will never be happy. Just yesterday, I carried out a case of beer for an elderly gentleman who bitched about the store and anything else on his mind.

To stay on topic though, kudos to the LCBO's I have bought from in Chatham-Kent and Windsor-Essex as there are alot of great staff working there!

SteelbackGuy wrote: You can do that anywhere. I'm not sold.

Please explain how someone can vote with their dollars in a system controlled by two operations?

If the original premise was, I dont like WalMart so I go to Zellers(Target) or some other store, but I dont like the LCBO and my only choice is TBS so how do I vote wih my dollars, then:

-dont drink, if not then

-drink wine and buy from the winery or a wine store
-drink craft beer and buy from the craft brewery
-brew you own beer or make you own wine
-buy all your beer in the U.S. or Quebec
-get a bunch of friends and do private ordering thru an agent like on BT
-find a good LC store where someone is trying to make a difference, like Len, and patronize that store, dont think the LC doesnt monitor individual store sales cause they do

and lastly "Dont forget the sunscreen"!

Ukie wrote:If the original premise was, I dont like WalMart so I go to Zellers(Target) or some other store, but I dont like the LCBO and my only choice is TBS so how do I vote wih my dollars, then:

-dont drink, if not then

-drink wine and buy from the winery or a wine store
-drink craft beer and buy from the craft brewery
-brew you own beer or make you own wine
-buy all your beer in the U.S. or Quebec
-get a bunch of friends and do private ordering thru an agent like on BT
-find a good LC store where someone is trying to make a difference, like Len, and patronize that store, dont think the LC doesnt monitor individual store sales cause they do

and lastly "Dont forget the sunscreen"!

Seven suggestions and not a single one of them are reasonable or implementable for all people.

It's simply not possible to make an adequate comparison between alcohol retail in this province and regular retail. If I don't like Wal-Mart I have hundreds of options. If I don't like the LCBO and the The Beer Store then I have seven terrible options.

Just to add my two cents.

I've never had bad service at the LCBO. I've always checked ahead to see if they have what I want, I've been polite when dealing with the CSR's, and I've always left with what I wanted.

Seems most folks have had decent experiences.
I'm not gonna pretend we don't have some jerks cause I know we do, and I have worked with a few, and it is mind boggling at the poor level of service they offer. But those folks are everywhere.

Let's face it, you can't please everyone. Some dudes on this forum, even if they had the best service experience of their lives at an LCBO, would never acknowledge it on here, because that is who they are. There are people like that in every crowd.