Austin Homebrew Supply

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: Here are the the quotes I take issue with: "When asked what he had received, he explained that he was not aware when he ordered that there was an amber version of [redacted] and that he wanted a different versionThe Amber version is the common version of the beerThe Especial version of the beer is the "Special" versionAlthough we understand where his confusion was." First stating "the Especial version of the beer is the "Special" version." What makes the Especial version "Special"? What makes Amber common? We can see in the recipe book provided there is [redacted] Special Lager, so the Special version is called "Special" because that is its name Now, what we don't know is why the Amber Lager is the "common version of the beer" since it is not labeled as "common" on any bottle I have ever seen It is not mentioned as "common" in the recipe book [redacted] provided a picture of On the receipt and the recipe sheet there is no mention of "common" any where I find no evidence that [redacted] Amber Lager is "common", it sounds arcane to me What you can see here though is that they sale versions of a beer named " [redacted] ***" This is central to my complaint Who should know there are two beers named [redacted] ***? A customer who is asked if they can be helped or the sales associate offering help? How am I or any other customer suppose to know they have two beers named [redacted] ***? I was asked if I needed help I did NOT SEE [redacted] listed at all in the recipe book so I asked the associate, "Do you have [redacted] ***" and they said yes They did NOT say yes we have versions they just said yes I was told yes, so I stopped looking in the recipe book and moved over to the lady helping me I feel that the company selling you something should know what products they have and if they have more than one named similar then they should get confirmation or clarification not make an assumption This is why I consider this to be the mistake of Austin Homebrew and that they should make things right for me The next issue I have is they are not being very clear about their return policy I cannot return this recipe kit because it is considered a food product and there are laws around this How are myself or other customers suppose to know the laws surrounding these things? I am not familiar with the regulations of home brew products, I wasn't even told the return policy until I needed to return the product I did not see any sign any where in the business about the return policy The receipt just says no refunds without a receipt and you have to get manager approval How was I to know that if I said a beers name that they have of, they could just pick whichever one they feel is common and give it to me and then tell me I am confused and made a mistake [redacted] is making me as a customer feel as if I should know their products the differences between all of them and their policies just as well as their employees and if not, and I mess any one step up in the order process it is all my fault not theirs The final failure I encountered was when they failed to follow up with me as they promised, and I had to call them back days later I was initially told I would have a manager at a higher level than [redacted] or the owner call me back by Adam which to this day has not happened This is inexcusable The stop gaps are erroneous and don't apply to this case and I will address them shortly First to I want to offer to help improve Austin HomeBrew's customer service Here is my feed back of what a proper professional "stop gap" would be A proper "stop gap" would be to repeat back the order of the customer to ensure no communication problems Next let the customer know the return policy and that if they leave the store and the order is wrong they won't be allowed to return anything or get a refund Lastly ask the customer to confirm that everything is correct If I went through some sort of process like what I just wrote we wouldn't be here with this dispute today The first "stop gap" mentioned the recipe book Erroneous It wasn't used for [redacted] so it isn't a "stop gap" measure It is fallacious to even mention it Second "stop gap" the printed recipe sheet This gets thrown in a brown paper bag and handed to you after you pay so you don't see it A better use of it as a stop gap would be to staple it on the bags so it is clearly seen or give it to the customer so they can read it Finally a receipt as a stop gap measure put in place to protect miscommunication are where I feel a bit silly arguing this since I have already refuted of the We are down to [redacted] from Austin Homebrew stating "we gave you a receipt" with the items listed I didn't check the receipt which I've already said maybe I should have and if I would have known the return policy I absolutely would have I didn't know I couldn't return things easily at Austin Homebrew they never told me these things The stance of Austin Homebrew to say that "I gave you a receipt for an order and it shows you got what you did NOT ask for it is your fault for not reading a receipt" is extremely frustrating and perplexing Why didn't the employee read the recipe book so they would know there are different versions of [redacted] ***? Why didn't the employee ask for clarification? Why isn't Austin Homebrew exploring what they could have done better to prevent this from happening? from the next quotable line: " In this situation as this was an unfortunate misunderstanding of the customer and what he had ordered and not an error of the sales associate as she confirmed that the customer did not ask for the especial version." This is a misleading case to make for the error to be with the customer I never said I asked for the [redacted] "Special" version, BUT I also did NOT ask for the Amber Lager version I asked for [redacted] ***, from my limited knowledge of Austin HomeBrews products and from where I come from [redacted] is [redacted] Special Lager I didn't know the Amber version exist, Austin HomeBrew's insistence that I know everything about beer and all the proper names shows a real lack of care for customers of differing knowledge on beer and brewing On the two "courtesy" offers they have given me I find that they are hardly a courtesy but more a sign of their unwillingness to fix their mistake: # I buy the recipe kit again and get free shipping I'm suppose to rebuy something I already thought I bought and this time I am hoping they get it right? If something goes wrong with my order then what? Am I am suppose to expect that they will provide me with adequate service and fix their mistake? Why would I spend more money? Why would I provide more business to a company that hasn't provided me with satisfactory service on my initial order I already spent what I felt was a fair price for the recipe kit I wanted and they gave me the wrong one # They give me some specialty grains and I pay the shipping What about the hops, the yeast and the malt extract? I want those parts also which is what makes up the recipe kit that I paid for I'm missing all of them currently as well as the proper recipe sheet I do feel that Austin Home Brew mislead me, has treated me extremely poorly and lost my trust They still have the option to make it right They can ship me the correct recipe kit and instructions OR they can give me all of my money back and a shipping label so I can ship back the recipe kit that I do not want Frankly it is embarrassing to me that I have been such a huge advocate of Austin Home Brew for almost years telling people how great they are and then to have this happen to me and get treated this poorly Having the manager [redacted] patronize me the way he did when I was on the phone was jaw dropping Having [redacted] not even willing to admit his team made an mistake which it is clear they did because they made an assumption it isn't infuriating it is extremely disappointing I can no longer tell my friends and family or anyone I meet to do business with Austin Homebrew until this is fixed Regards, [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Here are the the quotes I take issue with:
"When asked what he had received, he explained that he was not aware when he ordered that there was an amber version of [redacted] and that he wanted a different version. The Amber version is the common version of the beer. The Especial version of the beer is the "Special" version. Although we understand where his confusion was."
First stating "the Especial version of the beer is the "Special" version."  
What makes the Especial version "Special"?  What makes Amber common?
We can see in the recipe book provided there is [redacted] Special Lager, so the Special version is called "Special" because that is its name.  Now, what we don't know is why the Amber Lager is the "common version of the beer" since it is not labeled as "common" on any bottle I have ever seen.  It is not mentioned as "common" in the recipe book [redacted] provided a picture of.  On the receipt and the recipe sheet there is no mention of "common" any where.
I find no evidence that [redacted] Amber Lager is "common", it sounds arcane to me.
What you can see here though is that they sale 2 versions of a beer named "[redacted]".  This is central to my complaint.  Who should know there are two beers named [redacted]?  A customer who is asked if they can be helped or the sales associate offering help?   How am I or any other customer suppose to know they have two beers named [redacted]?  I was asked if I needed help I did NOT SEE [redacted] listed at all in the recipe book so I asked the associate, "Do you have [redacted]" and they said yes.  They did  NOT say yes we have 2 versions they just said yes.  I was told yes, so I stopped looking in the recipe book and moved over to the lady helping me.  I feel that the company selling you something should know what products they have and if they have more than one named similar then they should get confirmation or clarification not make an assumption.  This is why I consider this to be the mistake of Austin Homebrew and that they should make things right for me.
The next issue I have is they are not being very clear about their return policy.  I cannot return this recipe kit because it is considered a food product and there are laws around this.  How are myself or other customers suppose to know the laws surrounding these things?  I am not familiar with the regulations of home brew products, I wasn't even told the return policy until I needed to return the product.  I did not see any sign any where in the business about the return policy.  The receipt just says no refunds without a receipt and you have to get manager approval.  How was I to know that if I said a beers name that they have 2 of, they could just pick whichever one they feel is common and give it to me and then tell me I am confused and made a mistake.
[redacted] is making me as a customer feel as if I should know their products the differences between all of them and their policies just as well as their employees and if not, and I mess any one step up in the order process it is all my fault not theirs.  
The final failure I encountered was when they failed to follow up with me as they promised, and I had to call them back 3 days later.  I was initially told I would have a manager at a higher level than [redacted] or the owner call me back by Adam which to this day has not happened.  This is inexcusable.
The stop gaps are erroneous and don't apply to this case and I will address them shortly.  First to I want to offer to help improve Austin HomeBrew's customer service.  Here is my feed back of what a proper professional "stop gap" would be.  A proper "stop gap" would be to repeat back the order of the customer to ensure no communication problems.  Next let the customer know the return policy and that if they leave the store and the order is wrong they won't be allowed to return anything or get a refund.  Lastly ask the customer to confirm that everything is correct.
If I went through some sort of process like what I just wrote we wouldn't be here with this dispute today.
The first "stop gap" mentioned the recipe book.  Erroneous.  It wasn't used for [redacted] so it isn't a "stop gap" measure.  It is fallacious to even mention it.  
Second "stop gap"  the printed recipe sheet.  This gets thrown in a brown paper bag and handed to you after you pay so you don't see it.  A better use of it as a stop gap would be to staple it on the bags so it is clearly seen or give it to the customer so they can read it.
Finally a receipt as a stop gap measure put in place to protect miscommunication are where I feel a bit silly arguing this since I have already refuted 2 of the 3.  We are down to [redacted] from Austin Homebrew stating "we gave you a receipt" with the items listed.  I didn't check the receipt which I've already said maybe I should have and if I would have known the return policy I absolutely would have.  I didn't know I couldn't return things easily at Austin Homebrew they never told me these things.  The stance of Austin Homebrew to say that  "I gave you a receipt for an order and it shows you got what you did NOT ask for it is your fault for not reading a receipt" is extremely frustrating and perplexing.  
Why didn't the employee read the recipe book so they would know there are 2 different versions of [redacted]?  Why didn't the employee ask for clarification?  Why isn't Austin Homebrew exploring what they could have done better to prevent this from happening?
from the next quotable line:  "…In this situation as this was an unfortunate misunderstanding of the customer and what he had ordered and not an error of the sales associate as she confirmed that the customer did not ask for the especial version."
This is a misleading case to make for the error to be with the customer.  I never said I asked for the [redacted] "Special" version, BUT I also did NOT ask for the Amber Lager version.  I asked for [redacted], from my limited knowledge of Austin HomeBrews products and from where I come from [redacted] is [redacted] Special Lager.  I didn't know the Amber version exist, Austin HomeBrew's insistence that I know everything about beer and all the proper names shows a real lack of care for customers of differing knowledge on beer and brewing.
On the two "courtesy" offers they have given me.  I find that they are hardly a courtesy but more a sign of their unwillingness to fix their mistake:
#1  I buy the recipe kit again and get free shipping
I'm suppose to rebuy something I already thought I bought and this time I am hoping they get it right?  If something goes wrong with my order then what?  Am I am suppose to expect that they will provide me with adequate service and fix their mistake? 
Why would I spend more money?  Why would I provide more business to a company that hasn't provided me with satisfactory service on my initial order.  I already spent what I felt was a fair price for the recipe kit I wanted and they gave me the wrong one.  
#2   They give me some specialty grains and I pay the shipping
     What about the hops, the yeast and the malt extract?  I want those parts also which is what makes up the recipe kit that I paid for.  I'm missing all of them currently as well as the proper recipe sheet.
I do feel that Austin Home Brew mislead me, has treated me extremely poorly and lost my trust.  They still have the option to make it right.
They can ship me the correct recipe kit and instructions OR they can give me all of my money back and a shipping label so I can ship back the recipe kit that I do not want.
Frankly it is embarrassing to me that I have been such a huge advocate of Austin Home Brew for almost 8 years telling people how great they are and then to have this happen to me and get treated this poorly.
Having the manager [redacted] patronize me the way he did when I was on the phone was jaw dropping.  Having [redacted] not even willing to admit his team made an mistake which it is clear they did because they made an assumption…it isn't infuriating it is extremely disappointing.
I can no longer tell my friends and family or anyone I meet to do business with Austin Homebrew until this is fixed.
Regards,
[redacted]

This Customer called us on Thursday 2-20-2014 and contacted customer service about an improper order fulfillment. During the conversation the customer advised that he asked for a recipe for [redacted]. When asked what he had received, he explained that he was not aware when he ordered that there was...

an amber version of [redacted] and that he wanted a different version. The Amber version is the common version of the beer. The Especial version of the beer is the "Special" version. Although we understand where his confusion was, We have several stop gaps to make sure we get the customer the correct recipe or get it corrected before they leave the store. First we have printed Recipe book That states both versions of the recipe. (attached)Image01, Then we have a printed Recipe Sheet that states not only the recipe name but the ingredients as well that shows this beer is an amber as the title states. (attached)Image02, Finally at the final checkout we have it clearly stated on the receipt that he did indeed purchased the recipe for the [redacted] amber. (attached)Image03. 
At Austin Homebrew it is our goal to offer the best customer service we can. We always evaluate the situation and try to find an appropriate compromise. In this situation as this was an unfortunate misunderstanding of the customer and what he had ordered and not an error of the sales associate as she confirmed that the customer did not ask for the especial version. We decided to offer two options as a courtesy. Option #1 if the customer would like to order the [redacted] especial recipe we would charge for the recipe and ship it for free. Option #2 takes into consideration that we would be willing to modify the Recipe to make it so he could brew the [redacted] especial version with most of the ingredient he currently has as long as he is willing to come back to our retail location where he purchased the original recipe so that we may get him the grains he would need at no cost. Once again these options have been offered to the customer as a courtesy. However due to the fact that we can not assume that when someone asks for a recipe that they are not aware of other versions as it is clearly stated in the recipe book. We feel that the error is not on our part as we try to avoid this from happening with our stop gaps. Our offerings to the customer are a courtesy that still stands. If the customer is not willing to accept these offers then we deeply apologize for the misunderstanding.