B&M etiquette question

Tenor CS · 02-20-2009, 07:01 PM

I have become somewhat of a regular customer at a local B&M. Another member here, David (Screen Name Catfish) has also visited there a few times and we have hit it off. It's always nice to have a smoking buddy.

I wanted to throw out some stories of my "routine" at the B&M and see if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or advice on things I could do better or more of.

I never show up just to "hang out." When I visit, it's to smoke and buy.
I usually show up with my 10 count travel humi. I tend to bring the travel humi with, say, 8 sticks in it. I will come in, sit, smoke, drink, watch TV, maybe play some Wii, and then on my way out, I will buy anywhere between 1-3 cigars to "top off" the travel humi for next time. Sometimes, I will not necessarily buy sticks, but some accessory - a can of butane, a drymistat tube (I have about 5 of them now, spread among various travel humi's and tupperdors) a pack of "smoker's mints," something like that.
So far, I have only smoked sticks purchased there. But even if I smoked an "outside" stick, I would still buy SOMETHING on the way out.
Here's where it gets a little tricky. They don't have a liquor license, but the owner gladly provides drinks, especially for the regulars. He has a tip jar next to the register, and it's kind of hidden. I generally don't drink liquor, but when I grab a soda or bottled water from the mini-fridge, I'll drop $1-2 into the tip jar. Not really "paying" for the drink, but this makes me feel like I'm not mooching. On the rare occasion that I do have some liquor, like a glass of scotch, I'll put $5 in the tip jar. I also offer to clean up after myself, but the owner always tells me not to worry about it.
I have gifted the owner (and his wife) some sticks, and he has smoked some of them in front of me. To be honest, I don''t think he really loved them, but he never said anything bad about them, and he was gracious in accepting them and at least tried them, which is all anyone can really ask of someone.
I don't have some of the super impressive collections of sticks that some guys here have, but I try to be generous. For every 5-pack I buy, I usually keep 3 for myself and give 2 away. Sometimes, I give a smoke to the owner or his wife, sometimes another BOTL from here.
I try to spread as much positive word-of-mouth about the place as I can. I know that I have brought at least 3 more regular customers to the shop, and for that the owner seems genuinely grateful. Occasionally, he will chop 5-10% off of my bill, or toss in an extra stick. I never ask for extra discounts, but I do sometimes splurge buy when he has a good sale, like 20% off everything in the store, or buy 3 sticks, get 1 free.

I'm especially interested to hear from people who own/work in B&M's. Besides spending money, what else can a regular customer do to help you out, business-wise?

02-20-2009, 07:01 PM	#1
Tenor CS Feeling Better! Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Christian Location: Davenport, FL (near Orlando) Posts: 717 Trading: (2)	B&M etiquette question I have become somewhat of a regular customer at a local B&M. Another member here, David (Screen Name Catfish) has also visited there a few times and we have hit it off. It's always nice to have a smoking buddy. I wanted to throw out some stories of my "routine" at the B&M and see if anyone has any ideas, suggestions, or advice on things I could do better or more of. I never show up just to "hang out." When I visit, it's to smoke and buy. I usually show up with my 10 count travel humi. I tend to bring the travel humi with, say, 8 sticks in it. I will come in, sit, smoke, drink, watch TV, maybe play some Wii, and then on my way out, I will buy anywhere between 1-3 cigars to "top off" the travel humi for next time. Sometimes, I will not necessarily buy sticks, but some accessory - a can of butane, a drymistat tube (I have about 5 of them now, spread among various travel humi's and tupperdors) a pack of "smoker's mints," something like that. So far, I have only smoked sticks purchased there. But even if I smoked an "outside" stick, I would still buy SOMETHING on the way out. Here's where it gets a little tricky. They don't have a liquor license, but the owner gladly provides drinks, especially for the regulars. He has a tip jar next to the register, and it's kind of hidden. I generally don't drink liquor, but when I grab a soda or bottled water from the mini-fridge, I'll drop $1-2 into the tip jar. Not really "paying" for the drink, but this makes me feel like I'm not mooching. On the rare occasion that I do have some liquor, like a glass of scotch, I'll put $5 in the tip jar. I also offer to clean up after myself, but the owner always tells me not to worry about it. I have gifted the owner (and his wife) some sticks, and he has smoked some of them in front of me. To be honest, I don''t think he really loved them, but he never said anything bad about them, and he was gracious in accepting them and at least tried them, which is all anyone can really ask of someone. I don't have some of the super impressive collections of sticks that some guys here have, but I try to be generous. For every 5-pack I buy, I usually keep 3 for myself and give 2 away. Sometimes, I give a smoke to the owner or his wife, sometimes another BOTL from here. I try to spread as much positive word-of-mouth about the place as I can. I know that I have brought at least 3 more regular customers to the shop, and for that the owner seems genuinely grateful. Occasionally, he will chop 5-10% off of my bill, or toss in an extra stick. I never ask for extra discounts, but I do sometimes splurge buy when he has a good sale, like 20% off everything in the store, or buy 3 sticks, get 1 free. I'm especially interested to hear from people who own/work in B&M's. Besides spending money, what else can a regular customer do to help you out, business-wise? __________________ When the world itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?