My first order with them was back in August for some wines that were pre-arrival. I’m still waiting, despite seeing these wines available from other retailers for the past few months. They seem reputable, didn’t answer my email but did say they were coming soon when I called a month or so ago. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this is the longest I’ve ever waiting for pre-arrivals.
What have your experiences with Woodland Hills Wine Company been like?
Rama,
There’s no need to worry, they’re an A+ operation in my experience. I’ve purchased nearly 10 cases from them since 2009, and I’ve never had an issue.
Cheers,
Warren
I have placed a few orders with them and only had good experiences. None in the last year or two, however.
Solid company. No reason to have concern. 20 years of purchases from them, the vast majority perfect. More importantly, any rare hiccups were dealt with very fairly.
+1 re solid
Thanks, all. I guess its just their communication that’s shoddy.
No, they are not shoddy at all. They respond very well to calls, with no problems.
When they encourage you to use email to contact them, and don’t respond to two separate emails a week apart, then its accurate to say their communication is shoddy.
I have never had a problem with them and used them for years. That doesn’t mean it is acceptable to ignore your emails, but based on my experiences you can be hopeful that it is a glitch.
it’s 2020. Businesses should be responding to emails in a timely fashion. I gotta think it’s the preferred method for most wine shops nowadays. WHWC is an old school shop tho.
I have been dealing with them for 20+ years. Top notch people. NEVER a problem. Just call.
I also consider them to be in the top tier of retail wine merchants.
I’d consider them among the most reputable stores. They are down the street from me and have a legit, reputable, quality shop with friendly and knowledgable staff. I’ve seen big time wine critics/writers picking up their wine from WHWC. They have always responded promptly to my emails. On a coupe of occasions where they made honest mistakes (e.g., listing something on their website that was not longer available), they went out of their way to make it right, even though it wasn’t necessary.
They are completely reliable. Remember we’ve got Covid-19 going on. They’re dealing with the first weeks of a new business reality, which includes curbside pickup in their parking lot and keeping customer contact to a minimum. I spoke with them yesterday via phone without a hitch.
David Russell, their senior buyer for French wines, reached out to me via email. With his permission, I’m posting an excerpt of his reply. Needless to say my anxiety is quelled and I’ll likely be a repeat buyer going forward:
I noticed your post on the Berserkers board and am sorry for the suboptimal communication on our end. We strive to communicate effectively with our customers, but it appears we fell short in your case; please accept my sincere apologies.
I just checked the position in real time of the container ship with your Brovia on it: it’s off the coast of the state of Jalisco as I type this, at about the same latitude as Puerto Vallarta. The ETA for docking in the Port of Los Angeles is April 22. It usually takes about a week to clear customs, transport the container to our “container-friendly” warehouse in Van Nuys, and then bring the palletized cases here to the store. We’ll be sure to let you know when the wine shows up.
If I may be of further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly <…>
Haven’t been buying in a while, but David Russell is one of the few who I buy based on his recommendations.
A little late but WHWC is one of my trusted retailer for futures which is only a few places. And David Russell is a great guy and trusted palate to boot. I have bought wine from them for probably 25 years and never a problem.
There you go. Excellent customer service, making up for a slow response via email (acceptable with COVID-19). I have had great success buying from WHWC, including futures, and holding until those 2-3 mo of the year where you can actually ship wine to central Florida.