Limerick Lane and shipping in hot temps

I’m compelled to write this as we were the topic of a thread this morning that has since been deleted but was never resolved publicly and in my opinion was very misleading as to the customer service we offer at Limerick Lane.

In the thread, we were called out for shipping wine in July which turned out to be false. I was able to clarify within hours of the post that the wine in question actually shipped 6 weeks ago via cold chain and was signed for upon receipt. I also clarified that as the wine was being shipped an email notification was sent out with tracking number.

While I appreciate that the thread was taken down, as other berserkers were asking as to how we responded (Mark Rudner in particular) there was never a public resolution.

First off the order was refunded in full.

Second, at Limerick Lane we strive for the highest level of customer service and as a small business I think we do an excellent job. Especially in times like these, small businesses are getting stretched pretty thin and customer service is often the make or break point.

When shipping wine from CA to the extreme east coast (or anywhere else for that matter) our primary focus is always the quality of the wine with regard to heat.

In this case, the cost to ship the order in question which we incurred 100% was nearly half the cost of the entire purchase.

Regardless of destination, we monitor heat very closely and only ship when we feel the temps are safe. (I have no upside in shipping wine if the wine is damaged in the process)
In addition, separately from UPS we send notification with tracking number when we deem temps are safe for the order to be shipped and are more than happy to reschedule shipment if requested.

I’m very sorry the customer was unhappy with our service but upon review I also stand by our communication, our service, and the quality of the wine in the bottle when it was signed for.

Regardless, the experience was not to the satisfaction of the customer and for that I apologize hence the refund.

It isn’t my intent at all to call anyone out but I feel very strongly that as we were accused of something in a public forum, it was appropriate to share that we were in fact not only accused incorrectly, we took the situation a step further in our efforts to honor and respect the customer in question.

To accuse and then not clarify both the inaccuracy of the accusation as well as how we resolved the situation was unfair and potentially damaging to our reputation.

I hope the customer in question enjoys the wine and am in no way trying to call them out as that would do me no good.

Incidentally, 2018 is one of my favorite vintages that we’ve produced and I’m certain the specific bottles in question will taste great.

Respectfully,

Jake Bilbro
Limerick Lane

Seems like since the other thread was deleted, creating this thread is just going to attract negative attention that otherwise could have been avoided.

I sure hope that’s doesn’t become the case. It appears that the producer was simply trying to answer questions several forum members likely had.

I think the update is meant to clarify how the winery handles shipping in warm weather and perhaps even more importantly, how they responds to customers complaints. I think this is valuable insight for consumers to have as to the practices and standards of a winery or retailer.

Jake- thank you for the update on the matter

I didn’t see the original thread, but it sure seems appropriate for Jake to come here and clarify/defend their customer service if he feels it was inappropriately maligned here.

I deleted the thread as the original poster didn’t seem to have much interest in correcting his original post on his error

But for other purposes - cold chain isn’t an adequate solution as the final trip from the warehouse to the delivery location is not in a refrigerated truck. My worry is almost never the transport between the shipper to the shipping city, but that final leg in the delivery truck. Even if shipped in june it’s pretty hot, that’s a big risk still. I know some other retailers/wineries have stopped using cold chain as a summer option as it doesn’t really protect the wine in the end.

TBH I read the original thread in its entirety and didn’t think it showed poorly on the vendor at all. A bit of overreaction to create this thread IMO.

I think cold chain originally was supposed to deliver by 1030 am but lately it is not. I had a shipment arrive via the new “cold chain” and it was at best room temp on delivery around noon.

Limerick shipped my last order cold chain at the end of June. Bottles were cool to the touch (and the wine is fantastic).

yeah, i know a few people that have had seepage from bottles during the final leg of cold chain cause it was 90F+ in the final destination

I thought it best to delete the post. I felt the resolution was a personal matter and responded privately

My experience with Limerick Lane has been nothing but exceptional. In fact, Jake and Ilana are currently holding two cases for me, waiting for a good weather shipping window to open. The first case was actually shipped in April, but was damaged before it reached my house and returned to sender. No questions asked, but I did request they hold off on re-shipping until the Fall as things were starting to heat up in St. Louis. I ordered another case in May with the same shipping request. Same customer friendly response as they were more than happy to accommodate. I really enjoy Limerick Lane wines and sometimes the juice is worth the squeeze. This may be one of those times and I’ll stand by Jake on this one.

In retrospect I always refer to the quote in my signature line. While the customer is always right, reality is they overreact 90%+ of the time and often jump to irrational conclusions. But you smile, take care of their needs and when needed cover your ass. Jake is an upstanding individual who always goes the extra mile. He and Limerick Lane reside high on my respect list.

I ordered from Limerick Lane a month or so ago, and they accidentally shipped (To Texas). Once I received the shipping notification, I contacted them, and they immediately recalled the shipment.

Their customer service was great in quickly resolving, which I very much appreciated.

Shipping in the hot months really is tricky. There really is no door to door cold solution. So then you try to find windows or accept that wine will most likely get well above 70 degrees for a short period, but hopefully not over 90 degrees. Tablas Creek had a pretty good article about it and some good points: as long as seal isn’t compromised and oxygen expansion has not pushed cork, the wine is pretty much intact. However, there seems to be a broader opinion that wine hitting above 90 degrees rapidly declines and ages prematurely. But I think it depends. A racy wine might do better here and a very rich, soft thing less so.

Personally, for wines I buy, I accept shipping during pretty much all months. But then again, I don’t buy wines much over $50/bottle, so it’s a risk I can live with. I might think differently if every bottle was $200. That said, I’ve not personally had any wine go bad on me, but I will certainly respect any customer who wants to wait until cooler temps.

And then there was that Paso Mourvedre I’d forgotten in my truck for numerous hot summer months - drank fine in the end. I didn’t expect that.

100% on the cold chain comment, especially since I live in Sunny Florida. It can be high-80s outside by 10:30 AM, hotter in a truck for the final leg. I rarely have wine shipped over summer though did just pay extra for overnight with early morning delivery and an ice pack for a special wine. That worked well, but only works if there is no delay in shipping, which can happen during these odd times. I totally assumed that risk, all in me.

So the OP got a free case of wine, lol.

I still don’t understand why the original post talked about Limerick Lane shipping in the middle of July when the wine was, per Jake’s tracking, shipped and received in the middle of June. If I were the winery in question, and was called out on something I didn’t do, I’d want to be able to correct that.

Adam Lee

Because in business your reputation is meaningless?

We once had a winery ship us wine in August and said they were sending it climate controlled. While it got to Albuquerque climate controlled, it sat in a hot warehouse, then was delivered 3 days later by two guys in a station wagon with the windows rolled down so it could be climate controlled. All had to be returned as stewed from being exposed to at least 3 days of heat in excess of 100º.

Same with my order in early June sent to South FL