A little bird told me their incentive for pushing “Winery Direct” selections is remaining employed. I can’t say with a reliable level of certainty though. I never worked at Total Wine.
David, Tom
No, not specifically talking about Total Wine (I don’t know their staffing model), but yes it’s common for barely trained sales assistants to be given carrot and stick to accompany a prepared sales pitch.
regards
Ian
Sometime in the next millennium, the parchment hard copy of this thread will be incorporated into the reprint of A Canticle for Leibowitz under the chapter covering Grave First World Problems of the 21st Century.
I think you should start going in dressed as a Droog to add meaning to the experience! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Probably a better basis for grief giving! I’m more often the apologist for wine enthusiasts, but this struck me as overly nitpicky even for us of the WB ilk. Sure, big box stores lack for knowledge and experience, but it could be worse - it could be Beverages and More. Where not only experience and knowledge are lacking, but price competitiveness and selection to boot. They knew of Tannat from Uruguay which isn’t too shabby. We just need to keep things in context, I think.
I was excited when Total Wine opened in Texas because I thought I might see some new labels on shelves. What I have found, is a plethora of labels I have never seen anywhere and, buying daily white/drinkers, largely mediocre wines. Any hits I should be looking for? I have had almost 0 lucki int the Austrian, German, and Italian sections.
Can’t help but feel bad for the kids working in these positions. Just trying to make some money, and not put in a place to succeed (in any objective sense)
I agree. They have to deal with assholes that can’t comprehend the fact that a near minimum wage worker at a giant national retail chain can’t recognize they are part of the .1% that walk through the doors and stroke their wine egos.
Of the Patagonian wines, I am partial to those produced by Bodega Noemia. Their lower end A Lisa is very well made wine. The next step up, J. Alberto is even better. There two upper level wines are not available in my market but I would love to try them based on my experience with their two lower level wines.
Well, I decided to pop over to TW to see for myself. I found a clerk and demanded an Andalusian Amontillado that was aged using the “soleras y criaderas” method.
The clerk was of no use to me, but luckily, Frazier and Niles Crane happened to be perusing the Condado de Huelva Viejo wines, so it all worked out.
I’m not a hater. I rarely buy wine at TW tho…only if I have a great coupon and I want a specific item that’s in stock. When they come up to me to ask if I need help, I just say no.
What TW does have is great beer and spirits. And they have it at MSRP instead of gouge prices at some other places. I’ve gotten great service from their spirits dept.
Perhaps not being aware that they make wine in Patagonia, I could give a pass on that. However the last time I checked Patagonia is a fairly well known region in Argentina for its sights and outdoors activities. The way Greg frames the conversation in the OP, the sales person doesn’t even seem to connect that Patagonia is in Argentina. Fail.
Makes you wonder where these guys are vacationing! ![[wink.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/04707e6a7bbb03e0153e349d8a9270d30e1e9525.gif "wink"){kind=small}
If so, I can’t figure out how they determine if a salesperson is effective or not. Unlike a department store where the sales staff will ring up the transaction if they were involved (think cosmetics dept) here everyone just goes to front registers.
They do seem to give it the college try, and one of their reps did find me a wine that met what I was looking for, but if they’re some kind of measurement system (whether to punish or reward) I don’t know how its being implemented. Maybe managers just watch the staff via cameras or something and try to determine if they are making the effort at the high profit sales.
I actually quite like having a TW around, although I’m only responsive when I see a coupon of interest.
All retail stores try and push higher margin items, particularly store brands. Nothing different with wine stores with directly imported wines - they’re simply higher % margin items. And Arv, they’re likely split between sections (wine, beer, liquor) and they all have separate numbers. All the employees and their head are likely all measured together. When you’re hiring mostly minimum wage workers there’s only one person who’s really accountable - the department head.
I’m reminded of Jim Gaffigan’s bit on McDonalds when it comes to these big box stores comparisons. Total Wine, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy etc, they’re all the same. It’s just a matter of whether you can tell the difference.
I would not be too hard on the employees. I worked with three college grads, one of which was my supervisor, who did not believe me when I told them they spoke English in England.
Keep in mind, this is big-box retail, and is a step up from a supermarket or Walmart. A retail clerk is probably only making about $10 an hour. You are getting slackers who live with their parents, kids taking a semester off, the recently downsized looking to work a few more years before Social Security kicks in. If you are lucky you probably a few in each store who have some sort of passion for what they do. Maybe you have a kid hoping to open their own shop or studying to be a Somm, semi retiree working for the discount, ect.
The main skill set required to run one of the tastings is not spilling the wine when pouring it into those tiny little thimble sized cups and memorizing as much of the tasting notes sheet as they can. The floor would look like crime scene from CSI if that were me trying to do that. You might get a store manager or assistant manager who used to own a wine shop or wine bar that could not cut it in the market. The regular employees probably just get a few hours training on basic regions and varietals and can direct you to the right isle for what you are looking for. And yes, they will probably push you to certain direct items that have good margins or need to be cleared out if you ask for a recommendation.
Total Wine has some good points. They have a good selection, for the most part prices are good, they are always running sales and specials, the websites tell you what they have in the store with real-time inventory. The staff are all friendly and some are knowledgeable. Like I was there last week, and based on what was in my shopping cart, one of the workers told me which of the three Malbecs from the tasting would be my favorite.
But if I am looking for suggestion something special, I go to a small box guy I like who gets stuff that can be off the beaten track, has tasted everything that comes through the door and makes good suggestions.
BYOB is actually illegal here, or at least treated as such, unlike in PA. So while I can have wine shipped to me for home use, I’m eternally damned by dull restaurant lists.
Just like to have different wines around for different purposes. Loire Cab Franc and Nebbiolo (some N. Piedmont and Lombardy) are more than half of my cellar, but I tend not to pop those randomly like I would an inexpensive New World wine.
I see your point, but I don’t go to TW to stir up shit with the salespeople to boost my ego. I’m there to pick up whatever it is I came in for that day.
In this case, the salesperson sought me out and I asked a question that came to mind that I thought she might be able to help with. She proceeded to give info that was flat out wrong rather than just unhelpful, yet positioned herself as the expert on the material.
That’s the real rub. If they’re not paid well enough to get up to speed or just don’t care, that’s fine. But it’s way more helpful to say you are not sure or that you will talk to another associate than to give incorrect answers.
I went to Total Wine recently, and received good customer service. I was looking for a sparkling wine from France that wasn’t Champagne. In the end, the help I received was helpful, even if on a very basic level (i.e.: “I’ve heard lots of folks say they enjoyed this sparkling Alsatian”).
Honestly, how many folks who participate on this board actually need help when shopping for wine? I’d venture a guess that the answer is approximately “Zero.” I’d also venture a guess that TW employees actually are helpful to/for those who actually need the help. The vast majority of us know way more about wine than does any TW employee, and I don’t perceive that as a problem; objectively speaking, most of us are wine experts. I doubt TW pays floor staff enough to attract a gang of wine professionals to man those positions for them.